Company: KPMG
Date: 2008-06-11
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

KPMG--It Ain't Bad, But It Ain't Great
Pros: Opportunities to learn, defined career path, excellent résumé builder, opportunity to build wealth if you make it to the top of the pyramid scheme that is KPMG.  Good training and fun, youthful co-workers.  The place is full of hard working, ambitious people who are some of the brightest in their field.
Cons: Irritating performance management process using indescribably stupid "9-Box" rating system which has the amazing ability to ensure that most employees receive the exact same performance rating.  Very corporate-y environment (lots of catch phrases like "we're the employer of choice" and "you're the CEO of you").  Very insecure senior management, seemingly so worried that employees will quit that there is constant barrage of happy propaganda messages funneled to your e-mail box, office in box, and even glossy magazines mailed to your home going on and on about how good life is at KPMG.  While rapid advancement is possible, you also can get stuck mid-career (also called "Senior Manager for life").

Hours are often excruciatingly long--often rewarded by happy hours (though this will probably change due recent Ebenezer Scrooge revamping of the company expense policy).

Difficult to feel completely connected because this private organizations releases almost no useful financial data to determine its performance, and employees have no ownership (whereas as employees of other organizations feel more connected because they may have stock options, discounted stock purchase plans, or own their employer's stock in their 401(k) retirement plans).