What is the hiring process like at Justworks?

The people - who are not in management Diversity

Management: Management does not care - if you aren’t kissing butt to move up the ladder, don’t waste your time. You will get crucified by clients and get blamed by management. They do not have your back, they do not support you. They prioritize hiring people managers rather than experts in the field and it shows. The whole upper management group is one big clique that stands around and gossips. What they do all day? Who knows because it’s definitely not hopping on calls despite employers being irate and requesting to ask to management. They will tell workers to “own” the interaction without them, negating all support and responsibility as a manager. Time off: Work life balance? Doesn’t exist. They say flexible time off but nothing about it is flexible. They will make you “make up” missed in office days. Meaning, your sick on an in office day? You have to come another day to make it up. Compensation: Nee hires making more than older more experienced reps. This is a regular occurrence. There is no bonus so there is no incentive to do good work. Information: getting information is terrible. Systems will contradict information and you will often get different answers from one agent to the other. Moving up: if you are close with upper management moving up isn’t out of the question. If you aren’t (which most aren’t) good luck.

- Office location has some nice views - People (not leadership) are some of the smartest and most amiable

I’ve been at enough startups at this point to make out the writing on the wall…when the Diet Cokes are no longer restocked in the kitchen, leadership revisits such perks such as unlimited PTO and career stipends, and there’s reorg after reorg with no apparent purpose, when the best performers are put on PIPs bc the company can no longer afford them, get out. Here are some real examples of vanity grifts that JW would rather invest in rather than building proprietary tech, listening to its customers, and reacting to competitors cropping up left and right: 1.) Lay off hundreds of employees then have literal PIGS (yes the animal) brought into the office the next day to “boost morale” 2.) Turn HANDICAP bathrooms into trans-friendly spaces (why can’t the regular bathrooms be trans-friendly?) 3.) Pay salaries for an actual Vanity DEI team tasked with making JW look like the most diverse, LGBTQ+-friendly, female empowered, KIND, company in the world. Not kidding I have witnessed the largest and loudest of them literally scream at a parking attendant when he thought no one was looking. Visit their LinkedIn page and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. 4.) Most importantly, leadership does NOT listen to its sales people, tech teams, or customers. This is evidenced by the waves of them going to competitors. 90% of problems are solved by throwing more people at the problem, only to lay them off when it inevitably doesn’t work. Prior to finally admitting and being transparent about how revenue goals have been missed for the last few quarters, the CFO actually got up on stage to admonish the employees about becoming better performers and tightening the ship. The head of product who was hired two years ago at this point spends more time and thought into his outfit for the day then trying to understand the real needs of the technology teams. He is also not above hiring one of his buddies to come do a performance about “performance” for the product team and buying hundreds of copies of his book on the company’s dime that just sit there in a pile in the office. At the end of the day, it’s hard out there and roles are hard to find. Just understand what this company is about, the decisions will frustrate you, and another layoff is not too far off into the distance.

Team was full of bright, and hard working individuals that really made the day to day palatable. Interview was pretty straight forward and clear next steps were outlined after every round.

Micromanagement- From the top down pressure was put on the middle managers from senior managers that were so far removed from the chaos and volume of inbound inquiries. Managers would be huddle in a separate part of the office fraternizing while the IC's drowned in cases. The role was not strategic at all, most days were spent putting out fires and figuring out escalated insurance, payroll and technical inquires with little support. Everything was reactive and not data driven, which was not mentioned at all during the interview process. Office is deep in the financial district, Hybrid model was inflexible. If you couldn't make it to the office on one of the two designated anchor days, you would have to "make-up" that day on another day during the week or the following week. Bogus Pay wasn't close to market rate (specifically for someone like me with 6+ years and leadership experience) Role growth was stagnant

Overall nice friendly people NYC office has great views

Had a new boss come in who kept asking me to spend the weekend alone w them away from their spouse at a secluded lake house. Reported to HR who "investigated", then offered for me to return to original position reporting to same person. I noted I feared retailation- they said they would review. Then they came back and offered me a demotion reporting to the same manager. I said I was concerned that I was being subjected to retaliation. They said they would review- then they fired me. Average pay increase don't keep up with inflation (the longer you stay your real take home pay goes down)

The office is ok, and the snacks and drinks are usually stocked.

