Pros
It was my first full time job, they were very understanding about things I did or did not know. They helped me out the best they could, and I appreciated all they could help me with. I could have free drinks or snacks.
Cons
I didn't have an in person manager until almost my one year mark in the job. I was the only staff on my floor who could help out with anything anyone couldve needed. I was not technically apart of the firm I worked for, and I felt very disrespected and unwanted. I was never informed of firm events until the very last second, and I had to set them all up myself. It got to the point where half the lawyers were weirded out that i was never invited or officially involved, as I did almost everything there from the mail to doing the dishes daily. For about five months out of the year and almost a half I was working there, there was a specific mail room operator who took hold of his specific tasks that I was doing before he arrived. He was fired, and all of his responsibilities were once more laid upon me, so I was essentially doing two full time jobs at once. No extra pay, no extra reward for doing it all, I was only told that "I'm awesome" for....being myself, and doing what I had to do! They never bothered to rehire anyone for that role again. Before the in person manager came, I had two managers (see: because I was not officially involved with the firm company) and they were both remote and across the country from where I was. The office manager, once again, wasn't even technically my manager, but she sure treated me like I was her staff. Only until she had an issues with me, then she wouldnt ever tell me what i've done wrong, instead she would communicate with my real manager who would then get back to me 2-how ever many business days later, could be weeks later, about my mistakes. It was all very infuriating, and the cherry on top: I was laid off. They told me my role was going to be dissolved, and that a receptionist was no longer needed. They laid me off in the middle of a work week, and it was 100 percent out of the blue. I have never been fired before, and I have been working since I was fifteen years old, doing all sorts of things. This really was so depressing, and I hope that they understood how valuable I was, and what kind of person they lost. I would do the dishes every single day, personal dishes that attorneys brought in. We would have a weekly lunch, and I was never invited to them, but I would have to prep the meals, clean up the conference rooms and everyone's messes that they would leave at the table. There was another company that was being housed on our floor, they were like an adjacent or sister company to the law firm, and i would take care of all of their reception duties (answering phone calls that were meant for them, setting up their appointments, setting up their meetings, etc). Overall I felt very patronized when I was slow to understand something, the old office manager was a mean old lady. They tried their best but their best was NOT good enough.
