Pluspunten
Coworkers were great. Good work-life balance.
Minpunten
- This is the worst job I’ve ever had. So much of this job has been marked by shame — I constantly felt ashamed of my inability to support clients in meaningful ways, conduct research with the intellectual rigor that I felt that it deserved, or meaningfully address injustice while at work (particularly once the COVID-19 crisis began.) - Calling the leadership incompetent frankly feels generous: when concerns were raised, they were brushed off and complainants were retaliated against in small but insidious ways. - Family and friends encouraged me to quit early because they saw a marked difference in my emotional well-being during this fellowship Some FAQs, answered: “What is it like working for the Work First Foundation?” I don’t know! When I signed on to the fellowship I thought I was hired by the Work First Foundation — I was wrong. On the first day of the fellowship, I was asked to fill out an America Works application (as one of the many documents I filled out while onboarding) with no explanation. Work First Fellows are employed by America Works. They spend a full year working as trainers or case managers (inexplicably called “Career Advisors” or “Career Architects”), though they’re compensated less than the trainers and case managers who are employed directly by America Works. I still don’t know what the Work First Foundation really does. “What is the research program like?” The research project received about the same amount of effort as I put into my least favorite final papers in college. I was able to carve out about one hour every couple of weeks on the “research” for 10 months of the fellowship. Once COVID began, the plan was to have a remote symposium, an hour-long zoom meeting where fellows had less than five minutes to discuss their research, in early June. This came and went, and it became clear that it was cancelled (though this was never explicitly communicated.) Instead, we were told to turn whatever research presentation we had prepared into something for a Work First Foundation promotional video. I was repeatedly asked to “manage my expectations” when I asked for a rigorous research program, any mentorship or oversight (seriously, there’s no accountability — I could have ignored my research project for the full year and then written a paper the night before it was due, and nobody would have known), tools or training in data analysis, database/library resources, or thoughtful feedback of any kind. “But at least there’s networking and professional development, right?” I wish. There’s a piece on the WFF website that discusses mentorship and networking opportunities for fellows. Let me be clear that the only mentorship I received was from the coworkers I saw daily, who stepped up when they saw the fellowship disintegrate (by the end, a third of us had quit. More than half of the NYC fellows quit. This is a year-long program with a clear end date and a bonus if you can make it to the end — is nobody troubled by this?) There were a few hour-long meetings and a couple of external events, but that's all. “That’s ok — I just want to help people. Can I do that with this job?” Maybe? I was once told that it was “cute” that I wanted the people I serve to feel empowered to name systemic injustice. If your idea of helping people is placing them into inflexible, low-paid, and dangerous jobs, often without benefits, though, maybe this counts. After the COVID-19 crisis began, I was told to avoid bringing up social distancing, hand-washing, or anything that might discourage clients from taking jobs at places like Amazon. I saw staff members at America Works mock clients and ignore clients’ complaints and boundaries. “Wait, then what’s up with all of these positive reviews?” Good question! I’ve heard rumors (though cannot confirm) that CURRENT employees of America Works and the Work First Foundation are ~strongly encouraged~ to write positive Glassdoor reviews. If I had known that when I was considering this job, I would have taken a look at whether reviewers are current or former employees. There’s something fishy about the fact that current AW employees have no issues working there, but reviews from former employees are overwhelmingly negative.