Horrible non-profit fitting all the bad cliches - Best Job I Ever Hated AARP Employee Review

1.0
Feb 24, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

...a paycheck in a recession.... any port in a storm right?

Cons

I don't have enough room ... incompetent Snr Team who acts like they invented sliced bread, obsolete systems and processes... politics galore where people fight over a bone with no meat on it, don't expect anyone to know how to spell "support" and expect everyone to try to grab any credit you may manage to get.... this is the poster child of the soul crushing place you see in movies. You won't believe it until you get to work somewhere where people know what they're doing. If you have the skin and cheery disposition of an angry rhino you'll be just fine. Two of my friends were contacted by recruiters for interviews and ran as fast as they could: they're TIRED of hearing me!!! Sorry to spoil it for you guys!

Explore other reviews about AARP

5.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

great benefits even for interns like free lunch, reimbursed parking, hybrid work. good opportunities to network, hone your skills, and potentially get a permanent role within the organization.

Cons

long onboarding. lots of hr training.

2.0
Apr 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

benefits are strong - pension, vacation, sick, caregiving work life balance is generally good

Cons

AARP suffers from a serious toxic work culture, particularly in the IT and Digital Transformation departments. Leadership is atrocious. People leading the 2 key technology functions for the business are incompetent and ego maniacs. Both departments are extremely toxic with burned out employees and contractors. Money gets wasted in the extreme due to these factors. Constant signal switching on projects and priorities. Everyone you work with is unhappy. Bullying and retaliation are common. Avoid these departments in particular, but the whole organization is top heavy, with terrible leadership all around. Still there are some great and talented people, but it's not the norm, and senior leadership is wrought with incompetence and arrogance. The organization flails around endlessly, and blows money with no discipline or rigor to their work and methods. Think someone is juicing the Glassdoor numbers with people saying the place is great. No opportunity for growth. The organization tries to do good work, and does in many ways, but it's so poorly run that it severely hampers its potential.

4
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