Olson Reviews
Updated Mar 1, 2019
"There are a lot of great people" (in 17 reviews)
"Supportive management, room to grow, work/life balance" (in 8 reviews)
"long hours and not enough support" (in 6 reviews)
"Upper level creatives were extremely difficult to track down if you didn't work with them directly" (in 3 reviews)
"Great company"
StarStarStarStarStarI worked at Olson full-time
Pros
Environment and coworkers are good
Cons
Parking downtown is not ideal
Advice to Management
Keep up the good work.
Olson2019-03-02"Olson"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
I worked at Olson full-time
Pros
fun fast paced environment great location
Cons
intense hard work at times
Olson2018-03-02- Helpful (10)
"Agency Culture = No Life"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookNo opinion of CEOI worked at Olson full-time for more than a year
Pros
Cool digs, nice people, drinking in the office, free food, lots of work perks
Cons
Total lack of work/life balance, inept senior leadership, this place will grind you into the ground if you let it, dishonest, low integrity, they let you drink at work because you need to drink to tolerate it, little to no career growth opportunity
Advice to Management
Stop being so "cool" and start being an open, honest, high integrity place to work.
Olson2018-03-02 - Helpful (13)
"Layoffs every January"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookNo opinion of CEOI worked at Olson full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
The pay is decent, but it’s barely worth the instability, politics and ongoing identity crisis. The office is cool and will impress your parents and friends.
Cons
There have been layoffs (and a new name or ceo) every year since 2014 and there will continue to be major issues since no new business stays. Politics run the show here, so you work harder not smarter. Management is chauvinistic and territorial, HR is vapid at best, and creative is scant. Stay long enough and you’ll inevitably be worked to death or stabbed in the back. John Olson is turning in his grave.
Advice to Management
Karma skips no one.
Olson2018-02-18 - Helpful (1)
"Scrappy upstart finding its grown up legs"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsNeutral OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Olson for more than a year
Pros
Tight knit team; Generous PTO plan; Great opportunities to gain experience outside of traditional agency experience; Amazing, imaginative campaigns; Great place to learn the ins and outs of client services
Cons
Not great healthcare; lacking key infrastructure (IT, HR, etc.); lagging on structure needed for agency of this size
Advice to Management
Hire a biz dev team; hire HR for Chicago office; ditch United Healthcare
Olson2017-12-11 "Account"
StarStarStarStarStarI worked at Olson
Pros
Great people and beautiful office space
Cons
Lots of change over the last few years
Olson2017-10-27"Not for everyone..."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookNo opinion of CEOI worked at Olson full-time for more than a year
Pros
Consistent and steady work. Parties and happy hours.
Cons
Dead end unless you're a certain type of person.
Advice to Management
Train managers to actually manage and inspire their team.
Olson2017-05-17"Olson"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsNeutral OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Olson
Pros
Creative, smart people, culture, hard workers
Cons
Heavy work load, high stress
Olson2017-04-20"Loved being an Intern"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI worked at Olson full-time for less than a year
Pros
You'll truly feel like a valuable member of the team. It's a small, intimate office and everyone is eager to teach you new things while allowing you to have a hand at all that you're interested in experiencing. Olson is great if you're looking for a fully-immersive PR internship experience.
Cons
I have no complaints. The team is down-to-earth and awesome.
Olson2017-04-18"Senior Account Manager"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Olson full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
Supportive management, room to grow, work/life balance
Cons
There is some job turnover here (young millennials always looking for the next best thing) so adjusting to new team members happens a lot.
Olson2017-04-11