Ups and Downs - Just Like Anywhere Else
Pros
*Benefits - Extremely generous PTO time & holiday schedule, including bonus "summer days" and a break between Christmas & New Years (Volunteer work only, and compensated for in the following year). *Personal Attention - The company truly looks after its employees, and treats them like family, from CEO Steve and the HR department, down to the lower management levels - at least in the departments I've been a part of. *Fellow employees - Everyone who leaves, no matter their position, says the hardest part is leaving their co-workers, and I can easily see how true that can be. I work with the best bunch of people I ever have in nearly 30 years of being in the workforce. Even for better money, it's hard to imagine leaving my team for a new group of people.
Cons
*Behind the 8-Ball - The company is trying to adapt to a new paradigm with digital marketing, but at our heart, we're still a NEWSPAPER (Print) company, and I worry that we might be too late to the party - and we're very stuck on creating a "unique program" that might keep us out of the market. That said, the very fact we're acting now is a plus - again, the fear is that it might be too little, too late. *Cliquish - From the top down, the most important positions in the company are filled by people who have relationships with others. Without developing those key relationships, you absolutely WILL NOT advance in this company. Sometimes, that means swallowing your pride. Other times, that means catering to someone who REALLY doesn't deserve their position just to keep your own. Either way, it makes it less than exciting to even WANT to move up, depending on who the direct management is that oversees you - or it can make you unable to move forward in your career whatsoever. Further, the company refuses to promote anyone based on their merit or value proposition to the company - they promote at their whim, mostly based on this cliquish attitude, and justify it with chatter even a child could see through. If you're a hard worker, and care about the company you work for, beware - you'll be worked to the bone, and given a LOT of appreciation - but none of it will be actionable (ie. Promotions, Titles, Recognition outside of your team). If you want to succeed, you've got to promote YOURSELF to the right people, at the right time, assuming they're in the right mood. It's all about that kind of timing, and not about anything deeper than that - at least from an outside perspective.