Company: KPMG
Date: 2008-12-01
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

Great place to start a career.
Pros: KPMG is a great place to get experience straight out of college. There is a lot of room to grow, you get exposure to large companies and the ability to work with upper management. It's a great place to start working, as long as you get to know the managers well.

There are also a lot of travel opportunities, should you choose to take them on. Unfortunately in the Roanoke office, you'll find yourself driving around in traffic instead of being on a plane to a client. If you go to the offices in D.C., however, you'll be able to do all the travel you want.

Make sure your employees are happy. It was obvious what went on during the two rounds of lay offs, but upper management decided to conceal everything. The firm is going to get nothing but a bad reputation from this. Good luck trying to attract talent, as no doubt I won't be recommending Protiviti as a firm to work for. It will be difficult to win more work as well, since Silicon Valley is so small, word will spread quickly.
Cons: In our Roanoke office, there have been two rounds of cuts, the second round just happened, which directly affected me. My internal evaluations were significantly better than others that I've started with in the same position, but those people are still there. Although this is a small firm, you definitely feel the sense of politics in play. They don't care about how well you work, only how much upper management in the company like you. This is obviously something common in the consulting industry, but the fact that people get laid off without reason, even though they are hard working individuals disappoints me. Afterward, I hear that people weren't laid off due to performance, but because we just weren't needed anymore due to the types of services the firm was trying to sell.

I was extremely loyal to the firm, and did not attempt to get other jobs even though head hunters were contacting me every other week -- this got me nowhere, and now I am stuck without a job in economic turmoil. We had no idea we were getting laid off, it just happened out of nowhere.

If you're good with office politics, this may be a great place for you, but otherwise I'd stray away, as the firm will get rid of you once they've milked you for all you're worth.