I thought about not lowering myself to their level and remaining silent, but in the interests of future applicants, I have to share my story.
If you can't take my word for it, read some of the reviews.
They might have established a reputation for advertising, but their account teams don't understand PR and how journalists work. They say yes to clients, without knowing the fundamentals of what an actual news story is.
Most are taught to be administrators, but very few actually follow the news and or how worked in the media, apart from for agencies all their life.
A summary of my criticism of Ogilvy:
- MICROMANAGEMENT - You have to justify everything. Stifles creativity and drains you of energy
- Misled me about the nature of a job
- Pettiness by some colleagues who have thin skins
- Given pointless tasks to do
- A very robotic, rigid approach with colleagues who think and act the same
- You end up feeling sorry for your colleagues because they seem trapped in a job where they are slaves to 'clients'
- The ultimate yes men
- A belief that everything that comes from clients is a story
- Disrespected
- Underutilised
- Left demoralised
- Negative impact on my mental health
They claim to care about mental health, but coming into contact with Ogilvy is probably the worst experience of my life.
I was singled out for my abilities even though I have made more money from related projects than most of my former colleagues probably make in a month. My bank balance is also just fine too.
Believe in your abilities; you can likely make more money working for a better company that cares about you and or doing your own thing.
At one point, Ogilvy made me doubt my abilities but stepping away from that environment has made me convinced beyond doubt that I was not the problem.
They thought that they could break me, but I am more galvanised than ever. I didn't think I could be more mentally energised, but I am.
They'll be stuck making the CEOs rich, while you can be optimistic, forget about them and thrive!
