Pros
The list of pros is, in my opinion, extensive. First, as an entry-level associate, you will learn a variety of critical skill sets immediately. These include: research, professional communications – you will speak with senior level business executives multiple times each day, negotiations, project management, client relationship management, and coaching and training of new employees. At the manager level, one can add to this list a set of leadership and managerial responsibilities that are not available elsewhere to early-stage professionals. Writing reviews, leading a team, developing new business, and influencing business unit wide decisions could all fall within your purview (depending on performance). There are currently a number of 2012 and 2013 graduates who manage teams of 3-8 associates, control multi-million dollar books of business, and enjoy broad-reaching autonomy. Perhaps the biggest benefit to beginning a career at AlphaSights however, is one that is not always front-of-mind. That is the knowledge and experience gained from contributing to a company that is still in a high-growth, rapidly changing phase of its development. Some previous glassdoor reviewers seem to view this same issue as AlphaSights biggest downside, so let me explain my point in more detail. AlphaSights is growing rapidly, and there is no roadmap to follow. So while your daily responsibilities will always be clear, the strategic backdrop against which you perform them may shift into and out of focus at times. If ambiguity makes you uncomfortable (there are few standard operating procedures), and you need to be told how to conduct yourself professionally (there are fewer rules), this is not the place for you. However, there are plenty of established guidelines, and if you’re the type of person who knows how to take these and run in the right direction, you will flourish and make a distinct impact on your team and your business segment. For my money, the opportunities this environment provides far outweigh available to recent college grads in consulting, financial services, or sales.
Cons
I am admittedly biased here because I loved my job at AlphaSights. However, the biggest con, for me, was the lack of perspective among junior employees. Almost everyone is hired directly out of college, and their lack of life and work experience creates interesting hurdles for a management team that is attempting to create a fun work environment that is also profitable. This same perspective issue creates confusion in the cons section here on glassdoor. For example, many reviewers have listed “long hours” as a con. Long compared to what? The average AlphaSights day is 8am-7pm. Once or twice a week you will work 8am-8pm. Eleven or twelve hour days are not short, but if you can’t manage your work-life balance on that schedule in New York City then I recommend a period of deep introspection and self-examination – for it is possible the problem lies within. Similarly, other reviewers have mentioned a perceived “lack of transparency” as a con. The managing director of AlphaSights new york office held several months of weekly open office hours, and conducted bi-weekly townhall Q&A’s…and no one showed up. Perhaps to junior employees could attend because they were busy posting their issues to glassdoor instead of talking to their manager about them at that time? The actual issue seems to be a lack of questions not a lack of transparency. Having worked several other places, I would argue that AlphaSights is actually among the more transparent companies out there. Now that I’ve gotten that out, I will say that the company is not perfect. Like any organism, a company growing as fast as AlphaSights experiences growing pains. For example, forecasting workflow levels more than a few weeks out is best done with a diving rod and incantations and creates a variety of issues for teams. But this is not so much a con as one of the many challenges that comes with the adventure of working at a fast growth company.
