Edelman Reviews in Portland, OR Area

Pros

Edelman is great place to work. Although it's a fairly large company, local offices, practices and project teams give the feeling of a small, collaborative work environment. Culturally, the company is interested in growth, entrepreneurial spirit and investment in the company and its people.

Cons

Edelman's challenges are similar to other large organizations, including competitive compensation, work life balance issues and developing and retaining junior and mid-level staff.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep focus on the good work: reinvesting in the company and the people that make it work.

Pros

Richard Edelman is a true, respected thought leader in the field of PR and the company does a great job informing and educating all its staff about the company's vision. Edelman encourages employees to embrace the changes in the practice of PR and gives them opportunities to develop their skills.

Cons

Office politics and gossip, while inevitable, can sometimes make the office a negative environment. Staff departures aren't always handled well. Workloads aren't spread very evenly, leaving some staff overworked while others have lots of free time.

Advice to Senior Management

Do more to appreciate and recognize the work that junior staff perform. Encourage them to take chances and speak up with ideas and concerns. Remember that they often put in long hours under a lot of stress, but aren't as well compensated as you. Be willing to jump in and get your hands dirty every once and awhile.

Pros

Brilliant people, good culture, well-recognized clients and an international brand. Edelman is definitely at the top of the communications industry.

Cons

Financial compensation is not something Edelman is known for, and there are politics at every level that make it hard to push through ideas.

Advice to Senior Management

Thank you for making it a priority for us to reach out and become a part of the Edelman global network.

Pros

Edelman has an excellent reputation in public relations. The Portland office is up-and-coming and making a big splash within the global company. The staff is fun and there are many talented people in the organization. Educational opportunities are abundant. Clients are among some of the best in their respective industries - Microsoft, Columbia Sportswear and Starbucks to name a few. The company has excellent benefits and provides flexibility during the work week with work from home options. Working for a large agency provides instant credibility for someone just starting out in public relations. Management involves interns at various levels providing for an excellent internship experience. An especially great place to work if you value a casual work environment including off color humor, inappropriate remarks and foul language.

Cons

Unfortunately interns are supervised by Account Executives (typically only 2 years experience). This role provides a first opportunity for an Account Executive to manage another person, which is good for the company, but its also a gamble as to whether or not the person is up for the task. Since each intern has only one supervisor and one main point of contact, it can ruin much of the experience to have someone who struggles communicating and leading giving oversight. My supervisor was unable to provide helpful feedback on work (struggled with people pleasing). Rather than teaching and instructing, my supervisor was passive and sidestepped issues instead of dealing with them head on. I had hoped for a tremendous learning experience, and it was, but Edelman also provided the worst boss I have had in 9 years of work.

Advice to Senior Management

Carefully evaluate team leaders to make sure they are qualified before putting them in a supervisory role.

Pros

Edelman Portland has terrific culture. There is a fair amount of freedom to pick what accounts you want to work on, and to pursue new business that is personally interesting. The leadership of the office is very fun and spirit-oriented, which trickles down to make a caring, open atmosphere. Creativity and quality are highly prized, as is a general attitude of can-do, jump-in and help even if it doesn't directly improve your own are of responsibility.

Cons

The pay at Edelman Portland is about mid-range compared with similar agencies. It could definitely be higher, especially at the most junior levels. Additionally, some account teams appear to be favorites of the senior management and get more attention and resources. It can be de-motivating to work on an account team that isn't a "pet" of senior management. Another aspect that could use improvement is training. The company tries to provide training, but it isn't terribly level-specific. While most account teams devote a good amount of training to the tactical aspects of junior level work, there should be more training around the areas of influence -- presentation training, client negotiation, etc.

Advice to Senior Management

Make promotions and performance more transparent. Don't protect people's feelings so much.