Solid company, big bureaucracy, requires much patience
Pros
MetLife is a large organization with tons of resources and with new markets being developed regularly. There are opportunities for moving about the company if one so desires. The salespeople and account managers are very sharp. The products are well recognized in the marketplace, and the clients are generally satisfied. There is always lots of work to be done, and I can't say that I was ever bored for even a minute while working there. I had a fair amount of leeway in the assignments that I undertook, which gave me multiple chances to work on things that I found interesting. Most of my coworkers were friendly and helpful, and I made a number of good friends in my time there. I had a good run during my 10 years as a Met associate, and I learned a great deal about dealing with big organizations and a variety of different managerial personalities. I learned lots of things there that will serve me well in my next job, and the name MetLife looks pretty darn good on a resume.
Cons
Every company has its cons, with MetLife being no exception. Met is a stodgy behemoth that is slow to make decisions. Many departments and managers are married to outdated processes. Projects and even relatively mundane tasks often involve steps that are unnecessary and add no value. A "we've always done it this way" attitude is pervasive throughout the company, even amongst the rank and file associates. In many ways, Met simply can't seem to get out of its own way. Mid-level and senior managers are often not held accountable for mistakes, since a failed $300k project can easily be absorbed by a company whose annual profit measures in the billions. Those same managers then turn around and make similar blunders on other projects. The company is very siloed, and networking opportunities are few and far between. Senior management is woefully disconnected from the daily goings-on of the low level workers who shoulder the grunt work. As another commenter mentioned, there is little insight given regarding senior management's way of thinking. An inside joke is that the company's name is actually MeetLife, since getting anything done requires meeting after meeting after meeting. Salaries are at best market average; this is done intentionally. When we were acquired from a competitor, Met eliminated our transportation reimbursement, even though our office is located in a commuter town and many of the employees travel a good distance to work. The explanation given was "most places just aren't doing that any more." Complaints over the lowered pay grades of jobs that are being relocated to North Carolina were defended with explanations such as "that is the market rate for that job in the area." Evidently paying competitively for top talent has gone out of style. Met is currently undergoing a restructuring, and the transitional planning has been poor. I was already looking to move to a new job and was not surprised when my position was eliminated, but I was shocked that it was done with no transition. I ended up leaving with several supposedly important projects up in the air. Former colleagues tell me that they can't work many of the things that I used to do, and one "mission critical" project where I was serving as the project manager is completely dead because the torch wasn't passed to anyone, yet apparently senior management still expects it to be delivered (this makes no sense whatsoever). While I sympathize with the rank and file associates who are now burdened with these problems, I feel vindicated in that I repeatedly complained to senior management that the processes that I supported were never given sufficient financial or personnel backing.
