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Ziff Media Group

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Going Downhill Fast - Avoid At All Costs - Senior SEO Manager Ziff Media Group Employee Review

1.0
25 Apr 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Smart, Talented Colleagues You Can Learn From - ...But most are headed for the door. Ziff used to be a great place to grow your career and learn a lot in a short period of time, but all the real talent is being replaced with incompetent know-nothings/middle managers with no experience in the actual channels they're managing, so this only barely holds true today. - Decent (Non-Compensation-Related) Benefits - Unlimited PTO, Excellent Parental Leave. - Diverse and Inclusive Work Force - The company has done a (mostly) good job of ensuring the diversity and inclusiveness of the labor force, though a non-zero number of the diversity hires are simply a friend of someone in leadership, and may not necessarily bring any additional value to the org.

Cons

- Pursuing Asinine Strategies For Short-Term Gain - If you're cool with executing on strategies meant to impress stakeholders, but don't actually move you forward to accomplishing your goals, you'll love this company. Everything is meant to drive revenue (not profit, revenue) because "we need to show growth". As a result, you'll be forced to pursue strategies that make no sense, and/or are detrimental to the portfolio long-term. - A New "Fire Drill" Every Week - Don't expect to make much progress on tactics that will actually move the needle. Instead, you'll be dealing with Executive Panic every few days and will have to waste your time analyzing non-problems and doing highly-visible but ineffective busy work at the request of the Leadership team. - Held To Unrealistic "Forecasts" for Traffic & Revenue - The forecasting team somehow fails (two years in a row) to factor in macro factors such as how the pandemic might effect traffic. The forecasts have already been communicated to shareholders, though, so forget the idea of simply adjusting the forecast. Instead, YOU will be expected to make up the difference, even if it's literally impossible. - Managers That Don't Listen - It doesn't matter how much experience you have, the Leadership Team is CERTAIN they know better than you. Your job is simply to do what they say. In the inevitable event things go wrong though, it's definitely your fault. - Leadership Thinks You're Replaceable - Basically leadership is convinced that their employees are totally replaceable. It doesn't matter what you bring to the table, the cost savings of not paying your salary are more than enough of a net-gain to them if you leave. Everyone else will just have to pick up the slack. - HORRIBLE Work/Life Balance - 50 hours/week is the unspoken minimum. If you complain or suggest that you're working too many hours, be prepared to receive a condescending speech about how you should manage your time better. - Underpays Their Employees - My compensation went up 30% when I left the company. Current employees would be wise to interview elsewhere periodically and make sure they're getting what they're worth.

Explore other reviews about Ziff Media Group

5.0
31 Oct 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefits and teamwork. No micromanagement.

Cons

The teams are typically so spread out that there is no way to form any bonds with anybody.

2.0
29 July 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Salary is decent, most of the company keeps regular hours except for once or twice per quarter. As long as you're not Senior Management and up, you're not constantly overworked.

Cons

Poor communication of ongoing business goals or temperature check on how certain areas of the business contribute. Rounds of layoffs that happen through the years don't seem to be aligned with what they communicate as priorities. Revolving door of executive leadership for years. Poorly defined vision, highly reactive management culture. The kind of job where most people you talk to is having "one of those weeks" nearly every week, even during the "it's better than it used to be" seasons. Many department managers are indifferent or unable to create better working conditions for their teams. It may have been the roles I occupied, but several times in my tenure, months of cross-functional work was thrown out due to indecision and egos. There are politics and frustrating project outcomes at every organization, but the ineffectiveness of leadership here was some of the worst I have seen in my career.

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