Pros
The company has a casual atmosphere- mostly comprised of young professionals working their first or second job out of college. It makes it easy to make friends, bond over the heavy workload, and celebrate each other’s wins. There is a massive learning curve beyond what the official training can provide, but if you’re willing to work through challenges, you can definitely improve your industry skillset. I walked away with more confidence in my leadership skills, and with great industry insight and experience. My initial experience here was positive, and for many, it stays that way- through difficult times they are able to stay in both their clients’ and management’s good graces and can manage the workload. I have personally seen individuals succeed and thrive in their positions at this company.
Cons
When I was in the interview process, I was promised support, adequate training, and a collaborative and positive environment. These were the first of many promises that were never delivered upon. Later on, I was promised that I would receive constructive feedback and a supportive and helpful team to aid in the management of an entirely too-packed list of priorities. Again, because everyone has too much on their plate, I was let down and figured things out on my own. Though I was willing to do my best to figure things out independently, as a recent grad who just wanted to be as successful as possible in my role, this was incredibly disappointing. I was told to voice my concerns about workload, and speak to my director when I needed additional support. Disappointingly, yet unsurprisingly, my concerns were brushed under the rug in a slew of responses such as “it’s a learning process”, “your clients are happy, so just keep doing what you’re doing”, and “just manage your time better and reprioritize”. None of these responses were true- but, due to the disorganized, mismanaged, and unprofessional behavior of this organization, nobody seemed to care. Until management sees clients begin to leave, concerns are not addressed. Even then, so many things are intentionally never discussed with the team. I experienced very little transparency from management which was incredibly frustrating. With the rapid turnover of clients and employees, transparency should be valued. However, management tends to lean on the side of hiding information and being borderline deceitful. Overall, this is how things are handled at this company- brush things under the rug until they resurface, scramble to find a mediocre solution that can keep the client/employee around for a few more weeks, rinse, and repeat. Bringing in a high volume of PR placements is obviously an important aspect at a PR agency, and is vital to the success of a client. But, no matter how many times you hear the phrase “PR is not guaranteed” (spoken both internally and used as an expectation management tool for clients), it is in fact the only way to guarantee a promotion, respect from your managers, or your job. You will see people who produce a high quantity of mediocre work receive raises, promotions, and praise. Do not expect to receive a raise or promotion based on the quality of your work- these decisions are made on a time-basis, and in my opinion, do not take into consideration your overall work performance, skills, workload, or merit. Lastly, it is made clear from previous reviews that the salaries and workload are abysmal, management doesn’t handle criticism or conflict well, and employees can barely stick it out under these conditions for a year. From my experience, all of these things are true. However, you can easily look up a salary expectation online, and see it on an offer letter before committing to the role. It’s the personal experiences from employees that tell the real story of what it’s like to work at this company. If these stories were not true, there would not be so many common threads from review to review. If these stories were not true, there definitely wouldn’t be a company executive running to the comments to invalidate negative employee experiences. Ultimately, it goes beyond pay grade and workload. Being underpaid and overworked is unfortunately common in the industry as a recent grad. Being deceived, misled, and lied to by management is not.
