Relationship-based sweat shop with few good people
Pros
Excellent company to have on your resume, and great exposure to a variety of industries and assignments. The company offers a fun culture, when you can take advantage of it and if it isn't looked down upon by management. You will meet some truly great people and many horrible people. The agency also offers some great training opportunities, if you can get away from work to actually attend. Having this name on your resume will carry you far in your career.
Cons
Edelman Chicago is truly a sweatshop where you kiss work-life balance away and have to navigate politics and favoritism on a daily basis with a smile on your face while constantly watching your back. It is truly a relationship-based company in the worst way possible. You have to make sure the “in-crowd” likes you and that you don’t ever disagree or upset them otherwise your life will be hell. Many of the in-crowd are the lifers and the “yes people” who fit the mold and have sold their life to Edelman. Performance reviews are a joke since both goals and reviews are so subjective. Each manager sets up their employee’s goals so there isn’t any consistency across teams, much less the agency. Your manager gets to decide whom to get feedback from for your evaluation and what feedback to actually include. It is important to note that many other agencies pay a lot more than Edelman. Turnover is ridiculous with handfuls of people leaving the agency each week. HR and senior leadership are fully aware of Edelman’s reputation in the industry as a sweatshop filled with politics but won’t do anything to change it. The agency is AMAZING at talking the talk but won’t actually walk the walk. They know they can continue to operate the revolving door of employees due to the Edelman name. My advice: Come to Edelman for the brand name on your resume, experience and network you will gain. Know you will be required to make Edelman your first and only priority and will have to smile each day as you work the favoritism/political game that will surely burn you out in addition to the many, many late nights and weekends. Most people don’t make it past two years.
