Ascentium

One of our recruiting coordinators said that he gets asked by analyst candidates, "What does Ascentium offer over other firms?" Here's my response:

Here at Ascentium, you make your own career.  You do what makes you happy.  At other firms, it’s an up-or-out philosophy.  Analysts are typically expected to become PMs.  Some people just like being analysts and here, you get to be whatever you want.  We don’t care if you want to be a PM.  We just care that you do what you do better than anyone else. We expect you to grow and learn and continue to build out your toolkit—whatever that means to you.

We are a company of relationships.  Our best recruits are referrals from employees.  Our best clients are referrals from other clients.  We don’t depend on knowledge management systems or resource coordinators to do our work.  We get to know our people and we find the best fit for projects based on knowing them, knowing what they can do, and knowing what they want to do.

We were finalists for Washington’s Best Workplaces (Large Companies, 2007) but none of our competitors were.

Realistically, I don’t know what we can offer much else that’s truly different than what other firms offer.  I work here because I like the people.  I work here because all the people I would want to work with are already here.  I work here because when I came in for my interview, it was like coming home.

I continue to work here because we are a company that listens to our people and our clients (Peer360, NPS).  We are a company that believes in self-organization and empowers its people to initiate change.  We are a company of brutal honesty and integrity.  We are a company of passionate people who are passionate about this company.

We can’t guarantee that kind of experience or feeling for others because we are looking for people who want to be here and can thrive in our environment; not everyone can.  It’s in the intangibles and the intangibles are difficult to not only convey but also to measure.

Intangibles are the kinds of things that you cannot appreciate without ever having experienced them.  It's like needing glasses your whole life then finally putting on a pair of glasses and saying, "I never knew it could be like this."  Well, it can.  Here.

-Ann T. Ho
Senior Business Analyst