Razorfish Reviews

Pros

innovation, client list, smart and fun people, good ideas, nice office, great benefits package

Cons

opportunities shift as you make your way up the ladder

Pros

Large agency, pretty well structured. It provides a good view into the working of a large agency with large companies. This is a good place to learn how this industry is supposed to work.

Cons

Large structure equals a large ship to turn. RF doesn't, for this reason, end up doing necessarily doing "great" work. Seems to be more "sufficient" from a creativity standpoint, and "robust" from a technical construction. So, not the most ideal shop for creating a truly innovative solution.

Pros

Great clients
Big opportunities
Big projects
Clients that know the difference between amateurs and professionals

Cons

Work you to death
Don't care about personal well being
Put the most petty, incompetent, jealous people in leadership roles

Advice to Senior Management

Care more about peoples careers, a little less about squeezing every last dollar from margin

Pros

Great people and clients. Lots of opportunity to grow as a professional. Tons of work to be done and short days are not an option.

Cons

Winning so much new work that keeping up with staffing is an issue.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to hire the best of breed, the young minds eager to grow, but also give them a means to participate more directly in fueling the companies success, not just through their hard work. Give them a voice.

Pros

- Good work-life balance, usually. Great vacation time and benefits
- Stable
- Generally low-drama

Cons

- Company is a little bit too large
- Depending on what account you are working on, projects can be either incredibly interesting or dull
- No stock awards for most employees

Advice to Senior Management

- Bring back the pre-Publicis stock program!
- Don't be afraid to manage certain clients more. It's in everyone's best interests, including theirs, to do this.

Pros

Good pay, promote quickly, good place to get experience.

Cons

Work non-stop, projects poorly managed.

Advice to Senior Management

A yearly audit of employee feedback on management performance would be a good place to start.

Pros

If you're smart, pro-active, hard working and maintain visibility, you can be successful. The blend of business acumen and creative thinking are appreciated, recognized and rewarded.

Cons

The delivery management model is outdated and does not work in an organization trying to compete with hot digital shops and agencies.

Advice to Senior Management

It doesn't always take a fancy title to be a leader. Please relinquish some of the power from Delivery.

Pros

Everyone there is great to work with. The teams are really strong and eager to learn. They pay well compared to most agencies and provide great vacation.

Cons

Top accounts get all of senior managements attention. If you are on one of those you will get promoted much quicker than if you are on a small account.

Pros

You get to go deep in digital - web media, social media and web dev

Cons

The agency wants to be bigger and more than it's actually good at. Trying to stretch into "agency of record" roles requires a much deeper planning bench, traditional creative talent, and more seasoned and senior account management. Razorfish does best when it sticks to its core offers. If you get to work on the bread and butter projects, Razorfish is a great place to learn and grow. If you're part of the swirl that tries to be/do more than that, the experience can be very frustrating.

Advice to Senior Management

Develop the core, grow organically from it. Be super clear on your role relative to the other Publicis agencies. Don't try to be something you're not.

Pros

In the few years I've worked here, I've worked with some of the most amazing people, and also some of the worst. The atmosphere is fun and energetic.

Cons

there are a few directors/leaders that are really incompetent. Also be prepared for the pressure of publishing articles and "getting your name out there" - that will honestly get you promoted quicker than doing good client work.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop considering some work to be beneath you. Be honest in your communication - if something bad happens don't try to always put a positive spin on it, it feels phony and fake.