Do it for 6 months to a year for resume credentials, then get OUT. - Assistant Media Planner Blue 449 Employee Review

1.0
12 Aug 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-They'll hire you without experience which is hard to come by these days when you're starting in any industry -LOT of networking possibilities. You can easily foster connections for future employment prospects. But everyone knows everyone. News travels fast and lasts forever so guard your reputation like it's the Hope Diamond. -Free coffee and sometimes free food, etc. Occasional nice perks (but they definitely are not worth it). -Those who are genuinely good people are really awesome, kind, and will help you if you ask. But they are few and far between.

Cons

In my opinion none of the perks are worth working here unless you are severely hard-up for a job. -Definitely underpaid both for the industry, this city, and the amount of work that you put in. Do the math for how much it comes out to per hour for all the crazy hours you put in. I've been paid more when I was working in a cafe. -Many people -including higher ups- are extremely catty and will not hesitate to throw you under the bus if it means making themselves look good. Extremely two-faced. You'll have no idea that people are bad-mouthing - often saying things that are most certainly not true - until someone lets it slip what they heard about you. Don't say anything that you wouldn't be okay with everyone knowing. This is not an exaggeration. -You will most certainly be overworked for reasons that could and should be avoidable. So many systemic issues from the top down that result in people staying at the office insanely late. They keep staffing the largest teams while telling the smallest teams there's no budget to hire on. Meanwhile those on the smaller teams are criticized for working too many hours when they have just as much work, if not more so, than the other larger teams. -RIDICULOUS EXPECTATIONS!! For example - There were several times we were told to go to a mandatory happy hour or some other social event with a vendor or a client. We'd be ordered to pack up by 3pm, but deadlines wouldn't be adjusted and things sometimes were due that day or early the next morning. If you tried to stay and work instead, you'd get in trouble. -I hope you're comfortable with your eating habits because everything you put in your mouth WILL get commented on. -RAMPANT favoritism. -Unethical bullying. These examples don't even scratch the surface of this place. Hands down, the most toxic environment I've ever worked in. More middle-school like than my own middle-school experience ever was.

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Blue 449 Response
9y
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such a negative experience with us, it is always the goal of our HR teams to support and encourage our employees at all levels in all offices. We understand your concerns about poor compensation, although we do offer very competitive compensation packages to all employees with various additional benefits including commuter support, paid leave for new parents (including adoptive parents), and paid time off that exceeds the industry average including sick days, a day for moving, and family time. In addition to salary, these benefits (and others) along with in-office perks and various events make our compensation packages desirable. HR regularly assess employee timesheets to ensure that our employees are not overworked and encourage all employees to speak up if they feel they are struggling with workload. Our leadership teams are continually supporting the needs of employees to promote a healthy work-life balance. We also recognize that there have been difficult employee situations in the past, but in recent years, we have provided increased training to our leadership and employee base and have increased our human resources team to better support the needs of employees and build a more positive and encouraging culture and environment. While some of our teams are constrained by the budgets of the clients we serve, we do our best to make sure that we do not over commit our teams to projects and tasks they cannot reasonably manage. We ask that any employee who is feeling overextended in this way speak to their manager, office leadership or HR with their concerns so workloads can be reallocated equally and our employees do not suffer. Again, I am very sorry to hear of your experience, but we hope that your career has been successful. Thank you for your review.

Explore other reviews about Blue 449

5.0
21 Jan 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Blue offers a positive work environment. I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with talented colleagues and learn from their expertise. The company fosters a culture of teamwork and provides a good balance between work and personal life.

Cons

Office could be in a better location. Not bad though.

2.0
3 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very cool office, free snacks

Cons

Pay, benefits, and the long hours

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