Bottom line up front: Wavestone rescinded several offers after delaying start dates over six months. We received no severance and were only paid half of signing bonuses plus a relocation bonus.
I received and accepted a job offer with Wavestone in December 2022 during the final year of my MBA program. Per Wavestone's requirement, I relocated with my family to the city in which I would be based after graduation. My original start date with the firm was July 10, 2023. Less than a month before that start date, after relocating, Wavestone delayed my start date to October 2023, then delayed it again to "approximately February 2024." During the waiting period, the other members of my cohort and I met virtually once a month with Wavestone HR leadership and the Wavestone U.S. Director. We were assured each time that onboarding us was their top priority, and that our offers would not be rescinded. While the leadership said they could not commit to firm start dates for us, their overall tone was positive regarding the company’s outlook, sales funnel, and prospects of us joining the team. Also during this time, in a effort to keep us engaged, the HR leaders promised us training materials to help us prepare for upcoming start dates. These “resources” comprised nothing more than a few powerpoint slides that included a recommended reading list that we had already received.
On the evening of December 18, 2023, the night before our scheduled December touchpoint with Wavestone leadership, the U.S. director sent us an email stating that our offers were rescinded.
Throughout the several months between my original start date and 12/18/2023, the Wavestone leadership constantly mentioned how the challenging market was also affecting their clients and competitors. And this is true, many of my peers from business school faced similar situations: late start dates, delayed start dates, even rescinded offers. However, Wavestone holds no ground in comparing itself to those firms. I do not know of another firm that delayed start dates, twice, then rescinded offers, while not even paying the entirety of the signing bonus. Every other firm that I am aware of paid its recent graduates some combination of full signing bonus, severance, and/or monthly stipend to its future employees as they awaited their onboarding. All we received was half our signing bonus and relocation bonus. The HR exec, who was generally cold and unhelpful, throughout the entire process, was kind enough to remind us though that Wavestone held no legal obligation to pay us the relocation bonus. Thanks! I’ll continue to be encouraged by this kindness while I figure out how to feed my family and keep a roof over our heads in the new city you made me move to. Wavestone’s refusal to compensate us properly for the financial hardships and emotional stress they made us endure can only be a result of two things: 1: They are simply cold, heartless people who truly do not care for those who were committed to working for them. or 2: They are so incompetent they could not financially afford it. Either reason is simply unacceptable.
One thing the Wavestone leadership told us during our final meeting, probably just to make themselves feel better, was that they “supported” and “encouraged” us to pursue other opportunities while we waited for our start dates. This is true. They did say that. However, if we did find another full-time job, we had one of two options: quit that job and likely burn bridges to join Wavestone when our start dates finally came around, or pay back the $15k Wavestone paid us as an advancement of our signing bonus.
In summary, my fellow cohort members and I honored the employment contracts we signed by ending our post-MBA job recruitment. I personally declined three other job offers and one interview after accepting my Wavestone offer. This resulted in a huge opportunity cost for me as I spent the last six months of my MBA studies not taking advantage of our career services and job portal. Wavestone did not hold anywhere near the same level of commitment to my cohort-mates and me, and have taken no responsibility or accountability for the extremely difficult situation they have put us in. I truly hope they are not permitted to step foot on my universities campus again to recruit our hardworking students who deserve better. Avoid working for this company at all costs
