Pros
- getting let go was the ultimate blessing
Cons
what was originally sold to me as a fun, relaxed, empowering, family-like place to work quickly proved to be anything but. - should have known from day one - when i was given no specific time to come in, despite numerous emails, so i showed up at 9, and waited 20 minutes for another employee to show up and unlock the door, and another 20 for either of the owners to arrive. - based on that, and being told by the owners themselves that they have a relaxed attitude towards time, so long as all the work gets done, one would assume they were lenient about starting in the morning - but this was obviously all a lie. employees would arrive anywhere between 850-920 (except for one, who regularly arrived at 10, but was apparently "an exception"), and the owners would show up between 930-10-1030. yet, the one day that the owner arrived at 9 to physically witness 5 or so employees arriving at 910/915, it was apparently cause for a "serious discussion" about how "everyone was disrespecting their trust" and "maybe they should implement a clocking-in system" (which actually might have been for the best, to record the extensive illegal overworking of their employees), which ended in one of the owners crying in front of all the employees and walking out. the whole day was incredibly unprofessional - but not the first, and most certainly not the last. - including being overworked (think 50-70 hour workweeks, regularly, for a few select employees), there was rampant favoritism. despite multiple complaints, from multiple employees (think, at least 6/15 at the time), about how terrible one coworker treated everyone else, and in addition to her constantly speaking rudely and disrespectfully straight to the owners - because this employee was so loved and favored by the owners, no action was ever taken. - no HR. if you have a problem with anything, you can either A. speak to the male owner who will deny it all and turn the problem around to be about you and your incompetency or B. keep your mouth shut and suffer in silence. - they pay for followers and likes. don't be fooled by their social media or anyone who endorses/collaborates with them. - the quality is horrendous. they pretend to have employees "quality test" items, then ignore all feedback and put out the cheapest versions. if you want to pay $30 for a necklace that will turn your skin green and then change color after wearing for a week, then their jewelry is for you. - they often steal ideas, images, designs, etc. do not expect to do original work here. they have had multiple lawsuits threatened/filed due to this - and never take any responsibility. - do not expect your job to be whatever the title/posting/interview described. they utilize their people as tools for their own personal profit, and will pile on as many responsibilities onto a single employee as necessary, without compensation, or even discussing it with said employee. at one specific point during my time, they had let two employees go, and never hired new ones to replace - instead, they simply added on their responsibilities and tasks to the third employee that was still remaining, despite her already doing a multitude of tasks outside of her original job description. - HIGH. TURNOVER. if you are not the robot they expect of you, they will let you go in a heartbeat. - then, they will talk crap about you in front of & to remaining employees (even if they know you were friends with them). - do not expect vacation time. they will say they're lenient during the interview, but this is a total lie. you barely get holidays (read: Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. that's all). then, they'll say you get 6 days of PTO, but then also try and count holidays as using those - despite the fact that the office building is closed and you could not even choose to work those days if you wanted to. - constant spying, monitoring, etc. i cannot count how many times one or both of the owners stood behind me and instructed me on how to do my job step by step. it quickly became clear that they did not want me for my brains and creativity, or the skills and education and experience i'd spent years acquiring - they merely wanted me as a tool to execute their exact ideas. when i would occasionally stand by my work and ideas, choosing to have creative integrity, things were changed (and POORLY so) behind my back between hand off and posting, rather than discussing with me professionally and reaching a reasonable and high quality solution. - they will not hesitate to let you go for any reason, legitimate or not. the reason i was given for being let go, was something that had never been brought up or requested of me - in fact, i possessed the skills and techniques they said they were looking for in a new employee to replace me, which is how i knew their "reason" was just an unsubstantiated excuse. - not to mention the somewhat less than ethical situations surrounding my lay off - such as, being hassled during my "vacation" that i had made them aware of immediately when i was hired, them interviewing for my position while i was away on said vacation, and then hassling me the day of my return despite already being told i could take the time off, only to be then let go at the end of an extended work day. - do not expect to have a different experience. do not believe their romanticization of the company or job position. there are countless people who have had the same terrible experience, but are too scared of being bullied or hassled to come forward.