Beware of DN, The Poster Child of Marketing Agency Disasters
Pros
Some good learning opportunities. Some fantastic, supportive staff who will do their best to shield you from management issues and attempt to assist in your career growth. Located close to the South Melbourne markets, which was nice, mostly because I could leave the office for an hour.
Cons
If you want to be paid under the industry standard and be constantly emotionally drained by a tyrannical manager, this is the place for you. Management is a complete and utter joke, this is a business that was started by a man who for lack of a better phrase, cannot play nicely with others. The only real time you'll be in a meeting with him is if he's having an unnecessary freakout, where you will no doubt be blamed. And, if things are going well for your team, don't expect a pat on the back, or any positive feedback really, if anything, you'll be told you should be doing more. You can never reach the bar because the bar is constantly moved, and if you're hired for one role do not be surprised if you're expected to do work outside of that description in order to keep your job. This office also shares it's space with a videographer who regularly goes on abusive rants, and management will do nothing (other than maybe go on their own abusive rant for a nice change of pace) so just get used to it, treat it like white noise. Also don't get attached to any friends you make, you'll either be berated for a "childish, incestuous relationship" or they'll leave because they'll recognise that they deserve respect and their talents can be properly utilised elsewhere. There is no real positive office culture, and on the off-chance that there is somehow a staff outing, unless it includes alcohol, the CEO won't be wasting his time with you. Generally the only time there is an agency-wide meeting, is when there's been yet another dip in morale and management is trying to damage control (this happened multiple times during my employment). If you have any health concerns, don't work here, this is a notoriously anti-covid workspace. It should be a total sign that virtually nobody leaves here on good terms. The business started in 2014 and after a period of initial growth, they seem pretty stagnant, this is kind of evident in the fact that one of their most recent Google reviews actually has no concrete professional affiliation with Digital Next, and is in fact someone that shares the office space. The final nail in the coffin, is that if they read this, the CEO won't take this as a wake up call, but instead likely have a childish tantrum, which will no doubt be public enough for other employees to know about. This is a complete and utter toxic environment, but would be perfect for you if you're really hoping to have a nervous breakdown in the next year, the management and toxic culture is burning this place to the ground.