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Burson-Marsteller

Now known as Burson Cohn & Wolfe
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Burson-Marsteller

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Burson-Marsteller is now known as Burson Cohn & Wolfe. For up to date information and jobs, please see the Burson Cohn & Wolfe profile.

Burson-Marsteller Reviews

Updated Dec 15, 2021

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Found 321 of over 396 reviews
3.1
56% Recommend to a Friend
Burson-Marsteller President & CEO Donald A. Baer
51% Approve of CEO

Found 309 of over 396 reviews

3.1
56%
Recommend to a Friend
51%
Approve of CEO
Burson-Marsteller President & CEO Donald A. Baer
Donald A. Baer
121 Ratings

What people are saying about Burson-Marsteller

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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment

Pros
Cons
  • "long hours are common(in 15 reviews)
  • "Senior leadership lets certain clients (who fall within the Key Client Relationship Model) walk all over us.(in 15 reviews)
  • "Low salary at lower levels(in 14 reviews)
  • "Senior management is eager to cut staff if numbers don't add up and let people go without a second thought.(in 12 reviews)
  • "bad management, work/life balance, mistrust towards employees(in 10 reviews)
Pros & Cons are excerpts from user reviews. They are not authored by Glassdoor.

Ratings by Demographics

This rating reflects the overall rating of Burson-Marsteller and is not affected by filters.

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  1. 5.0
    Former Employee, more than 3 years

    Great Learning Opportunity

    Sep 9, 2019 - Senior Associate 
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Very interesting work, excellent work experience on diverse set of projects - issues, corporate affairs, etc.

    Cons

    review cycles are rare and pay is low

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  2. 4.0
    Current Employee, more than 3 years

    Healthcare

    Nov 23, 2021 - Center Executive Director in Louisville, KY
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Good organization to work for

    Cons

    Healthcare industry is hurting from pandemic.

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  3. Join the Burson-Marsteller team
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  4. 2.0
    Current Employee, more than 1 year

    Review

    Dec 15, 2021 - RN Case Manager in Phoenix, AZ
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Close location to the highways

    Cons

    Not enough training for the position

    Continue reading
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  5. 5.0
    Current Employee, more than 1 year

    Great place for junior enployees

    Jun 19, 2017 - Anonymous Employee in Washington, DC
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Opportunity to work with a great set of global clients and learn from interesting enployees with diverse backgrounds. Burson hires top talent and I love learning from employees. I have learned a set of skills here I don't think I would have had the opportunity to learn at this junior level. Senior leadership goes out of their way to inform junior employees and value our opinions. I think this is a wonderful company for junior employees. I also absolutely love the new employee resource groups. It's nice to lean on other employees and find out how we can do or be more for our co-workers. I've had the opportunity to dive deeper into my goals and what I would like to get out of working at BM.

    Cons

    More trainings for employees. I know we're revamping our training program, but I've always found them to be very helpful. I love hearing from employees around the world and diving deeper into tools for my work. I find the global trainings to be my favorite. I've noticed other people comment about the raise and promotions cycle, but I feel like my manger communicated this very well with me. I knew exactly what to expect during my cycle and my manager always kept me in the loop. I really respect my supervisor for this. Also, we've had a recent change in senior leadership and I'd like to know more about what this means for us.

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  6. 4.0
    Former Employee, more than 5 years

    Brand name clients, but antiquated reputation

    Feb 1, 2017 - Senior Associate in Chicago, IL
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    The opportunity to work on big brand names, especially ones that are engaging in activities outside of "traditional PR", is great for the resume. You also get a really good feel for the challenges that these types of blue-chip companies face on a day-to-day basis. There is a strong entrepreneurial nature to working at Burson. If there is a project that you really want to work on or believe that you have an idea that will help generate new business or revenue, you are encouraged to pursue that idea. Individuals who are self-sufficient and independent will thrive in this environment. If you're in corporate or public affairs, Burson is still the agency you want to call first. It understands these spaces better than anyone else out there.

    Cons

    Burson's reputation as a leader in corporate and PA acts as a double-edged sword though. It makes it more difficult for the agency to engage in projects that involve up and coming brands and startups. When pitching new business, that reputation is hard to shake in the room. The other side of that is that realistically Burson really is still behind when it comes to the changing PR landscape. PR is drastically changing and Burson has not done a good job keeping up with the trends. There were definite strides in the last few years I was there, but there is a lot of work still to be done. Finally, there are a lot of potential senior-level leaders out there who are not old and white. I suggest Burson looks at them.

    1 person found this review helpful
  7. 4.0
    Current Employee

    Great resources to learn about the industry - just make sure you bill!

