Pros
Regular paycheck. Contractors allowed to work remote (though constantly requested in-office). Because CMX explicitly forbid us from working more than 40 hours/week, rarely a work-life imbalance. Incredible IC talent with small egos, big ideas, and great team spirit.
Cons
Review is of CVS Media Exchange (CMX). Can't speak to CVS broadly or Aetna. Upper management openly hostile to contractors. One time the Director of Marketing told hundreds of people on a call to assess if they liked their jobs, and consider finding new ones. Once she literally told a large team call full of contractors certain "quality standards" prevented hiring them as FTEs, and that CMX "wouldn't waste headcount" on them. Before annual offsites, "everyone is expected," with contractors paying their own travel and lodging, and explicitly *not* invited to comped meals. 25 minutes of a two-hour team call described activities contractors were not allowed to join. Amazing, inclusive company culture. More than 15 people in my department quit in the year and a half I was there—deep in the horrible labor market of the 2020s. They all said they were unhappy with the work, under-compensated for it, and couldn't use it in their portfolios. Bland production work with occasional bland net-new creative was overshadowed by constant politics. Processes were a mess: periodically instituted top-down, rarely followed, and discriminately enforced. I was never told what I was doing well or badly. More than once I learned my boss had a problem with my performance through my recruiter contact. I had to schedule and lead the follow-up meetings with my manager. "Mid-year" reviews came 9+ months into our contracts, and suggested management had no idea what we were doing day-to-day, or how we did it. Contract renewals were negotiated until weeks before they expired. Thankfully banks and landlords are cool with IOUs.