Pros
Chef and barista on site - very cheap meals and coffee. Casual dress code. The people in my team. Events are always a big party. Subsidised massage, physio etc.
Cons
During the interview process when I asked for an official job description document and was told “they didn’t have one” - I should have taken this as my first red flag. I’m flicking through the team handbook….. every single person in the senior leadership team was and is male. Let this be your second red flag as was mine. Alas, after my interview I was offered the role and pushed the red flags aside for the lure of cheap chef made breakfast and lunch, and the on site barista. Within the first couple of months of my employment, 4 people (that I knew about) had been let go/ fired. Within the first 6 months of my employment that number increased to 10 (again, that I knew about). Talk about red flag. This company is extremely fast growing, and this comes at the cost of everything else. Formal process are not in place, there is no learning and development pathway/ program, don’t even think about having discussion about career progression plans (managers are stretched too thin to even have a moment to think about this.) Every little thing must be approved by the CEO. So when working at VALD, expect to have tight deadlines but wait hours even days to get something approved due to how busy the CEO is (naturally). But don’t you worry, you will cop a telling off for being so unorganised and last minute with everything. “Why cant my manager sign this small thing off?” You ask. They are not empowered to make decisions. Be ready for the non-CEO co founder to show his extreme frustration over the slightest of things. His time is more important than anyone else’s and he will be sure to let you know (as well as everyone sitting around you). Be prepared to take on many roles that don’t fall under your job title or even your specific department - fit this into your already busy workload and don’t expect any additional remuneration or time in lieu for this. The HR department is a 1 person team, made up of payroll-turned-employee success. Need I say more. You will be told and encouraged to do things just for the “optics.” Even just as little as walking through a certain door in the morning so the CEO can see you and know that you started work early. In this day and age of hybrid working, don’t expect to be allowed to WFH consistently. You will come into the office and work from here every day. “What about flexible hours?” you ask. Expect to work hard and be churned out quickly.