Pros
Big name agency that's been around since the 1990s, good design experience, one really big client I got to work on, talented designers and nice account people, having my own office, a work computer and eventually a work phone for social content creation. Remote Monday and Friday, dog office, free diet cokes and made a few good friends. I learned a lot.
Cons
TL;DR ----- It's unfortunate that the company's prime has passed. It appears to have been a great place to work — somewhere between 1990 and 2014. However, in 2024, it seems to be a dead-end for anyone looking to advance their career. Moving from an entry-level position to something more substantial here is highly, highly unlikely. If you're comfortable with staying in the same role, not getting promoted or asking for a raise, collecting a paycheck, and keeping a low profile for years, then this is a suitable place for you. They have a major client that controls the agency. You're not legally allowed to showcase any of their work in your portfolio. There is an excessive number of vapid executive-level staff (old, straight white boomers; likely Trump supporters) making it difficult to communicate effectively and progress digitally. ----- Surprisingly, there aren't more public reviews about these issues, possibly due to fear of retribution from upper management. Employees seem too scared to voice their concerns. Personally, I'm hesitant to post this review because of the intimidating way they handle internal conflict. Post-termination, I've put my IG on private due to the stalking behavior. I was repeatedly told I was doing 'great work' and I was 'important,' right up to the day they let me go without warning. When I was first hired, I was enthusiastic about making a positive impact and modernizing the company's digital approach. Unfortunately, I was wrong. In hindsight, I worked too hard without a raise and refused to see the realities of a broken system. I began doubting my own abilities and work ethic; ultimately staying for the paycheck and benefits, afraid of speaking up and causing issues. Despite taking on numerous extra projects and inquiring on what I needed to do to pursue a promotion, my efforts were in vain. Sadly, it was speaking up for myself and advocating for a raise that led to my termination. Promotions appear to be reserved for long-term employees who are close to the boss. Other instances involved combining roles merely to fill a hole when someone quit unexpectedly. Meritocracy is lacking, with favoritism being the norm. Talented women were often overlooked for promotions, which is disappointing. New and unexperienced people are hired at 'senior roles' instead of promoting seasoned juniors and mid-level designers hungry for more responsibility. The review process and career path is nonexistent. When questioned, leadership gave generic responses like, 'there's no straight path.. it's unique.. ask so-and-so how they did it.. keep doing what you're doing...' A turning point for me was when a few of us creative women sought career advice from higher-ups and were uniformly dismissed with vague responses. This disrespectful treatment was disheartening. Ultimately, I was fired for unfounded reasons after expressing professional creative opinions on recent social strategies. Backed by gossip and false accusations, I was gaslit into believing my typed constructive advice regarding digital strategies (that I gave to my manager during our one-on-one, which she praised at the time) was ‘speaking badly of Bohan’. The handling of my termination was extremely distressing and inhumane, gravely impacting my mental health. They accused me of recording my meeting for malicious purposes, which was absolutely untrue. I often used voice memos to summarize meetings due to my ADHD and forgetfulness. Tennessee is a one-party consent state - making it a legal right for one-party to record conversations for non-malicious purposes. False gossip was presented to the CEO and she believed her loyal grapevine instead of inquiring what I actually said on the matter of why I occasionally record, summarize, and delete. In the end, my words and actions were twisted to fit their distorted narrative; never asking for or considering my perspective. The gaslighting from the female CEO was particularly upsetting. She accused me of not performing the job I was hired for; despite working on 3 teams, over-performing in my roles and meeting every deadline while receiving weekly praises from team members, account managers and direct supervisors. At the end, they attempted to kick me out of the building without my car keys, personal items or ipad. All of my secondary belongings I'd left in my office were kept from me for a week. I was treated with no respect or dignity. The female CEO seems oblivious to the creative workload designers face. Despite her ‘CEO girl boss' title, she does not support the female employees. Instead, she belittles, gaslights, doesn’t believe them and uses them. She chooses to surround herself with a team of powerful, old, uninspired white men.. After two years, I have no portfolio work to show that I can legally claim. On the positive side, I learned my worth and realized I deserve better. Following the unforeseen termination, my livelihood has been challenging. However, by treating me so poorly, they’ve empowered me to speak up about their toxic behavior. By gaslighting, falsely accusing, then firing me, they ultimately saved me from enduring decades of disappointment and a mediocre advertising career (at best) had I shut up and stuck it out. Regardless of the toxicity, if you need a paycheck, this place will suffice. Cash the checks... quietly. Be extremely cautious about what you say, write, whom you trust and how much you let them exploit you. Do not fall for their false promises, personas and forced smiles. They’ll twist your words, speak poorly of you behind closed doors and throw you under the bus when it suits them. I refuse to accept this behavior as simple 'advertising agency life' -- not every agency is this toxic. My overall advice - trust no one and avoid working too hard, as it will go unnoticed under the current management.
