Top Company to work for! - Executive Assistant Up Group (UK) Employee Review

Great reputation, excellent clients and exciting work. Very good at what they do. People can learn a lot on how to deliver a good search here. Smart people throughout. High base salaries and good benefits. Fast-paced and high expectations. Great platform - alumni have gone on to join Big Tech, investment funds, etc.

Bad behaviour from (some) senior people tolerated - talking down to juniors, etc. Bordering on bullying at times. Lots of type-A personalities - must follow the company process/way of doing things or there is no room for you. CEO very sharp but micromanages. People either stay for many years or leave within one year - very divisive culturally (basically depends on whether you get put under a good or bad director). Good salaries and benefits, but poor bonuses.

-- Up's clients and the searches the company works on are as high profile as they come - in my first year I've handled over ten CxO searches for companies owned by some of the world's most famous private equity funds, alongside unicorns backed by the leading venture capitalists. Searches have spanned geographies as wide ranging as Australia, France, Germany and the UK. Sectors have ranged from education and health technology through to marketplaces and e-commerce. -- Exceptional commitment to excellence, driving you to be your best. Incredibly frequent and in depth contact with clients allowing for real deep search strategies and candidate assessments. Great support and trust from directors to push you to own more and more. -- Great camaraderie in the company, celebrations of success, clear signs work is appreciated by senior management and colleagues care for one another, as strong as a company culture can be.

-- The intensity will not be for everyone. Some weeks more than 40 hours are certainly required to keep above board. At the same time, directors trust you especially post-Covid to work the hours you need to stay healthy and manage your own time. You feel safe to take breaks when you need it, and draw a line on clocking off at certain times on certain days. You're never asked or expected to exhaust yourself even if sometimes you feel the need to. -- Some directors are better than others at finding the time to mentor. Some need more 'managing up' and associates need the 'courage to challenge' - a core company value. How much previous experience you bring to the company - and your self-assurance and personality here - could influence how set up for success you are.