Great People, Good Mission, Terrible CEO - Anonymous employee IAVA Employee Review

1.0
27 May 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Some of the best people you'll ever meet. If you're a civilian you'll love being close with top notch, caring vets. If you're a vet you get some of that camaraderie back. Amazing advocacy work. Smart staff with very big hearts.

Cons

CEO is a terrible manager. He has a stranglehold on pretty much everything. He's a savvy speaker and fools people into thinking he knows what he's talking about when most of the time he doesn't. He spends money like there is no tomorrow even when the org can barely make payroll. So many politicians and business people despise him and won't work with the organization. No real board involvement. The bloom will come off the rose pretty quickly and you'll realize that complaining about your job and drinking heavily with your colleagues is your only comfort. Pay close attention to the negative reviews because they paint the true picture. The positive reviews on here are planted by the CEO and the very few people that still like him.

Explore other reviews about IAVA

5.0
17 Jul 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Amazing people and incredible mission!

Cons

It's a small staff and there aren't job openings very often.

5.0
5 May 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

IAVA is not only a cutting edge veterans organization, it is a cutting edge nonprofit. They play at the edges of what's possible (and sometimes what's popular) because the collective sense of urgency couldn't be greater. They impact the lives of America's newest veterans on the individual level, through their direct support services, and also the entire population of veterans, through their advocacy in Washington. That makes it an exciting, fulfilling, and fun place to work. Some of my proudest work has been at IAVA, fighting the good fight, because I can point to the veterans whose lives we profoundly changed for the better. When others said "slow down, be cautious," we went faster and got it done (most of the time). And some of my closest friendships were built in the IAVA offices - they hire great people to do hard, but worthwhile things. Those bonds were forged in the work and nurtured over a beer or three and the occasional Nerf Gun Battle.

Cons

IAVA plays a watch-dog role and ALWAYS speaks truth to power, if you need to be always liked that can be hard. Also, it's fast paced and everyone is expected to execute at the highest level. That can be stressful if you're not executing at that level.

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