Blue Ridge Partners

"Be cautious and go into this company with eyes wide open. A lot of the work is extremely interesting, and the shorter nature of most engagements means you'll get a lot of experience, fast! Most of your coworkers will also be very friendly and collaborative. I have generally had a very positive experience in that sense, and I have grown substantially as a consultant. It is particularly notable that a small firm like Blue Ridge would have such a strong training and performance management program - we have an abundance of online and in-person courses, and most are top-notch. However, it's probably not a coincidence that our leadership team (managing directors and principals) is very white and male, with only 1 female. Working from home can offer great flexibility that would appeal to women in theory, but perhaps because we play in the PE space, the work, hours, and travel are much less predictable than they might be at a bigger consulting firm. Keep in mind that most of the senior men have stay-at-home spouses, which may explain why they don't seem to make an effort to make projects more predictable. I don't know that there's discrimination per se (women are supported and do get promoted at similar rates to men), but I also don't think there's any particular sense of urgency to increase diversity. The topic of maternity leave comes up over and over, and the partners seem to brush it aside. As of now, there is no company-paid leave, which is disappointing and also makes our company very uncompetitive benefits-wise in the world of consulting. And if you decide to get out and join a bigger consulting firm with better benefits? Prepare for an uphill battle. We have a very vague non-compete agreement, which - despite its in enforceability in virtually any jurisdiction - the powers that be may use to intimidate you into staying and/or not taking a new role. Don't take the bait - hire a lawyer to draft a release agreement and move on gracefully. It'll be money well spent. "