Pros
Since most of these reviews are dated, I'll give my most unbiased and honest review after almost 3 years with the agency. Firehouse was not a bad agency a few years ago, under the old CEOs rule. He was a good leader and very smart about the business. As soon as he left in 2015, things went downhill and have continued to go down at record speed. But alas, a few positives: -You get the week of Christmas/NY off. -You can drink at work (like at any agency, though. But you'll need it here to survive the boredom). -There are 3-4 genuinely cool people there who are helpful and fun. -Someone brings donuts on Fridays, if they don't forget.
Cons
Now the cons... -Leadership is horrible. It's a bunch of men who are way too old to be in the business. They have no idea how to keep up with the changing world of advertising. The new CEO: He's nice enough, but he falls asleep in meetings. ALL of the time. Doesn't matter if you're pitching a new client. He can also make you incredibly uncomfortable if you're female, and I don't need to say more there. He likes to have fun, and you're trusted to keep it hush hush when he wants to start drinking at 8am or smoke pot with the interns. The CFO and Head of HR: Yes, you read that right. The guy who handles money also handles your well-being, and believe me, your well-being matters not to him. There's no employee assistance, and he's the most unpleasant person you will ever meet. Sexual harrassment, threats, etc... it's all handled under the table if not ignored so that you won't cost him money. The CMO: He loves to comment on Linkedin and thinks no one sees it. My favorite comment of his was that he would never send a young creative to an awards show because they'll be seen by other agencies. If you're a creative, just know that he doesn't want you to succeed or be compensated for your hard work. -Benefits are terrible. Unless you like a $3,000 deductible and don't want to get pregnant anytime. -New business is non existent. In the time since the old CEO has been gone, they've gained 1 client. That's one agency-of-record client in 2 years. There's a reason they aren't being chosen. There's a reason they paid a lot of money to rebrand themselves, and it's because they literally have to dissociate with themselves so that potential clients won't turn away. -Let's talk about current clients: they leave after usually 1 year or less. The oldest clients have left because Firehouse isn't skilled enough to keep up with advertising needs. If you are a client, Firehouse does nothing but trash talk you the second you're not in front of them. It's not a surprise that clients leave, as the egos are bigger than the work that is produced. -The clients listed on the website are as old as the agency. That's because the ones they're still hanging onto are extremely boring, if not unknown completely. -Longevity: in the 2.5 years I worked at Firehouse, I saw 10-15 people get laid off. Again, it's because they can't keep clients or find new ones. The agency gets smaller and smaller. And it doesn't matter how good you are, even directors get let go. If you are laid off, they'll tell you you can "work for 30 days" in lieu of severance pay to avoid paying unemployment. That's a joke... walk out and take the unemployment. -I will say that there have been some great people at Firehouse. Almost all have moved on the bigger and better places that allow them to use their skills, since Firehouse could not. The people who remain are either new (and will soon leave when they figure out they drank to Kool-Aid) or they've been there so long that they know they won't get a job elsewhere. -In regards to the above, you're not going to get paid well or see bonuses (except during my last year, we all got $100 as a bonus. Fat stack!) Seriously, go get a job where you'll have fun and work hard and get paid what you deserve. -Boredom. Again, the lack of clients means you'll spend a lot of time online shopping or doing whatever you need to do in your personal life. It could be a plus, if you want to get paid for not doing anything. But if you'd like more than 1 client, seek a better agency. -Discrimination and gossip. Ugh, this was so bad that it was actually heartbreaking to me here. We hired one African American female and she was very soon let go because "she wasn't a culture fit." If they don't like you, you're going to go through months of being whispered about and not invited to lunches and then eventually fired for the first thing they can think of. It's very "clique"-ish, so do not buy into the "culture" pitch. The culture used to be cool, but not anymore. -Going off of culture, they have "Champagne Thursdays" where they'll get together and celebrate someone's accomplishments. No one cares about these anymore, although they were great when Mark was in charge. It's just an excuse to not work for an hour and drink before you leave early. -The hours of the agency are 8:30am-5:30pm and you have to stick to that. Because there is no work, you're required to be there so that it looks like the agency has a lot going on. I'm being totally serious... that was the solve for lack of work and appealing to potential clients. -Overall, this is not a place that is succeeding and as result does not want you to succeed. Find a place with fun work where you can grow and be compensated for it. You'll be so much happier!