One of the key reasons I stayed was the people. After all of my mentors left, and so many great people and leaders were let go in 2023, a big part of that reason was gone for me. I was disappointed but not surprised that no one at the very top, who were actually responsible for the financial mess in 2023, were let go. There was zero accountability for the actual leadership team, which was incredibly telling. The business strategy went out the window when COVID hit for vanity projects of leadership. And while I did have great respect for the global CEO for most of my career, he became completely out of touch with what was important for his people and only focused on profits for the family and global exec leadership team and his legacy. The clients and work went downhill, as did the firm's reputation externally. And sadly, having Edelman on your resume no longer holds the power it once did. Though I did get a lot of "what is going on with that place" questions in my job search. You will work a ton of hours, but promotions, raises and bonuses are difficult to come by at this point. My mental health and well being suffered considerably in my last couple years there due to workload, client abuse of teams and a highly political atmosphere among remaining leaders. And unfortunately I know I wasn't the only one with these issues.
