Pros
Work/life balance is great. There are long hours, sure, but there are other days you can take off without feeling like you’re drowning or anxious over what you will return to. The best clients in the world and a name that commands respect from them. Clients respect Nielsen and trust them making for an empowering experience. Professional development is fantastic and you can explore other areas of the business or interests truly without penalty. In fact it’s highly encouraged. Amazing people. I feel like ppl say this about every organization but at Nielsen I had a family around me. Some of my very best friends came out of my time there.
Cons
Mediocrity is rewarded. It’s really hard to tell how and why people are promoted. It seems to be done on a basis of a wink and a nod, or on who gets along best with the boss. Not a great approach when respectful tension usually leads to greater results. The best and brightest in my division left while others were promoted and everyone just kind of shook their heads like huh? Not to say the people who were promoted were incompetent or bad at their jobs because they are pretty good, but it seemed like the basis for consideration was skewed in a direction that is inexplicable except to say that they got along with The SLT. Pay is pretty bad. Not comparable to other organizations, especially in big cities with highly competitive workforces like nyc and sf. Misc complaints: Definitely more of a reactive org than proactive. Look to divisions like sports, esports, music and gracenote and you see their “diversity” claims fall to pieces. All men at a sr level and almost all white men at that. Social team responsible for integrating with APIs has no API experience is a red flag.
