Pros
nearly unlimited flexibility, you can work wherever you want as long as you are reliable 25 PTO days a year plus good number of public holidays and half-day fridays the only real saving grace is the people - some of the best colleagues you could ever have for the most part. unfortunately "restructuring" and attrition throughout 2023 have hollowed out or completely decimated most teams
Cons
purpose has clearly floundered since their acquisition by capgemini, when the majority of the founding leadership took their golden parachutes and fled to competitors or to start their own companies which are now competitors. since then there have been three heads of HR/dei (all WOC treated as scapegoats), two CEOs, and one (unqualified) president - none of whom have been able to right the ship. new shiny company wide strategies promised and previewed every 6 months but then are never fully developed or implemented. purpose charges corporate agency prices without any of the professionalism or polish. purpose wants the reputational prestige of a community-led grassroots ngo without any of the authenticity. then the executives scratch their heads and ponder why so many clients see purpose as too expensive or not a reliable investment purpose might have been able to recover after fumbling multiple big accounts if there was a partnerships head who did anything besides "lead generation meetings" that never turn into profitable projects. senior staff get flown around the world on the company dime, wining and dining their friends and taking selfies at high-profile conferences. everyone else gets peanuts for compensation, promotions that double your job description without a pay increase, and no attempt to build morale or even a unified culture outside of an occasional pizza party. botch a $20 million dollar project opportunity with a legacy client? here's a new title and senior role plus immunity from any professional consequences no matter how many people you yell at and bully on a weekly basis. meanwhile project teams get laid off with next to no notice and meager severance. operational teams have been cut to the bone, so good luck if something breaks. hr barely exists - nearly impossible to get anything fixed if you dont have a boss with the clout to advocate for you. despite all best intentions and the immense talent across the organization, purpose makes it exhausting and difficult for people to do their best work no matter how much they want to. want to work so hard you develop health issues due to stress, while being under appreciated and under compensated with no real guarantee that your hard work will translate into recognition or job security? want to depend on a CXO who has no real interest or motivation in improving the employee experience or even managing their own team? want to work with senior directors who don't even know how to set up a google form themselves or facilitate their own meetings or create a basic data visualization? come to purpose. dont believe the hype about commitment to DEI or progressive values - everyone involved in any internal equity work or the racial equity practice has been laid off or left. the executive team is mostly white and mostly male and behaves like it many, many amazing individuals who brought innovative thinking and real expertise for business strategy, client cultivation, or campaigning to the work have cycled through the organization - some forced out, some "restructured" out, and others who recognized the chronic dysfunction of the company and got out at the first opportunity to do so. the leftovers are clearly burnt out, "quiet quitting" while they search for a new job or in full "every person for themself" mode. morale is abysmal, office politics are toxic, and the executive's first response in every situation is radio silence or decision paralysis until the next crisis distracts everyone. i have genuine sympathy for anyone who was hired in the past 12 months because there is no way they could've known the depths of the crisis they were stepping into. the general vibe among staff who survived the last year of layoffs, buyouts, and more layoffs is that anyone left is now being punished for the crime of staying. if you do decide to take a job here despite the red flags, ask for way more money than whatever they offer you. even if you get it the amount won't be enough to make up for all the headaches but better than nothing
