OBT reviews

Culture is toxic. Particularly at the Bushwick location. Senior Management is clueless about operations and workforce development. Their background is in education and social work, which, while necessary, leave a significant gap when it comes to the actual core of their mission. There is also zero accountability. Staff is pigeon-holed into roles they are utterly unsuited for, and it shows. The curriculum is non-competitive in the marketplace. OBT offers a Microsoft Office certification, "Medical Administrative Assistant Certification" program that is taught by an instructor with no medical background whatsoever. Their curriculum doesn't give participants marketable career skills, they acknowledge this internally, yet do nothing to change it. Focus is entirely on DYCD "outcomes" as it is the only source of funding for the organization. Management culture is the most authoritarian I've ever seen in my career in for-profit work, which was extremely surprising for a non-profit organization. Policies are outdated and made under the auspices of preparing participants for a workplace that hasn't existed for over a decade. Dress code of full business attire is required for students and employees alike, and on one day a week, they even enforce the color of your shirt. (Only white, collared shirts allowed.) Ultimately my hiring process was a disjointed and unprofessional mess from the beginning, and that was the first sign of the absolute disaster of an organization OBT. I interviewed for a more senior position that was more in line with my skills and background. I was given a vague assessment assignment as part of my interview process where after several interviews I was to "outline a technology partnerships strategy for Brooklyn" that bordered on free consulting, and after its completion, I was thanked for my work and told I would not be moving forward. Several months later, I was re-approached and asked to return to their process as a candidate for that role and have a final panel interview. I agreed and afterward was offered another lower position that reported to the role that I had applied for and interviewed for. Ultimately, I chose to accept it, because I really was interested in pivoting toward social impact and was aware that a career pivot into a new sector would likely require some flexibility on my part and even a step backward as I learned a new sector and culture. However, the process has been truly absurd and I should be prepared for an organization that was a bit of a mess. I did, however, have the expectation that given this, I would be supported and trained to be successful in this new endeavor. Suffice to say, that expectation turned out to be unrealistic. Support was non-existent, and I was terminated for "not meeting performance expectations" within 6 months of accepting the position. The lack of professionalism and support here are inexcusable given OBT's raison d'être. Their problems certainly exist prior to Liliana's tenure as CEO, but she has done little to accomplish significant change, and there hasn't been enough done to even recognize what the true obstacles to success actually are at the organization. In certain other ways, she has contributed to them. If you have