The McDonald's of Digital Marketing
Pros
GREAT place to get your foot in the door. The company enjoys hiring younger folks with little to no experience. As far as I know, college degrees aren't required for many roles. Although they do a sub par job of training, there is some training that can position you to succeed. Fast-paced environment. A lot of young, fresh-out-of-school and like-minded people. It's an okay place to get an overall foundational level view of what an agency in digital marketing does. Benefits are decent and there's a good culture if you block out the politics. I met some good folks for referrals that allowed me to get out early when I saw the writing on the wall.
Cons
You will NOT learn anything beyond the very basics at G/O Digital. There is zero effort made at the company to innovate or become an industry leader in any regard. If you accept a position at G/O Digital, stay only until you've fulfilled your own professional growth goals and be on your way. Staying longer will only make you less competitive in the job market down the road. G/O Digital rarely acquires new business through word of mouth, great reviews, or overall excellent products/service. The main source of business is through the ARMY of sales people who are one day selling coupon slots in their local paper then the next day a $20,000+ website. The sales tech knowledge is abysmal and if you are client/sales-facing you'll encounter incredible struggles on several fronts. The management, upper management, and senior levels have absolutely no idea what they're doing to run a digital agency. I'm not just being over-dramatic: they have been laying off tons of people because management is driving the company into the ground and the hardworking people doing client work are paying for it. The CEO, Tim Fagan, is 100% to blame for this failing company (likewise the TGNA CEO/Board for keeping him), as he hires people no where near capable of running their departments. He's a nice guy, funny, gets to know people, etc. but is horrid at what he does. I believe he's been with the parent company (who is definitely NOT digital marketing) his entire career. This industry is nearly free money and they can't even turn a profit. Nepotism runs rampant. People get hired or promoted who have no business doing what they're doing.
