Pros
I met some amazing people and received valuable career advice at the time. There are people who want to do great work, but unfortunately do not get the recognition they deserve.
Kontras
As a former employee, it has been extremely sad to see how the organization has conducted itself during the pandemic (which just further underlines their favoritism, tokenism, and overall poor management practices). All Stars is an organization that preys on people who want to do good and exploits people's trauma for their own personal gain. I believed in the mission and truly enjoyed working at a grassroots level with communities, but this passion was taken advantage of in this cult-like "working in the trenches" environment. I was constantly expected to work far beyond my job description, had no work-life balance, and was gaslit and penalized any time that I raised my concerns or advocated to be paid fairly for my work. Because this was one of my first "professional" jobs, I was made to feel inferior and bullied by HR into respecting management that didn't respect me. Because I worked long hours and was paid so poorly, I couldn't afford to quit without another job lined up but also had no time to apply and interview elsewhere. I felt truly trapped and don't wish this feeling upon anyone, especially so early in their career! In the end, I am so grateful that I was laid off during the pandemic, because I was afforded the time to step back, regain my self-worth, and pursue a personally and financially satisfying career. As more time passes since I left All Stars, I can't believe that I put up with such a toxic work environment and am disgusted by the ways they are trying to capitalize on the world's long-overdue social justice reckoning with their out-of-touch messaging. Miss me with that 🙅♀️