Pros

Work alongside some of the best in the business. Working there helped my career from understanding how to manage projects for a publicly traded company, how to work on large scale projects and the credibility of Razorfish on my resume has opened the door for other opportunities. Compensation high.

Cons

At the time I was there, management kept ineffective people in their positions far too long, often causing the talented people who actually do the work to leave the company. They didn't know who they were, were they consulting or an interactive agency. Also some of the people at senior level positions wouldn't be in their roles at any other agency. Skewed sense of what constitutes management skills.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep the folks doing the work happy and not on the next acquisition. Constant state of flux doesn't keep people confident that the company is settled.

Pros

User experience is world class...you will work on a variety of client engagements and it is a very entrepreneurial environment...

Cons

They may park you client-side and make you live out of a hotel on any given account.

Advice to Senior Management

Gut renovate your senior creative management. There are very talented creatives as support staff but senior creatives give lip service, which is disappointing. Working long and hard is fine if you are in a learning environment where you feel respected. Overall, Razorfish is confused as to whether it is a consultancy, agency, tech shop or full-service marketing organization. The fire-sale is indicative that the organization is highly broken.

Pros

The people on the teams are good people. The ability to work across geographies and diverse personalities with a passion to deliver and drive to make a difference

Cons

Focus on selling the deal regardless of the ability to staff and complete the deal. Expectation that the team works long hours to cover up for the inaccurate project scope estimates. Bunker mentality when on a project with leadership quick to point fingers at the lower ranked team members for items that were created by the lack of management oversight when working on the deal. Leadership team focus is on the margin and how to sell the next deal regardless of the cost to the employees of Razorfish Upper leadership team is not held to the same standards as the other team members.

Advice to Senior Management

Nurture the core values.. put more emphasis into them, encourage to be fanatical advocates of core values. There was time when we used to think anything was possible, we believed we are one of the best companies on the face of earth (regardless of our size).. the past couple of years have been pretty challenging to continue that thinking

Pros

There are lots of great, smart individuals to collaborate with, and the projects are diverse and interesting. You can rise up fast if you're politically inclined.

Cons

Local management very political, not always serious about developing people or managing performance. Life-work balance needs to be taken more seriously.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat people with more respect. Make sure department managers are actually managing processes and supporting staff appropriately. Keep account managers from promising the moon to make a sale and then expecting miracles from the weary staff.

Pros

* deep talent pool, opportunity to work with best-in-class colleagues
* top-tier clients
* thought leadership in social media and all things digital

Cons

* lack of career development; managers are busy with their own client work
* hard to move ahead unless you truly are a star

Advice to Senior Management

Stars may win pitches, but it is the solid, reliable performers who deliver the work that keep those clients coming back.

Pros

Razorfish is a large company with many offices around the world. As a company, I think it's pretty good. You'll work with very smart people to create great work. It excels in large-scale website design and development with a very strong UX practice.

Up until recent layoffs, work/life balance was pretty good.

It wants to own more of the offline work and become a full-service agency to its clients as some recent work has shown.

Cons

It lacks cohesion sometimes because of the way it is set up by regions. Therefore things like thought leadership or discipline leadership are few and far between. You'll find that more in the local level in some offices.

As with many interactive agencies, Razorfish is struggling to play with the big offline agencies. I believe they'll get there but it will take time.

Advice to Senior Management

Because of the regional setup, I find that Razorfish lacks a cohesive brand and point of view. This is not only important externally to clients and the media, but I believe more important to the employees so that we really know what Razorfish is about.

Pros

The people who work at Avenue A | Razorfish are on top of their game. It's great to work with such highly capable, talented people. Also, you get a lots of respect when you tell people you work for Razorfish. It increases your marketability.

Cons

As with any huge organization, it's difficult to implement updates to outdated titles and procedures. You have to go through many levels of management and inter-office politics.

Advice to Senior Management

There are several VP-level execs whose purpose is questionable. The troops work really hard and many were laid off, while these VPs continue collecting a fat paycheck for doing... well, no one really knows. Either give them a clear job to accomplish, or eliminate their positions and provide more advancement opportunities for your senior positions. Not doing so is hurting morale.

Pros

I worked with great people at Razorfish and I was disappointed to be laid off. In the months since, I have missed the people first and the work second.

The Razorfish client base is diverse, generally interested in good ideas, and offers the opportunity to do both direct-response and brand marketing. When times are good, the company is appreciative, and the company does its best to show it in little ways: pain relievers and cold medicine selection well-stocked, hot beverages from tea to emergen-c, the occasional office party.

Cons

Given the layoffs in late 2008, and the uncertain future of growth in digital until the economy recovers, it's not clear what Microsoft will do with a money-losing Razorfish.

Advice to Senior Management

Is the Razorfish value proposition still able to justify a premium price?

Pros

Co-op, Intern, Junior level ~ then move on. Once at mid level, you will be hard pressed to see your ideas prosper, let alone to be heard.

Cons

Confused teams. Directionless. Project oriented.

Advice to Senior Management

Get some new ideas. Approach things from outside of your comfort zone.

Pros

Razorfish is a company committed to pushing the limits of digital marketing, giving employees the opportunity to pitch in on a variety of opportunities, and is filled with highly intelligent, committed and motivated folks who are a pleasure to work with.

Cons

Razorfish does not have very well defined roles and performance metrics so differentiating oneself based on objective performance evaluation is challenging. Given the lack of structure, promotions can sometimes seem random or arbitrary which can lead to confusion and possibly dissatisfaction with motivated employees looking to "get ahead."

Advice to Senior Management

You have a company filled with very smart people at all levels of the company, who are committed to their team, their peers, their clients and this company. I would recommend having more consistent and open communication with folks "on the ground" to gain insights into ways the company can improve with project delivery, client communication and internal efficiencies. Placing your trust in the teams that make up the core of this company via transparent communication will yield quality feedback and increased commitment and investment by the Razorfish community.