City of Seattle Reviews | Glassdoor
City of Seattle Reviews
Companies
  • Jobs
  • Companies
  • Salaries
  • Interviews

    City of Seattle Reviews

    Updated September 9, 2018
    264 reviews

    Filter

    Filter

    Full-timePart-time
    3.4
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    (no image)
    Jenny Durkan
    0 Ratings

    264 Employee Reviews

    Sort: PopularRatingDate
    Pros

    • "Work life balance is great and you never have to talk your work home with you" (in 37 reviews)

    • "Truly great benefits package; some employees are exceptional co-workers; job stability" (in 32 reviews)

    Cons

    • "In general, upper management seems only to care about their politics rather than the well being of the staff" (in 6 reviews)

    • "After a while you realize no one takes you seriously because you're an intern" (in 5 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. "Great place to work"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at City of Seattle full-time

      Pros

      the people.pay. benefits. management

      Cons

      If you hate government work not the place for you

    2. "Typical city/state government job"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Seasonal Laborer for Parks and Recreation in Seattle, WA
      Former Employee - Seasonal Laborer for Parks and Recreation in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I worked at City of Seattle full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      You can work as hard or as little as you want.
      Nice co-workers.
      Chances for advancement and permanent placement if you are a good worker. But rising higher in the ranks would take years due to the grinding wheels of government jobs.
      Nice environment working for Parks and Recreation at their lovely city parks.
      Nice job to just go home and forget all while still getting paid a decent wage.

      Cons

      A little disorganized in getting a new employee started, having documentation on how to do things, or explaining procedure.
      Seasonal employees usually have to work more than one season before getting a permanent job.
      Some of the old-timers really don't do much work and management doesn't seem to care.
      Supervisors are often just senior personnel but aren't really equipped for management. It's a product of city/state government-type jobs.
      Other new seasonal employees may shirk their duties and still somehow get a permanent job.
      Getting one of these jobs is really on a who you know basis.

      Advice to Management

      Get more organized in your onboarding procedures. Your team can be more successful if you present organization from the get go. Otherwise they'll just follow the chaos and decide to do just minimal work.

      3. Join the City of Seattle team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. "Lots of Growth"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Senior Accountant in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Senior Accountant in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I have been working at City of Seattle full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      There is lots of opportunities to learn and grow into new positions

      Cons

      disorganized when it comes to the systems used, lack of communication between departments

    4. "Senior Policy Advisor"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at City of Seattle full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      - Work life balance
      - Meaningful work, ability to impact city

      Cons

      - Bureaucracy
      - The City is behind in many ways including technology

    5. "Great benefits"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      Pros

      great benefits and time off

      Cons

      stronger leadership and support for staff

    6. "GIS Analyst (Electrical Engineering Specialist)"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Seattle, WA

      I have been working at City of Seattle full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Great salary, great benefits, has a pension.

      Cons

      Office politics might not be a great fit for everyone. If you are not management, making that leap is difficult as they select management positions often from the outside.

    7. "Administrative Staff Assistant"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Administrative Staff in Seattle, WA
      Former Employee - Administrative Staff in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at City of Seattle (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      Great benefits. Many employees really care about making a difference in the quality of life for residents.

      Cons

      Too many people in higher level or management positions that are not suited to managing. There needs to be better training for managers. There also needs to be more opportunity for advancement.

      Advice to Management

      More training.

    8. "Backing Employees"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at City of Seattle full-time

      Pros

      Great benefits, medical, dental, vision, 401k matching, time off

      Cons

      Don't really back employees when employees are not wrong. Not in all cases, but it seems like it's a majority of the time.

      Advice to Management

      Back employees when they follow policy.

    9. "Executive"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at City of Seattle full-time

      Pros

      diverse workforce high skill levels

      Cons

      very political, top heavy, workforce entitlement

    10. "Good benefits, horrible bureaucracy"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at City of Seattle full-time

      Pros

      Great benefits including sick leave, vacation time, and health. Fairly informal work environment.

      Cons

      Bureaucracy. Everything takes a long time and change comes slowly.

    Showing 264 of 323 reviews
    Reset Filters