Imagine if The Devil Wears Prada and Office Space had a baby
Pros
- The benefits were reasonable and the building had great facilities. Ideal place for questioning my life choices and practicing crying really quietly in a dark toilet cubicle. - On the bright side, I tried it. I now have absolute clarity that a career in publishing would shorten my lifespan by at least 10 years. - The professional growth was unique: I developed resilience, high blood pressure (it was too low before the job so I am thankful), and a detailed mental draft of a future novel that will require an extremely careful legal-read.
Cons
- The pay was… aspirational. Especially considering the workload and the extortionate location of central London. - Diversity appeared to be more of a theoretical concept. God forbid you have different needs. - A thriving culture of schmoozing. I was helpfully informed that career progression depended less on what you do and more on who do you flatter enough to remember your name. Meritocracy is alive and well! - I suspect I got particularly lucky with a micro-manager who was hoping to recruit a “mini-me” and instead got the deeply inconvenient reality of individuality. Reviews were mixed. - Training mostly consisted of an overworked colleague doing their best, visibly questioning their life choices, supported by documentation that seemed a few years out of date. - At this point, it feels only fair that I submit my therapy invoices as business expenses. Vibes were off, chat.
