Pays well but the organization has stalled - Marketing AARP Employee Review

2.0
Jan 11, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Compensation is on the high end for a nonprofit The organization is financially stable

Cons

The membership offering has remained virtually unchanged in the past decade with very little innovation, which is why membership growth has effectively stalled out for years and years. It is two separate print publications, a bunch of discounts that are easily found and beat elsewhere, and a bunch of junk mail. There isn't really a compelling reason for people in their 50s and 60s today to pay for and join AARP. Most employees know this so it is like working at a restaurant where everyone knows the food is sub-par but the tips are good. AARP is focused on boiling the ocean, but aside from lobbying (which it is truly good at), most of the offerings/events/programs/content are dated, watered down, easily obtained elsewhere, and subpar in quality of execution. Employees will say they love working for an organization with a mission, but ask them to define what AARP is and why it is relevant in the world, and you'll get dozens of wildly different answers. The org does know its founding and history, but it doesn't truly know what it is today or what it wants to be in the near future. There is an odd culture where nobody ever talks about something not going well. Everything is reported out as being a success and everyone is thanked and praised, regardless of the truth. You could spend $25,000 bringing 1,000 people to a free webinar and it would be considered successful. The org's culture and morale have struggled during the pandemic, with teams walling off into their silos more than in the past and nobody knowing what anyone else is doing. Executive leadership is also sitting on a workforce that even pre-pandemic had extraordinarily long commutes even for the DC area (plenty of people living way out in the far suburbs and exurbs) and after 2 years of working from home the long-commuters are really pushing back on the idea of commuting 4 days a week, though as of this writing the return to office is postponed. This is a decent place to work with many kind people and good pay, and it was good to me while I was there, but all of the strong talent has been leaving lately for a reason.

Explore other reviews about AARP

5.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

great benefits even for interns like free lunch, reimbursed parking, hybrid work. good opportunities to network, hone your skills, and potentially get a permanent role within the organization.

Cons

long onboarding. lots of hr training.

2.0
Apr 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

benefits are strong - pension, vacation, sick, caregiving work life balance is generally good

Cons

AARP suffers from a serious toxic work culture, particularly in the IT and Digital Transformation departments. Leadership is atrocious. People leading the 2 key technology functions for the business are incompetent and ego maniacs. Both departments are extremely toxic with burned out employees and contractors. Money gets wasted in the extreme due to these factors. Constant signal switching on projects and priorities. Everyone you work with is unhappy. Bullying and retaliation are common. Avoid these departments in particular, but the whole organization is top heavy, with terrible leadership all around. Still there are some great and talented people, but it's not the norm, and senior leadership is wrought with incompetence and arrogance. The organization flails around endlessly, and blows money with no discipline or rigor to their work and methods. Think someone is juicing the Glassdoor numbers with people saying the place is great. No opportunity for growth. The organization tries to do good work, and does in many ways, but it's so poorly run that it severely hampers its potential.

4
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