Pros
Diversity is Prioritized:
- Female CEO, over 60% Women team (at the time of writing)
- Actively seeks interns from the BLAC program, often hiring for full-time after.
- Runs the Assist To Resist program, providing pro bono work to clients in BIPOC + radical justice spaces. (honestly the first place I've worked that actively prioritizes diversity.)
- Truly inclusive space when approaching projects (everyone's voice is heard, just gotta speak up).
Work is fun:
- Great clients in disruptive spaces. Clients often come to Preacher to get something different.
- Resource managers try to keep everyone from burnin out (apparently it wasn't always this way, but that's how it is atm).
- HQ is super nice. Tons of meeting rooms, Full print + cut studio, very chic and lots of sunlight.
- Partners are real people and understanding of life changes / challenges / etc.
- Well defined opportunity for advancement (many designers start in "Studio" and are promoted up through the design path.)
Culture is great:
- Open conversations, low ego, true team dynamics, few to no jerks.
- Art shows, Parties, Internal publications, etc. Preacher is well known around town as a hub for creativity.
- Meet a lot of awesome artists and collaborate with a few of them too.
Cons
Workplace:
- No Cloud solution for file management, so only provided (and outdated) gear can connect to the server. No IT on staff.
- No standard set of programs, so expect to jump back and forth from Google Slides, Keynote, Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, Google Chat, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc.
- Directors only respond to text, so prepare to give your phone number to 60+ people (I will say, surprisingly, boundaries were never an issue with this.)
- Wifi is super spotty on site.
- This is so petty, but the chairs can be uncomfortable and you can't bring your own.
Work:
- It's Advertising, so about 85% of the work gets thrown away. It can be tough to keep ideating/supporting as concepts you spent hours on get tossed out.
- On campaign projects, design is a support role, not a lead role. ADs will usually just direct you, so it can be challenging to keep the opinions down.
- Timelines can be insane and projects can overlap and pull you in a few directions. It's rare but when it happens it's a drag.
Work/Life:
- Not a traditional 9-5. Some weeks are 10-20 hours, Some weeks are 75. Weekend work is to be expected in crunch times.
- Pitches are rare but when they are they are a fever dream of chaos and no sleep.
- If you are sober and / or vegetarian/vegan it can feel a little tough to fit in. I get it though. It is Advertising and it is Texas after all.
- Turnover is fairly high, and the team leans young. If you are older it can feel a little isolating.