I have a signed agreement with a new employer and start date set. After signing they sent me a packet to begin a background check including asking if they can contact my current employer and for references. Is it weird they are asking for references after signing me to the job? I also would prefer they didn’t contact my current employer as I have been on pto for the week and have not had a chance to give my 2 weeks yet. Am I just being paranoid or would any of this make you nervous?

I’m planning to have ~30k left after maxing out my 401k and IRA to invest. However, I’m not sure whether to save it up for an Airbnb down payment (10% vacation home down payment) or just put it to vtsax. Any advice?

🎄How do you plan to recharge over the holiday? Are you taking time off? Do you plan to reset or rest at all before the New Year?

Drop your plans or ideas below! 👇

If I take a week long vacation and sneak a sick day or two into the vacation, will I get in trouble?

What consulting firms have the best WLB? How many hours per week do you work? Are weekends safe? Is vacation safe?

Interviewing for another job. How do I finagle getting the time off with out looking suspicious in my current job? I hate lying and there are only so many “last minute appointments” one would have.

A client contact has sent me a few texts, some trying to get me to come to events and a happy holiday text (sent at 2am). I haven't responded. Do I just hope he stops or do I say something?

With my offer letter can I negotiate benefits? I am hoping to increase my PTO as I have been saving PTO from my last job to use to visit my family in Europe. Also, I see that the 401k math is very low and wonder if that is negotiable. I have no signing bonus either and was wondering if that should be on the table.

What’s been your most impressive/successful salary negotiation when you’ve received an offer? Did you manage to get way more PTO or other perks?

What’s the workplace culture like for Black creatives at Hill Holiday Boston??

Ladies, I’m in need of some fashion advice. My firm is not having a holiday party this year but my practice group is going out to a nice restaurant to have our own holiday celebration. It is a weeknight. What would you wear? Dress as if you were coming from the office?

I’m a new associate to a T&E group, partner goes away on vacation and leaves me with a 706 to review and sign. The family is very wealthy. Decedent married for 60 years. Partner says it’s “just a DSUE election, decedent was ill for years, no assets.” Provides no records. Not even an admission the decedent owned a toothbrush. So I looked up the decedent’s home - it’s a joint asset. Partner was “surprised”, and still insists “no other assets”. I found file references to art and antiques.

Evaluating D consulting offer for an M.
1. Does vacation ding your utilization? What are the utilization targets for M?
2. WLB: what are the avg. work hours in D? How does it compare with MBB?
3. Culture: How would you describe the work culture at D? Has it improved over the past year?

Hi, anyone who works at PwC knows if you are allowed to extend your maternity leave and go negative on your vacation?

I have 200k SPG points to blow and the entire month of December for PTO. I'd like to hit a few continents - how can I max the redemption for flights/hotels? SPG - Platinum/AA -Gold/United - Silver

How does one resign? My office has announced RTO June 1st 3days a week. Last week I was hating the job and was looking for a sign to move on.. this is it.

I am going on vacation June 15-30th. If possible I’d still like to get my PTO days in. Do I give my two weeks the day I come back? Should I talk to my manager now and let them know I’m wavering so they have time to react? I have specific duties that will need to be reassigned.

I want the best for me but don’t know what is best for team

Hey 🏳️‍🌈 fish! Husband and I are both consultants and are in desperate need of a vacation (last trip was our honeymoon almost 2 years ago). We’d love to do something queer - any suggestions/ advice?

I already accepted an offer, but the start date is still “TBD” but it’s expected I’ll start some time in July after my pre-planned vacation. Is it too much to ask to start two weeks after that? I would have loved to have taken the entire month or summer, but I feel bad if they have an expectation I’ll start in July.

My husband and I are both freelance in production. We took a lot of time off after our baby was born and now need to get back to work and find childcare. Unpredictable sched/long days, what do we do?

Can someone please guide me on things to know beforehand to better plan my onboarding at Deloitte? E.g. stuff about phone expense, good to know things etc. which you wish you would have known before. Is the week of July 4 a firm shutdown week or is it just the July 4 holiday ? I will likely be joining D sometime next month and would appreciate any pointers you all can provide.

Has anyone had an interview where you couldn't understand the interviewer because of a language barrier?

