Pros
Most worker-level team members at Allen are smart, talented, creative. Projects are varied and quality is usually high. If you are starting a career or can work under a few mid-level l leaders, it can be a great place to work. Some incredible and gifted people head design, sales, etc. You will learn a lot and work for some amazing brands.
Cons
I've thought about this review for a while to make sure I'm fair. if you are considering a job that interacts with the CEO, I will tell you what I wish someone had told me (meaning sales and marketing, as well as upper management). The CEO is, without exaggeration, the most extreme micromanager I've personally ever met, and a classic narcissist (look it up). I faced attacks on my projects weekly if not more often, was constantly second-guessed, and things I worked very hard on were threatened to be cut simply if he felt he hadn’t been involved enough in specific decisions. This is especially hard to take because the CEO himself is disorganized and has tremendous difficulty listening to employees or clients. As an example, he once chewed me out when he forgot to attend a meeting he personally had set up and forgot to attend, if that gives you a feel for it. Having someone handy to blame is his focus. His constant attack eventually caused me intense anxiety, and I hated my job. I was not alone. Two year ago, over half of sales team, the marketing leader, and our sales VP whom everyone loved, quit over two months, for exactly the same reasons I left (loved the industry, couldn't take the attacks any more). It was crazy. This last year, the whole marketing team quit within one month of each other, and I'm sure he's blamed someone else for hiring the wrong people as a result. This review probably seems a little extreme and detailed, so my advice if you're considering a role is to just do some LinkedIn research and not take my word for it. Send a note to literally anyone who has worked in his groups and see if they give you the same read (they will).
