APCO Worldwide Reviews

Pros

The people are fantastic, and it's such a positive environment. From the time I've spent at the company so far, I can tell it's going to be a place where I can work with a great time but still be independent and pursue my own interests. The opportunities they offer, such as training programs and work-abroad programs, are exciting things I hope to pursue.

Cons

They don't offer full tuition reimbursement, only partial. Other than that, I can't really think of any downsides I've noticed since working at APCO!

Pros

-Talented people. Everyone from former senators and high level diplomats to campaign consultants. Interns have the chance to get to know all different people on the staff IF they make the effort. The environment is very straight forward. No hidden surprises about the place that will jump out once you start.

Cons

-The office environment is really bland and boring. Not a lot of joking around and comradery between the staff as I've seen at other firms.
-Although interns get to work on really important and interesting assignments, a lot of their time is spent on things like media monitor and other not so spectacular tasks.

Advice to Senior Management

Not too much to complain about overall. Perhaps have more events for employees to get to know one another better.

Pros

Collaborative environment with the opportunity to grow. This firm appreciated education and diverse experiences within the government, health, and or non profit sector.

Cons

People are generally nice but like any office there are fake people who won't tell you to your face that they have a problem with you.

Pros

As employees, there's a lot of freedom to express ideas and contribute to the business. Great variety of work. Entrereneurial environment. Plenty of room for improvement for the company as a whole.

Cons

The mgmt plays favorites. It is a very political place. The mgmt is so-so. The business judgment has a lot of maturation that's needed.

Advice to Senior Management

Your arrogance is unmerited.

Pros

Pizza and beer every Thursday! Okay, maybe that's not the top reason. But it's cool to have that.

APCO is the kind of place where you don't hear the word "no" very often. If you have an idea, you just need to raise your hand, share it, explain the rationale, and typically, you get to run with it. Regardless of the level you're at, you have the opportunity to speak up and take charge. And that's why it's such a resume builder. You get to do a LOT at a young age, and really grow in a expedient way.

The people at APCO are also fantastic - and in fact, I get separation anxiety thinking about working elsewhere. I have been offered opportunities at direct competitors, and in one case, for 50% more in pay - largely because they were desperate to hire and would do anything - but even that isn't enough to drive me away from APCO. The people are top notch and you won't find a culture like APCO anywhere else in DC.

Cons

APCO is a funny size where it's not small but it's not necessarily large. There's a fine balance we walk between being entrepreneurial and start-up in nature, and having to develop/establish policies and procedures... so there can be ambiguity at times combined with management being too hands off sometimes... but it's better than the bureaucracy you see in many other institutions in DC!

Advice to Senior Management

Whatever we can do to preserve the culture, let's do it. It's too great of a place to let the culture change with time. Let's focus on little things that continue to make the culture what it is.

Pros

There isn't another public affairs/public relations firm in the world that is as open to doing new things if a project demands it. The place is collaborative within offices and globally among offices. The international network is probably unique. The range of work is extraordinary, and the clients include major global firms facing major issues, governments, and non-profits, and mostly on things that matter. The people enjoy one another's company, and colleagial brain-storming is constant. The people are intelligent and dynamic, and those who are mid-level and senior typically come with a range of previous experiences that provide a broad range of skills and knowledge to a problem, and make the work more fun.

The younger staff at APCO are at least as highly-motivated and energetic as the more senior ones, and are likely over a relatively brief time to have the opportunity to take charge in ways that stimulate their professional growth.

Cons

APCO is an employee-owned, privately held business, which has positive aspects, and some negative ones. The latter boil down to the fact that the management and management systems still face growing pains, they are not as developed as they would be in a large, publicly traded company. This is especially evident in some of APCO's smaller offices, both in the US and overseas.

Recent emphasis on profit-and-loss by individual offices creates the risk of making people reluctant to share across offices even when sharing is in the best interests of hte client. This has to be addressed or it could become a real problem.

Some offices are not yet as strong as they need to be in terms of their breadth of services and number of clients. Management does know which these are and is working to fix it.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep building the technology platform; develop more standardized products to supplement the superb tailored ones; continue to invest in the next generation of leaders; discourage siloism.

Pros

The only pro: Great benefits

Cons

To put it simply I don't think I've seen so many people cry on the job (cubemate, VP, manager, random co-workers). It's a poisonous atmosphere where everything is a major crisis and VPs drop the F-bomb at you even though you had nothing to do with the project.

Working here was the most stressful time of my life. Ridiculous.

Senior management lies and only cares about covering their own butts.

When I personally asked about increased responsibility and showed interest in growing I was told that wasn't my job and shouldn't ask again. Needless to say, I immediately started looking for a new job and found one in less than 2 weeks (earning 8k more than I earned at APCO!).

Obviously, the pay isn't competitive - just average.

Advice to Senior Management

None! Obviously, you're doing a great job.

Advice to potential employees: Run and don't look back!

Pros

The people who work at APCO are very smart and dedicated, providing many opportunities to learn from some of the best in the business. APCO also handles a number of very interesting clients, offering staff the ability to work on high-profile and high-stakes matters on a regular basis.

Cons

APCO is rather opaque when it comes to employee matters - salaries are low for most, bonuses are no longer given to junior and mid-level staff and employee reviews are done on a regular basis but not in a very systematic way, meaning employees are often promoted or not based on the reviews of a few co-workers or managers.

Pros

The work is definitely stimulating and meaningful for interns. I really felt like I was making a contribution. Lots of good interaction with the rest of the team. No boring days.

Cons

The compensation for internships is fairly low, which isn't all that bad since there is good work experience.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep the strong internship and look at ways to increase the entry level salary, it will allow the firm to attract more competent individuals.

Pros

APCO Worldwide is a great place to work.

Cons

Long hours, but rewarded by bonuses.

Advice to Senior Management

APCO Worldwide is a great place to work.