You’ll often hear this company use words and phrases that are wildly misleading. Here are a few explanations from a former employee to help you decipher the Hiker code.
“Self Starting”: No one will tell you what to do, but you’re expected to get it done. The lines will often blur on what you were hired to do, and what random tasks you’re expected to learn quickly.
“We have a flat company culture”: Too much collaboration = no owned decisions. Accountability is completely lacking, and decision making involves intensive rounds of discussions with zero outcome.
“We need someone well organized”: We’re a mess and need help cleaning it up.
“Roll with the punches”: We don’t have the ability to tell the client ‘no’. But we’ll work for $1, so make the budget work.
“Lots of room for growth”: You’ll be doing work well above your pay grade.
“Take an idea and run with it”: We have absolutely no idea what we want and are able to give you zero direction on it.
“We’re a smart group of people”: A phrase used by the owner of the company to a.) feed our ego and b.) distract you from the fact that we don’t know who we are as a company.
Overall, the company is largely run by three people. This close knit group will over-strategize and over-manage you to the point of exhaustion. They will under-value you almost as much as under-pay you. And the influence you have depends solely on whether or not you are part of this “elite” group.
It is a toxic environment with hidden power structures and I implore you to find somewhere else to work.
There are tons of small creative agencies in NYC that will value your time, efforts, and energy. All while paying you a fair salary. This is not one of those places.