Pros
1. Clients’ industries and size vary – The variety in the company’s clientele base gives you the opportunity to analyze companies in various industries and of different sizes. 2. Interesting, complex projects – Because the company is a small firm, people are able to work on a variety of projects that employees for other valuation firms do not offer exposure to because other firms may make their employees “specialize” in a certain area. 3. Intelligent, hard-working people – The company employs people who I consider to be among the smartest and most diligent people I have met. Learning and working with them helped me grow professionally. 4. Professional development – While the workload is challenging, you are challenged to manage your own and others’ schedules. Communication is key to succeed. Communicate deadlines ahead of time, and your managers will work with you to help you manage your workload. 5. Competitive pay – Especially for recent undergraduates, the pay is competitive.
Cons
1. Work/life balance – Although I do not have many negative things to say about the company, this is a very important consideration. People, especially analysts, are expected to work long hours to complete their work (although it does fluctuate depending on the time of the year). This is due to a variety of factors: high standard of excellence, lean analyst structure, working on multiple projects simultaneously, working across different business lines, inherent nature of litigation consulting and valuation work, client-expedited deadlines, small firm trying to please clients. My advice to people considering an analyst position is to talk to the current employees to get a gauge of the work/life balance and consider whether that fits you.