How is the work culture of ITTS-ITQS team at EY GDS?

For recruiting coordinators, what OKRs do you have other than scheduling metrics?

I really want to be an extrovert. I love partying and love to be the center of attention (when it's good), but I just succumb to awkwardness and speechlessness when I am put in such a situation. Contd

Looking to understand how social media managers visualise and report on data across multiple social channels. Do you use in app dashboards and screen shot them to get them into a report? How do you get an overall picture of how socials are performing?

Looking for authentic assessment ideas for strictly online learning to avoid googling answers and plagiarism.

Hello. Will be switching to STEM OPT soon. Got a project opportunity where I will be replacing another resource at client site. I will be the only one on this work stream and directly reporting

How bad of an idea is it to install steam on a work laptop?

Hi. What's the scoop on jack Morton in SF? Thoughts/opinions/musings/anything good to know? May or may not be interviewing there for a junior pm position.

Anyone started working after a long break? I am goin back after a long break. I took about 2 years off with my second baby and am going back as contractor. Any tips on how everyone is managing covid/wfh and kids? I am planning to hire a part time nanny for the new one and the 4 year old goes to school.

Hi All,

I’m new to this bowl. My experience is in accounting but I’m looking to transition to defense sector consulting. My undergrad degree is in criminal justice and then went the business route for grad. I’m looking to get back to my roots. Does anyone here have experience in weighing Georgetown’s SSP program (or similar) versus an MBA?

TIA!

Share some words non-designers use when they don’t actually have a clue what they’re talking about. I’ll go first: high-res

What’s comp like at credit funds? Base / bonus / carry? % comparison to PE?

Can anyone please advise on kind of questions asked for Amazon Program Manager II interview.

When quitting, do you tell your Partner where your next role is? Why or why not?

What careers have you transitioned into from sales?

Has anyone specifically transitioned from a Mortgage Loan Officer into something more fruitful and stable?

Accounting Manager roles, Strategist, etc.?

Hey CDs, do you find it stressful to have creative teams that just don’t bring it. I have a couple that consistently table interesting and well crafted ideas and a couple that don’t and I feel I need to take up the slack. Management don’t want to let them go because of the current tightening of the labor market. I feel like these teams have me over a barrel and there’s very little I can do about it.

Should agencies be Constitutional Democracies? Curious about arguments against.

Idk if this was posted recently but thoughts on publicis NY?? Yay/nay?

I work brand side. Literally just saw my CMO and founder chew out our creative agency after a presentation. I have never seen someone talk down to someone else like that in a professional environment before; legitimately felt sick to my stomach afterwards. Marketing Director and I are both ex agency and had no words after watching that unfold. Sent an email immediately to our suit there to apologise and check in after.

Please tell me your worst client experience. I need to commiserate. :(

How many billable hours should I be hitting to stay “safe” as senior creative/ACD? For context, I work at a well-known holding company agency.

Any thoughts on the black sheep agency?

Any advice for finding a remote job in the US (while living in Canada)? I’m dual so I don’t need to be sponsored but having trouble breaking in when I don’t know anyone

Interested in making the switch from ad agency to marketing consultancy space in the next few years. What skills and experiences should I invest in to make that jump possible?

Looking for a new agency and not willing to drink any more kool-aid. Any suggestions?

How long can I ask to wait on an offer? I’m still only on the 1st round interview for another company 😬

I’ve been laid off and, as I embark on my job search, I’d like to keep my marketing skills sharp. Any recommendations on must read books, or resources?

What are your best expense report tricks?

Has anyone here ever worked/considered working in “brand management” at a CPG giant like P&G, General Mills, etc? I just looked up salaries...it’s like $180k for roles with 4-5yrs experience, and those offices are all in the Midwest. You could buy a mansion in Cincinnati with that kind of money! Or more preferably, save 80% of your earnings while working for a few years and then buy somewhere you’d actually want to live. Plus it’s client-side, and something tells me the hours would be super easy

That Miller Lite’s Cantenna work seems fun. DDB Chicago made it or DDB NY?

What has the MeToo movement made you realize about our industry? Include your gender with your response

Any thoughts on Skona in SF?

Is it better to build a comms strategy that feeds into the creative development, or feeds off it? Ie should it precede or succeed creative ideation?