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    City of Seattle Reviews

    Updated March 19, 2019
    274 reviews

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    3.2
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    (no image)
    Jenny Durkan
    3 Ratings

    Employee Reviews

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    Pros

    • "Work life balance is great and you never have to talk your work home with you" (in 39 reviews)

    • "Flexible schedules, competitive pay and benefits" (in 16 reviews)

    Cons

    • "The opportunity for advancement is slim" (in 4 reviews)

    • "After a while you realize no one takes you seriously because you're an intern" (in 6 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. Helpful (1)

      "Structural Plans Engineer"

      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
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

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

      Pros

      Flexible work hours. Overtime pays 1.5 times your rate but working OT is not mandatory.

      Cons

      Reviewing plans can get monotonous.

      Advice to Management

      Listen to employees’ requests.

    2. "High pay rates; political game influence"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at City of Seattle full-time

      Pros

      High pay rates and some strong teams dedicated to public service

      Cons

      Political and management power plays interfere with honest communications

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

    3. "Meh"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Strategic Advisor
      Former Employee - Strategic Advisor
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at City of Seattle full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Relative job security, decent benefits

      Cons

      Activity clogged entirely with politics and appearances, nowhere near enough focus on productivity

      Advice to Management

      Focus on getting things done. Fix or eliminate the large number of bad apples.

    4. "Assistant City Attorney"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Assistant City Attorney
      Former Employee - Assistant City Attorney

      I worked at City of Seattle full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      SCAO is a great place to work

      Cons

      Work in silos. White and polite. Isolating. Minimal institutional knowledge shared

      Advice to Management

      Actually apply RSJI initiative to all work of SCAO. Minimal diversity.

    5. "DON'T WORK HERE"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - SA II
      Current Employee - SA II
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

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

      Pros

      Healthcare cost and out of pocket expense

      Cons

      Everything else: workplace culture, the opportunity for advancement, etc.

      Advice to Management

      In order to change the culture, you have to get rid of all the management. Very similar to exterminating a pest problem. You can't fix it by getting rid of a few.

    6. "Use your leadership tools"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Manager
      Current Employee - Manager

      I have been working at City of Seattle full-time

      Pros

      Great Benefits, vision, and mission

      Cons

      HR is terrible and wasteful.

    7. "Meter reader"

      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

      Pros

      Benefits, pay, upper management is nice, good work life balance

      Cons

      Some things progress slow to get done, working outdoors in the weather during winter time.

    8. Helpful (1)

      "Alot of sitting around"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Administrative Assistant in Seattle, WA
      Former Employee - Administrative Assistant in Seattle, WA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at City of Seattle part-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      I'm not sure, besides the pay and benefits are ok.

      Cons

      Catty environment. People are all out to get one another. No one is honest. Watch your back.

      Advice to Management

      Be human. Represent your self accordingly. Be clear and concise with expectations.

    9. "system analyst"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      Pros

      The city is trying hard to be inclusive and address hiring inequality, pay inequality and issues within the city and the structure of city government. Benefits are good. Work life balance is valued whether or not the area you are in recognizes the idea. Pay is good.

      Cons

      Sometimes the city can't get out of its own way. way too long of a probation period. way too high of a hiring bar considering what type of work you'll be doing.

      Advice to Management

      If you say you want people to succeed and you have a really long probation period, it's wise to stand behind the new hire and see that they succeed.

    10. "Gubment"

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

      I have been working at City of Seattle full-time

      Pros

      Good, steady employment that pays well.

      Cons

      Sloooow process, no bonuses. Very slooow.