    Jul 16, 2009 - Junior Staff 
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Burson has a large breadth of capabilities and it is a great place to learn about all the different types of communications. While opportunities won't fall on your lap, there is a large network available with specialists around the world.

    Cons

    Leadership touts the DIGS strategy - Digital, Integrated, Global and Strategic. The digital arm was recently separated and the company is not very integrated at all as practices compete with each other to make numbers. While there are offices around the globe, there doesn't seem to be very much collaboration between the U.S. and other places and opportunities to work abroad are extremely limited. It is really a shame the program for working abroad isn't more robust because it would be game-changing to really have a connected network. As far as the Strategic element of the strategy, well, isn't everything strategic? The company is extremely focused on numbers, especially in the last several months. Billability is the name of the game! But of course new business is always a priority, as long as it doesn’t take away from billable work.

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  8. 4.0
    Former Employee, more than 3 years

    Professional rocket booster

    Jun 11, 2016 - Senior Director in Washington, DC
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Complicated, high-profile clients with diverse business challenges, high standards for work quality, high pressure to perform combine to transform willing raw talent into sharp, world-class PR operatives with highly-sought-after skills and experience and extensive professional relationships. Unless you have dreams of becoming Olivia Pope, Burson-Marsteller may not be your dream job -- but the experience you will build working there for a couple years will help you land it.

    Cons

    Complicated office politics; the business of the business is too far behind the scenes; the best efforts of upper management to make positive changes seem often stymied by micro-management by layers of holding company minders; because promotions and raises depend on overall performance, those who work super-hard to bring in revenue do not see rewards themselves if their colleagues aren't similarly motivated, and it's easy for frustrated stars to find opportunities elsewhere.

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    5 people found this review helpful
  9. 3.0
    Former Employee, more than 5 years

    Typical PR agency

    Feb 8, 2021 - Manager in Chicago, IL
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Practice-based, good clients, great place if you can find your tribe

    Cons

    Hard if you're not in NY, out of sight out of mind

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  10. 2.0
    Former Employee, more than 3 years

    Uninspiring, Just a Job

    Mar 28, 2017 - Anonymous Employee 
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Recognizable name. Some areas of the business are well managed and thought out, but they are mostly non-US. Good internship program. US offices situated conveniently in respective cities.

    Cons

    Inter-connection among practices, agencies, offices is non-existent unless forced by client circumstance, even then spotty at best. Under pay/under title keeps HRs stats falsely healthy so when the day comes to prove they are fair, they are ready. No orientation to company, other groups, mentors, etc except via must-watch videos upon start. New management speaking a lot about millennials, but not about mid-management who is managing. Lacking in creativity - the decor says it all. The ability to know the skills of every employee and tap into what makes people stay is non-existent. How can an agency help companies stand for something when they can't even build a clear identity? Minimal social activities, no growth discussions, zero career-relevant training, nothing. No collective culture. Some senior execs can be down-right rude and level-arrogant, but it's tolerated. Dental is not great.

    Continue reading
    3 people found this review helpful
  11. 4.0
    Current Employee

    Ups and Downs

    Sep 29, 2008 - Associate in Chicago, IL
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    -Global network of resources Burson has offices around the world and it is easy to tap into an international network. -Global opportunities/ Easy to transfer between offices Burson allows its employees to transfer between offices nationally without a problem. There are limited opportunities to work abroad as well. -Big-name client accounts to work on In each practice there are several marquee name accounts. I think your resume stands out when you are able to list nationally-recognized clients.

    Cons

    -Very slow to promote Burson's promotion cycle (twice a year) is very confusing to navigate. There are annual reviews that, in the end, do not influence a promotion. Many staff complain that colleagues who started as the same time/level as them are now one or two levels above them due to circumstances beyond their control - i.e., more face time with a manager. -No mentorship or career assistance -Limited training opportunities -Lots of internal politics

    Continue reading
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Burson-Marsteller Reviews FAQs

Burson-Marsteller has an overall rating of 3.1 out of 5, based on over 396 reviews left anonymously by employees. 56% of employees would recommend working at Burson-Marsteller to a friend and 38% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Burson-Marsteller employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Burson-Marsteller. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

56% of Burson-Marsteller employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Burson-Marsteller 2.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.9 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at Burson-Marsteller to be workplace, career development, coworkers and the cons to be management, senior leadership, culture.

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Burson-Marsteller Photos

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Burson-Marsteller photo of: Harold Burson and Team at the Holiday Party
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Burson-Marsteller photo of: Junior staff brainstorming session.
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Glassdoor has 396 Burson-Marsteller reviews submitted anonymously by Burson-Marsteller employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Burson-Marsteller is right for you.