| Topic Name: |
If you're considering a WDR offer... |
| Message Name: |
consider this |
| Date Posted: |
02/23/2000 |
| Message: |
Well, OK, I'm feeling a little disgruntled right now. We were notified of bonuses yesterday, and I got 1/4 of consensus expectation for the MBA class of '98 (justified, apparently, by management's circumvention of the standard review process). Another classmate got 3/4, another still 1/2 and (oddly enough) a promotion (though without a raise). Insulting bonus figures seem to be the norm for WDR junior professionals this year. In the most profitable year of Wall Street's history, this says something alarming about the firm's ability to compete successfully.
So I'm leaving for a Wall Street bulge bracket player, and want to warn others away from a similar fate that may await them at WDR. I had a tough time of it interviewing for my post-graduation job, and decided to take UBS, my only firm offer on Wall Street. My guess is if you're considering signing on you are pretty hard put too. My advice is not to take the convenient option of simply signing on. What awaits you?
- For some, an extremely inconvenient, expensive commute to Stamford if you want to live in the city
- As mentioned, pay that lags Street standards by an embarrassing margin once your contract runs out
- Quality of colleagues and standards of professionalism that reflect the pay differential
- A culture of stiff bureaucracy and pervasive disrespect
- A firm still struggling to gain its footing in the US that is a repeated subject of takeover rumors
Fortunately, WDR is large and prominent enough that I am still marketable, but that may change in the future as its reputation as a haven for the dregs expands. Obviously, reputation is not high on WDR management's list of concerns.
Maybe you think I am a crackpot, though it is interesting to note that I am a "crackpot" bringing - at this count - four resumes with me with requests to shop them around my new firm. If you are planning to go to WDR, do you really want to take the risk that my story could be yours in a year?
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