Overall a great company; local office incredibly challenging and facing a difficult future - Anonymous employee Edelman Employee Review

2.0
26 Feb 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Constant challenges, diversity of experiences, access to top talent across the globe, lots of interesting IP comes out -Many leaders outside the local office are fantastic and have become trusted mentors

Cons

-Local management has created a fear-based culture -Constant turnover -Lots of drama and rumors, gossip -Management attempts to be transparent, but it is completely inauthentic -The best leaders leave; ditto for staff members (generally) -Local leadership tends to be filled out by staff who, frankly, are socially awkward, work with their doors shut nearly all of the time and treat work as if the office is life and death (people absolutely lose their passion here and the majority have one foot out the door) -Training became a joke -Technology is old and IT support is poor (the local IT guy was great, but we rarely had access to him) -Work-life balance absolutely does not exist in this office -Company as a whole can move as slow as molasses -Can be incredibly arrogant and judgy of other agencies/companies/clients -Salary is not competitive -Someone in tears nearly every week (if not more) -Not a level playing field - feels like "friends" are promoted and granted ridiculous awards -Lack of professionalism from local management - inappropriate remarks made in front of office was not unusual (and they wondered why people were so quiet in meetings!) -Weekly happy hours are a joke - felt very "forced" and the senior leaders clearly didn't want to participate (ditto for the holiday breakfast they would grudgingly make) -Social media efforts of local office are a joke; everything has to be approved and it's obvious. So "corporatized" it's ineffective

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Cons

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4.0
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Pros

Edelman gives you real exposure to senior leaders, complex work, and smart people. You can learn a lot quickly, build strong relationships, and get close to how decisions are made. There are also good opportunities to take on meaningful projects if you are proactive and willing to speak up.

Cons

The pace can be a lot, and the work can feel reactive at times. Priorities shift quickly and roles often expand beyond the original scope without always having clear boundaries, title growth, or compensation changes. Career growth is possible, but you often have to advocate for it yourself. Overall, Edelman can be a great place to grow if you are adaptable, organized, and comfortable with ambiguity. It works best when you have strong leaders, clear expectations, and support around workload and growth. That last part is impossible to control, so may the odds be in your favor.

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