American Cancer Society Reviews

Pros

Inclusive, Hands-on, Patient Oriented opportunity

Cons

Needs More flexible positions for college students

Pros

Contributing in some way to vital research & incredible patient support, assistance and screening programs. A truly great cause and needed work.

Cons

Odd regional structuring overall. The rest of this pertains to South Region. There is a lot of talk about transparency and accountability, that is just that - talk. Volunteers are highly valued (as they should be), yet employees are treated poorly. Lack of communication and big picture thinking. Poor regional leadership. More managers than leaders. Silo'd knowledge and information. After onboarding there is no training and understanding of structure or who does what. Which leads to people leaving as quickly as one month after starting. Unwillingness to try new things or consider new ideas despite professing to invite them. Regional leaders pick favorites and ignore others. Some incredible staffers, but unfortunately also quite a few manipulative & vengeful colleagues whose behavior stymies efficiency and even bigger fundraising and awareness potential. For an organization that is doing so much good there are a lot of self-serving egos. Staffers and leaders who want to be seen and go to events but are threatened by colleagues' experience and ideas to improve events. Organization will continually survey staff about resources, needs, areas of improvement to meet rules, unfortunately nothing comes of it.

Pros

The mission and passionate staff. I loved my direct reports.

Cons

Leadership is declining quickly. I was in my role for more than a decade and despite making goals, my manager would take credit for any success and blame me for all mistakes. Pay is insanely low even compared to other nonprofits. If an opportunity for growth became available, they’d hire external leaving staff feeling stuck and unmotivated. Leadership is truly the most out of touch I’ve ever seen in my 25+ year career. The employee surveys must just be thrown away without anyone reviewing them because I know plenty of managers with low scores who continue to get promoted based on their staffs success and not their own. Doesn’t anyone care what those things say? You have massively unqualified people being promoted off the success of their undervalued staff. Benefits have been declining for years and PTO would be great if actually encouraged to use it and not be expected to work during it. I was a boomerang employee the last time I left but I will never make that mistake again. I wish my team well but feel bad for them because I know they’re all burnt out and lacking growth opportunities and fair compensation. Do better ACS. Your dedicated staff deserve more.

Pros

Awesome paid time off, incredible flexibility. In my office, great relationship and support from management. Decent yearly bonuses. I love the mission and truly love helping in my community. This job is ideal for recent graduates, those just entering the field, and those who don't care how much money they make.

Cons

I technically qualify as "low-income" in my state. Raises are minimal at best and cost of living increases are disguised as "merit raises." Similar roles in my area make $15k-$25k more than I do. Wear too many hats and sometimes feel like you can't possibly do every single thing or every single type of reporting they require of you. Not a ton of direction or guidance on priorities even with mass events in communities nationwide. Upward mobility is hard. They want you to shadow a role you want to grow into but the responsibilities of your current role don't allow for that. So you aren't able to gain experience to move up unless you want to wait for someone who has been here for 30 years to move on or leave. Health Benefits kind of suck and aren't covered. I guess that's made up for with our PTO. Which your PTO is also your sick leave (unless FMLA). Income is determined by "grades" and the range for each grade is not shared anywhere so if you're applying for a job with a grade 14 and coming from a grade 12, you have no idea what kind of money you'll be making IF you get the job. Pay transparency is thing nowadays, get with it. It is NOT illegal to share your salary with your colleagues! When "merit" raises are assessed, you're placed on a range of 80%-120% of the "mid-range salary." You start at 80% and your raise of 4% should get you to 84%. Not the case if the minimum salary (80% of mid) is raised. 2022 I was at 83% of mid. 2023 I was still at 83% of mid even with a 3.5% "raise." They lowered the "floor" and instead of moving along with the scale, I just was bumped to the 80% wage (the .5% of my 3.5% increase of a whopping $270) and then my 3% was added so I remained at 83% instead of advancing forward. Yes, my wage increased, but if you have any hopes of making it to or past the mid-range of the salary grade you're in, you're going to have to be here for 15+ years. I only make $1500 more than my new-hire recent graduate colleague even though I have 10+ years of working experience and have been at ACS for 3.5 years. They deserve it, but I am not being appreciated for my dedication or commitment to the company. The one-voice survey doesn't allow you to comment on every question and restricts your character count in the "additional comments" section. Not very transparent or accepting of feedback to restrict employee input.

Pros

Good PTO policies and enjoyed coworkers

Cons

After my first year at this company, there were layoffs every year. They call it restructuring, but let’s be clear, it is layoffs. The leadership is completely out of touch with what is happening on the ground. The straw that broke the camels back was the constant pushing of sales on the development staff. Donors to nonprofits do not appreciate being treated like a “customer”. I did not join a nonprofit to act like a used car salesman.

Pros

Great value of the daily job

Cons

Not valued at all, first to go in budget cuts

Pros

This company is filled with people who wake up every morning wanting to do great work and save lives. They are true rockstars and deserve more credit.

Cons

Leadership is broken. A company of this size should not be in the hands of 3 people making every decision for thousands of employees. I watched the same group of 5 people. "Leadership" makes decisions based on emotion. In October of 2022 American cancer society went through a restructuring process where they told us we would be told what our new roles were and in what regions. For months and through the holidays, we waited for answers. In February of 2023, without any notice, they fired us. We were given 72hrs to exit. The worst part of it is that employees that were not let go still do not know what they are doing and have no leadership.

Pros

Fulfill your mission and purpose Access to community Great vacation time

Cons

Low pay Non profit environment

Pros

Great people to work with.

Cons

Not many. Can be difficult at times as a non-profit as funding can't always be consistent.

Pros

Remote opportunities, rewarding work, excellent PTO and holiday schedules.

Cons

The “Chiefs”: Minimal transparency, poor use of donor dollars by traveling every week and sometimes more than weekly, limited action based on employee surveys, more projects to start without concern for workloads.