Pros
+ Opportunity to work with a multitude of clients with different needs + If you can endure at least 6 months here, you will build core traits like patience, tolerance and other persistence-based life skills needed to be successful elsewhere - MG is a seemingly captivating company with solid values and a strong mission, but the execution is poorly executed due to the toxic behavior exhibited by higher leadership and out of date work processes
Cons
There is a consistent need for project managers and executive assistants due to the high turnover rate - MG may seem like the perfect door that you open right now (if you need experience to land a better career in the future), but understand this door is a highly revolving one. If you spend nearly a year with this company, you will see an average of 10 employees leaving (no exaggeration). For a company with under 50 employees “nation wide”, this is an alarmingly high number and it speaks for itself. I emphasized “nation wide” because aside from the Portland office (under 30 employees), DC office (under 5 employees) and Mexico office (under 3 employees), the other “branches” of this company is literally one person working from home to represent that city. It’s endearing that MG strives to look like they have a bigger presence across the nation. Common reasons for departure: A lack of work-life balance, being expected to complete last minute client deliverables overpromised by a senior member in your project team (who knows full well there is not enough time and budget), and being expected to take the heat when these deadlines aren’t met. They will reassure you left and right during the interview process that this is not the case, but boy, you are in for a surprise. (Hint: not the good kind.) Recently, there was someone who left the company on her first day of work - is this enough foreshadowing? As other reviews have echoed, higher leadership tends to promote (and retain employees) during the basis of popularity. By popularity, I mean someone who lives to be agreeable, all the time. No one wants to be labeled that, so being “agreeable” is well hidden behind superficial charm and eloquent sentences. This is a communications agency at the core, after all. Senior management (please don't confuse them with “higher management”) is the only group of employees who seem truly content in their work. And if you think about all the crap they must have endured to get to where they are now, they have rightfully earned that peace. They are still severely overworked, but no one is breathing down their neck and doubting the quality of their deliverables. If you are fresh out of college and need substance on your resume, this is a good place to start. If you are an experienced professional and desperate to land something until something else better comes along, this is a good place as well. Use MG to your own advantage and soak up as much knowledge as you can, be highly agreeable if you want promotion, and keep a constant eye out for opportunities at other companies- you are going to need it.
