Company: Deloitte
Date: 2013-07-13
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Confirmed

What is good for Deloitte is not necessarily good for you
Pros: Deloitte knows how to compete and win in the marketplace, thus it is able to consistently sustain a positive business outlook. The firm has name recognition that looks good on your resume or grad school application. Due to its brand, it is able to recruit many smart, hard working people into the firm.
Cons: Deloitte at its heart is a sales organization (above everything else it claims to be), utilizing some dubious business practices to serve its interests. They have a proven system to squeeze every drop of work out of you while paying you as little as possible, and indoctrinating to think you are on a high flying career. 

1. The baseline expectation is that you bill 45 hours of client work a week, then they tell you that you have a second job to work for the firm - to participate in firm activities, write proposals, and sell work. Your second job can easily consume another 10 to 20 hours a week. Of course, somewhere in there you need to squeeze in your training hours and travel time. 
2. They appear to offer generous vacation days, but in reality if you use it your will miss your metrics and put your job in jeopardy. The metric for college hires is 95% utilization. In other words, you need to bill the client at least 45 hours a week 95% of the time throughout the year, INCLUDING your vacation days and holidays.
3. If you are an experienced hire, at recruiting time they will try to hire you at 1 grade below your level of experience. For example, if you are a manager they will hire you as Senior Consultant.
4. When you are hired by Deloitte, you don't really have a job yet. A common experience for new hires is to be put on the bench for a month. As you watch your utilization go down, you are more than willing to take any assignment anywhere in the country. They make it your responsibility to find assignments and keep up your utilization. If you are unable to find work, it's your fault since you obviously don't know how to network or have a marketable skill set. 
5. Despite all the expectations they have of you  to "build your career" at Deloitte, when it comes to bonuses and raises time, they will switch to so-called "straight talk" mode. You will be disappointed about your pay year after year, and they will acknowledge it as a concern each time without doing anything.
6. In reality most people do not ever have a career at Deloitte. The average stay is about 3 years, and turnover is part of their business model. They are always at college recruiting brandishing their brand every year looking for naive new entrants; you need to ask yourself why do they always have positions available. 
7. In order to get promoted, they ask that you "demonstrate working at the next level for a full year". That sounds fair enough; however, the hour glass is running; if you don't get promoted, you will be fired. The practice is called "up or out" model. Sales expectations get higher exponentially with each level. If you are not interested in becoming a career salesman, you are basically disposable. It doesn't matter if you are an expert in your field with a proven delivery track record. The promotion model also forces employees to fulfill responsibilities at the next job level without being compensated for that level. 
8. Despite claims to the contrary, the culture at Deloitte is competitive as opposed to collaborative. It also has a heavy element of "shark culture". The culture is top-down, almost with military characteristics. You are expected to worship your "leadership" and the Partners; in fact, you should aspire to become a Partner. The indoctrination is very powerful. Kool-aid is served on regular basis.