Pros

The benefits were above average. This is the big industry these days, so the level of security, or at least job skill portability was pretty high. Product Management at DC was very strong, but that's not enough to offset the weaknesses of the Engineering department: what a mess that was...

Cons

Everyone's work was really sloppy. The "scrum methodology" is generally making the situation worse. Communication between teams is highly inefficient, it's pretty much-every-man-for-himself career-wise. Can't say much about the other departments, but management within DTG was a freaking nightmare. (There were some exceptions, but the bad eggs really soured the whole affair.)

Advice to Senior Management

It's Google's problem now..

Pros

Google has now purchased Doubleclick,, so free breakfast, lunch, and dinner is now available.

Cons

In my department at least, there was a very poor work life balance. You put in a lot of hours and there is zero upside to it.

Advice to Senior Management

Once again I’m only speaking from the perspective of my department, but my manager was very disrespectful and had no idea of how to motivate employees. We were branded by other departments as "Amistad", and in an E-mail from out manager were told, “I understand that we work long hours on occasion, but this is the business we were in. If you want to seriously work a 9-5 job I will gladly write you a recommendation for McDonald’s.” “Occasion”, was an understatement by the way.

Pros

There were good things about working at DC like the perks, benefits and good people. It was a good place to work. They took care of their employees and were fair in most cases.

Cons

management promotes good employees who may not be capable of managing teams. Just becuase someone is a good worker doens't mean they are management material. I didn't see goot succession planning of managers.

Advice to Senior Management

look deeper than a good performer when looking for management.

Pros

Good Benefits & Culture, and growing industry

Cons

Promotions were few and far between, I felt stuck in a silo

Advice to Senior Management

Give greater appreciation for the long hours employees put in, be more competitive with salary, and provide more opportunities for advancement.

Pros

People are treated very well here. There is a convivial atmosphere, most managers take a hands off/supportive role and there are many opportunities to learn. In many ways, you are your own boss and while that unstructured approach may not work for everyone, self-starters will love it.

Cons

Career advancement can be difficult. It often feels like the same people get promoted over and over again while other people languish at their positions for years, despite being qualified and highly capable of doing more. Also, since the Google purchase, things feel more chaotic and less polished. Managers are busy drinking the kool-aid and jockeying for position so they pay even less attention to their staffs.

Advice to Senior Management

I know that Google seems sexy and that you all have your own careers and advancement in mind. But don't forget your employees in the process. Some of us feel like we are drowning and have been left to fend for ourselves in the new structure. I know the "sink or swim" mentality is strong but throw us a lifeline. You have good people here who can go out and be great somewhere else. Value them now and everyone will be better for it.

Pros

DoubleClick is an exciting fast paced company that is continually evolving in this space. Solid products and Market leadership help make this a great place to learn the industry as well.

Cons

The environment can be very high stress because of the continual pace. My take is that the work never let up and there was always something else piling on.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep the culture as much as you can as you move into Google. Don't forget what got you here and keep innovating.