Came for photography work, stayed for the people
Pros
- Most of the people I worked directly with,. I'll never forget them for the rest of my life; Truly wonderful people. We were like a family, and still miss them to this day. They all know who they are, if any end up reading this. I learnt so much from my peers, and it would have made my current job almost impossible without their knowledge, strength, attitude, and help. - experience of working in an in-house studio, with professional stylists, make up and models - sample sales and voucher/clothing allowance system was on point - relaxed dress code - Christmas and summer parties - was in walkable distance of a multitude of various lunch options, and powerful microwaves, heating your lunch up in just a minute! - free coffee machine
Cons
I can only say the following because I'm in a different workplace, in a more senior role that encompasses what I was doing also, and these are things specific (unless otherwise mentioned) to my personal experience at Baird Group (BMB) - Eventually felt like an office monkey due to the abysmal, never increasing salary - the above point played on my mind, really affected my mental health, and started making too many silly mistakes. I had the support of my direct team, but felt a few newer management later on were out to tear me down further, rather than build me up.. tyrannical almost. It was toxic, and I do cringe at the cliché of saying so. As someone in a more senior position now, I know exactly what to do when faced with someone making mistakes, in a positive and productive manner - False promises of no redundancies or no closures. - Heavily political workplace, with huge egos getting in the way of productive work and making it difficult for decent people to just get on with what they do best - talking of the above point, I felt that some of the marketing team always got preferential treatment. A huge beautiful table in the middle of our studio, not for us, but for them. Their right to talk and shout and sing and act daft, especially whilst trying to focus on my work.. but if we did during our down time or break... By thunder, you've got a talking to coming up. I was never even looked at in the eye or greeted by some of that team, it made me feel so small and insignificant. Most of the team were ok as individuals though. - the appreciation that you need to inject energy into a modelled shoot, for the look of "something unique" was amiss. We were told off a few times for being loud, but later, were told they were the best photos management had seen, and wanted to replicate it without the energy... You can't do this. - All having to physically point in the same direction after an annual meeting. It felt weird the first, second, third and fourth time. It's a flipping clothing company, not a far right political movement!!! I know what it certainly felt like. - Christmas parties and summer BBQs sometimes got very creepy and weird - Hiring internally was a rarity. External people were hired instead, and by the time they'd got to know the business, they left.