Hard to know where to start... The company is losing money every quarter and going through constant layoffs. They laid off hundreds of employees this year just months after hiring them. The management is an absolute joke. People are hired or elevated to managerial roles who are manifestly unfit to be people managers. The problem is compounded by the fact they aren't given any training by Justworks. There's obvious nepotism, many managers are being hired by personal friends or through ethnic nepotism (sometimes both!). Low salaries. Way below industry standards. No bonuses. 401k match is only $1k per year. Total joke. Healthcare plan sucks "Unlimited" PTO, that they won't approve. Tiny quantities of stock options offered, not RSUs. Even minor benefits like getting $50 for a personal day were cut, showing just how bad the financial situation is at the company. The product has fallen way behind the rest of the industry and management has no plan to right the ship. It's a zombie company.

- Free unhealthy snacks - If you like being gaslit this is the place for you! - Customer Success' sheer ability to keep up with the CONSTANT org changes weekly to monthly. They call it "adaptability"; we call it directionless.

If you get a call from this company, pause. What appears to be a flexible, mission-driven culture quickly reveals itself to be performative, rigidly micromanaged and dismissive of work-life balance. If you express burnout, illness, or even basic fatigue? You’ll get asked "how are you?" but underneath the forced fake smile, the subconscious toxic message is “This is what you chose. Get over it.” Get sick? Expect 5 tickets dumped in your queue as punishment when you return. There is no real growth, just a corporate carousel. Employees were shuffled from Support to Account Management, then rebranded as “Customer Success Specialists,” only to be demoted back into Support under a new title. It’s not progression. It’s performative restructuring. During training, you’ll hear all about the company’s values: COGIS—Compassion, Openness, Grit, Integrity, and Simplicity. Unfortunately, senior leadership does not uphold these very values unless it’s to scold or to scapegoat you. Leadership is inconsistent at best, retaliatory at worst. They’re rarely aligned, except when it comes to “quietly” firing someone under vague excuses. And yes—they read your Slack messages. Private convos, harmless venting, inside jokes? All fair game to be weaponized. You are monitored far more than you are supported. Unless you have the rare luck of working under Lawrence, the only manager with actual integrity. If it weren’t for him constantly putting out fires across the department, the entire Success org would collapse. He deserves a raise and better colleagues. As for DEI? Pure lip service. Please take a gander at senior management and it becomes painfully clear: the majority of Black and Brown employees are concentrated in support roles, with little to no upward mobility. The optics are loud, and the silence around it is even louder. They want your excellence without giving you elevation. They want your labor, not your leadership. And when you make it undeniable that you deserve more? They shift the goalposts and call it “process.” If you speak up about inequity or mistreatment, you’ll find yourself iced out first, then let go. You’ll give your all and still be treated as disposable. Be smart. Protect your peace. Document everything. ( And CYA - always <3 )

It’s a dog eat dog world out here. As soon as I joined JustWorks, I felt a difference. The recruitment team has some of the best in the game but what drew me to the team wasn’t their drive…it was there commitment to making sure their teammates are riding right along with them in the journey to success. The company is flexible. Only two days in office. Lots of food, fun, dogs, flexible PTO, and kind folks. Great location in NYC. Great views. Nice office.

The pay is ok. Luckily there’s opportunity for raises and equity increases.

team members seemed super welcoming and personable

I was hired as a temp to perm recruiter. I let them know in my interview that I was inexperienced with sales recruiting but I wanted to learn so that's what they assigned me to. I was given 7 business days, and without being able to actually have a phone screen my contract was terminated. I showed up every day and did exactly what was asked of me. How I was not given a chance to actually do the work and prove myself is beyond me.