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    Burson-Marsteller Reviews

    Updated 13 December 2018
    304 reviews

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    3.0
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    Burson-Marsteller President & CEO Donald A. Baer
    Donald A. Baer
    115 Ratings

    Employee Reviews

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    Pros

    • "Big name clients mean that there are high-exposure campaigns and opportunities to work on, which helps build skill and can look impressive on a resume" (in 10 reviews)

    • "You can learn a lot buy serving different clients" (in 10 reviews)

    Cons

    • "Competitive environment and not much of a work/life balance" (in 24 reviews)

    • "Parent company has large influence, lack of recognition for hard-working staff, long hours and focus on numbers over work" (in 19 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. "Associate"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time

      Pros

      Well paid; Great clients; Good medical policy

      Cons

      Long working hours; Easy to get burnt out

    2. "Great employer"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Burson-Marsteller full-time

      Pros

      Great being part of a global PR firm with blue-chip clients

      Cons

      Consumer team never quite got off the ground

      3. Join the Burson-Marsteller team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. Helpful (1)

      "A sinking ship"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in London, England
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in London, England
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at Burson-Marsteller (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Some lovely intelligent colleagues

      Cons

      Absolutely zero leadership, guidance, direction or plan

      Advice to Management

      There is no management - felt completely rudderless

    4. "Associate"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at Burson-Marsteller full-time

      Pros

      Big accounts, interesting work, fast-paced.

      Cons

      Difficult to get a foot-hold.

      Advice to Management

      Nurture talent better.

    5. "Senior Associate"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time

      Pros

      The people, as well as great working environment and clients

      Cons

      lack of personal development plans

    6. "BM London"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time

      Pros

      Some good people, good office location, occasionally a good client too, good international network (if they were allowed to work with each other)

      Cons

      Global leadership, poor pay and promotions, WPP, poor industry reputation ensures the best clients go looking elsewhere

    7. Helpful (2)

      "Good, but not good enough"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      The Burson brand retains some cachet and rightly so - there's a good deal of interesting and challenging client work, some real experts, and a decent bench of senior leaders. There is also a real spirit of collegiality and a sense of shared purpose (at least in some offices), and good opportunities to travel and work across the network. Generally, people are proud to work at Burson, and with some reason.

      Cons

      Reactive strategic vision, with second-rate implementation - recent 'Being More' re-positioning being a notable example. More or less non-existent, (or certainly highly inconsistent) corporate culture. Very US-centric, with global leadership almost never visiting local offices outside the US. Very high local/regional payments to B-M HQ, supposedly for thought leadership and other support, with very little to show for it. Relatively poor compensation for a major global agency. Too much basic, template-driven work for major global clients, provided at discount, resulting in bored and worse, fed-up staff, and local offices unable to make a decent margin. Inadequate and seemingly piecemeal approach to knowledge-sharing and professional development.

      Advice to Management

      As the communications/PR world changes, and the agency model with it, encourage and support risk-taking and innovation in terms of business model, product development etc. Think beyond the narrow confines of Washington and NYC, and put in place a genuinely global-minded management team. Give local offices more leeway and invest in/train senior management more thoroughly. Invest properly in professional development, intellectual capital and knowledge-sharing.

    8. "Great place to work"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Finance in London, England
      Former Employee - Finance in London, England
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time

      Pros

      People are willing to help develop your career

      Cons

      Some snooty staff who are only interested in helping themselves

      Advice to Management

      Keep investing in the culture

    9. "Great people but poor promotion cycle and lack of innovation"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      Pros

      Lovely people
      Great team
      Good clients

      Cons

      Poor promotion cycle
      lack of innovation
      low pay

    10. "Working at Burson-Marsteller in London"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Senior Client Executive in London, England
      Former Employee - Senior Client Executive in London, England
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      Pros

      Excellent exposure to some great global brands, opportunity to interact directly with clients, great office space in London, interesting people

      Cons

      Unstructured approach to career progression, can be an unprofessional atmosphere, long hours and poorly paid at a junior level

      Advice to Management

      Ensure that the brightest junior staff are retained by offering more incentives and a higher pay package