Pros
“At AlphaSights we pride ourselves on top tier talent etc etc etc” the associates are wonderful and super smart, driven people. Lots of bonding in the trenches type dynamics. Pay and hours are fine
Cons
Management is way way way too young to be in the roles they’re in. Because it’s overwhelming for them, they turn to really awful tactics, like micromanagement, surveillance, and job threatening. Because the metrics are clear, everyone knows where they stand— high performers are frequently threatened, despite metric achievement. Additionally, there becomes a culture among more senior associates of hyper competition, snitching, and tattling to filter into the manager pipeline (where the salary is not worthwhile). AlphaSights will likely rely to this review with their boilerplate “it’s not for everyone.” The truth is, the role is so easy it really is for everyone— it’s everything that comes around it. Additionally, they grasp for credit from their successful alumni, many of whom sought greener pastures from the start. I chose to leave my role after receiving a competitive offer, and literally my interviewer (ex PE, worked with AlphaSights) asked me “if I was looking for a job that used my brain.” The greater industries that AlphaSights serves (one of their selling points to the role) views AlphaSights as a disposable resource, and occasionally even a joke; certainly not a “partner” as AS would lead people to believe. Finally, I disagree that the role isn’t clearly laid out to people; my interview fully and clearly demonstrated the job accurately. What isn’t clearly laid out is the “uncapped commission,” it’s roughly capped at a largely attainable metric, but any “point” over the metric is only worth a small additional amount of money. So, while legally “uncapped,” associates are unable to truly attain the high monthly bonuses they’re led to believe they may achieve. Additionally, that aforementioned metric is actually the only KPI that matters— missing it leads to a meeting about underperformance. For any smart NESCAC/Vandy grad reading this: you can do anything else in this city successfully, put your brain to use, trust your gut, and avoid this company