Edelman Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – 1. Enterpreneurial spirit is one of the company's values - they encourage you to take risks and challenge yourself. If something doesn't work, dust yourself off and try again. That's why so much great work is done here.
2. Opportunities for career pathing - Edelman has a "matrix" organization. You don't move straight up the ladder, you can move laterally, vertically, etc. If you want to try something new, there is a geography track, practice track, GCRM (global client) track to look forward to. If you don't feel like you are fitting into your current role, seek something new or propose creating a new role if possible.
3. Good work-life balance. We work very hard but Edelman is a family-run business and they understand the importance of needing to blow off steam and family time. Employees are given great options for paid time off and the company holds fun events like happy hours to build camarderie in the office.

Cons – The fast pace may not be for everyone. You need to be flexible and able to focus on many things at once, lest you be left behind.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for less than a year

Pros – Awesome people, well-reputed company, generous benefits and time off, offices around the globe

Cons – Long hours. But its necessary and it pays off.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for more than a year

Pros – Awesome, intelligent, passionate people
Working with big clients and big budgets
Fun perks like ice cream on Fridays, a snack cart, free candy, monthly happy hours

Cons – Some people are so used to working late hours that they forget others have a life outside of work! Not everyone, just a few.

Advice to Senior Management – It might help to train all employees on how to be respectful of each other's time - either in giving ample time to complete and review projects (when possible) and being realistic about meeting client's demand when they fall outside of normal work hours or on holidays. Certainly there are exceptions, but sometimes it seems like staying late and working weekends is the norm.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for less than a year

Pros – Edelman has a ton of smart, energetic people that are focused on achieving results on behalf of their clients. Collaboration is valued at a premium and cross-selling opportunities are a direct result of this.

Cons – Average in terms of pay scale. Bonus structure is sub-par to lacking. Would like to see more cross practice interaction (Edelman is very siloed).

Advice to Senior Management – Invest, invest, invest. To be the best you have to pay the best. Invest in your people and invest in the tools necessary to make them successful.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for less than a year

Pros – Work hard, play hard - If you continue to do good work, Edelman makes sure to reward you for your efforts. The company is very transparent and clearly demonstrate that they care, value, and appreciate their employees. Edelman tends to treat everyone with respect, including the interns. There is no closed door policy because there are no offices, it's a very open environment and people are approachable. Edelman cares about employee growth and work/life balance. There are many company paid outings to gather with your fellow colleagues and let loose a bit. I love that I can wear comfortable clothing to the office everyday! This is not always common in an office setting. Richard Edelman seems to be a very humble, and genuinely nice man.

Cons – Like any agency, at times you are spread to thing or have overwhelming amounts of work. However, Edelman does attempt to try to create a balance as much as possible.

Advice to Senior Management – In my experience, very little hand holding and micromanagement. There is at times red tape which could be scaled back a bit. The trust is there because Edelman professionals are among the best in the business, but at times there is sensitivities about how to approach media or clients etc. The more trust you instill in your fellow colleagues or subordinates, the more they will have the opportunity to grow, learn and get comfortable interacting with different constituents.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for more than a year

Pros – -Training is much more robust and taken more seriously than at any other agency
-Work-life balance (it is what you make it - I've found mine and so have several of my other colleagues)
-Many or most teams work cross-practice
-Everyone knows Edelman... if you've worked here for any length of time, people seem to take you a bit more seriously as a PR professional
-LEADERSHIP - we have exceptional leadership in our office; he's very accessible and focused on making things better for his teams
-Edelman NEXT - allows you to carve your own path and how you want to progress within the agency, even if you want to change directions or locations
-Working at Edelman Atlanta comes with all the benefits of being at a world-class (arguably the best) PR agency - smart people, our colleagues set precedents and trends all the time and our clients are some that people dream for years of working with
-Pretty lax "business casual" dress code, yet we can wear jeans every day

Cons – -Office location and surroundings downtown
-Parking (we pay if we're below VP and the deck is NOT very safe)
-Non-competitive salary (even after it's been increased, it's still below several other agencies - big and small)
-Comp time policy for working outside of workday schedule (but to be fair, that's an agency-wide issue)

Advice to Senior Management – Please, please, please be a little more prudent with who is put into leadership positions, especially those with records of high turnover and employee management issues. And I'd also advise to continue tying to improve compensation for employees - especially in comparison to agencies in town like Porter, MSL, C&W, etc.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for less than a year

Pros – In the short time I have been here (~4 months) I have already grown to love the company culture. Very rarely is the first answer 'No'. It is clear your experience here is what you make of it. This and the work/life balance will (hopefully) have me calling Edelman home for years to come.

Cons – There seems to be some confusion among titles and responsibilities. Some people who you would assume have higher titles don't, while others who may not seem as advance do have a higher title.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for less than a year

Pros – - Office culture is second to none. People here love their jobs and love the company which really shows.
- This place is successful! It's only growing, and they are very employee focused.

Cons – - As with any client based company, you are at the mercy of the client. Therefore, long hours and weekends are pretty common.

Advice to Senior Management – No advice needed to be honest. Upper management has been fantastic and very focused on employees

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Edelman full-time

Pros – -Training and development: Edelman U, mentoring from direct supervisor, and opportunities to learn management skills at a junior level were invaluable as a young professional. Also received feedback regularly (good or bad) from supervisors which helped me improve and learn consistently.
-Opportunities to work with top brands and on global accounts: Several accounts I worked on were based in major US and International markets outside of New York, which gave the opportunity to gain experience working in markets other than where I live.
-Perks and benefits: Amazing benefits and perks available from day one. Felt that Edelman truly created a benefits package that was about the total person not just the professional.
-Employee engagement: Excellent programs to get involved with co-workers and communities outside the office.

Cons – Work/life balance: provided little flexibility/mobility with the option to work from home. Often had to work on time off and on family vacations. Extremely hard to completely disconnect for even a day.

Review process seemed trivial as I learned that promotion decisions were made before the 360 reviews were complete. It seemed to be more political than based on merit or meeting goals that were set for the year (can be true for a lot of companies, but still disheartening).

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Edelman full-time for less than a year

Pros – Employees are highly valued - great benefits.
Employees like to, and are encouraged to, have fun - several team and company activities every month.
It is a fun yet very professional environment.

Cons – Sometimes employees are a little too accomodating to the client. Boundaries need to be set with the client to minimize extreme demands and clients need to be held accountable for missing deadlines.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company