Pros
As an Account Manager, the job itself isn't exactly mind bending or overly complicated (technically speaking). Working with some great hotel partners, networking and gaining real industry knowledge is great. Friendly co-workers, sense of team work amongst those of same job title, fun office activities, catered lunch, good benefits (but pay is below industry standard), and annual trip to Amsterdam.
Cons
In the U.S. there is a new structure in place where Account Managers have to be out of the office every other week with every Friday as an in office day to have all day long meetings. So, what does that mean? I'm already in this constant state of being stressed out from having to schedule 20 meetings with clients in a week (M-TH), have team meeting and office meetings on Friday, having to follow up from those client meetings, while then having to start all over and schedule meetings again for the next week out. Then, throw in the added work of doing pricing all day long when you are in the office (and being told that you can't do anything else, even though you still have responsibility to partners to fix their escalated customer service issues, and respond to any other inquiries they may send you). All in the meanwhile, targets and focus seem to change from week to week, or even from day to day! Senior Account Managers offer little to no support and are being told from upper management to micro-manage the heck out of us. EVERYTHING IS TRACKED now, and even though they keep saying "oh, we are not tracking you" THEY ARE and they just won't admit it. There are invisible quotas. I still haven't figured out why. I think upper management now has this general distrust of the AM team, when I know full well all of us (at least in my office) are sharp and very skilled at what we do and we all have good relationships with our partners. Back to the travel schedule - trying to prepare, schedule and meet 5 partner visits a day, 4 days a week is just draining. By Wednesday I am so tired from talking to people, thinking about what I am going to say to them, showing them the reports, and then actioning and doing follow up that I just want to fall into a blackhole and disappear. It's exhausting and I don't know how long I will last like this. I really really hate this. Last, the bonus and how things are calculated - I think they must be consulting with the government's education department because it's like common core math for business. Here's an idea: give us individual targets based in reality and then we won't be left to guess where we stand in reaching whatever % of our salary to be paid as bonus. In summary, the AM team is underpaid, overstressed, and demoralized to the fact that we are being micro-managed to the point of mistrust, when there is no reason to mistrust. It is very sad, because when I first started a couple years ago it was not like this. I like my office, my co-workers, the benefits and my hotel partners. This egg might crack soon.
