Pros
Clients/Brands, People, Office Perks, Leadership, Benefits
Cons
Work-Life Balance is tough, Salary
Pros
Loved the culture, everyone is really nice and always willing to help. Was able to learn a lot from those senior to me. I was given the opportunity to network with professionals in my field for the first time. Beautifully designed/decorated building.
Cons
Didn't end my time there with anything tangible to add to my portfolio.
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Workplace: - No Cloud solution for file management, so only provided (and outdated) gear can connect to the server.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.
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