Pros
As other reviewers have said, your colleagues at Content Guru are almost universally fantastic. If you are new to the area, you'll find it easy to settle in and there are plenty of opportunities to socialise. Because Content Guru still functions like a small company, there is also a fair amount of scope to get involved in anything that interests you. In marketing, you are expected to partake in a broad range of activities, but can also take on early responsibility in a chosen area. It is genuinely rewarding to work in a busy, creative, intelligent and enthusiastic team. You are definitely kept busy, but the role will suit someone who thrives off this environment. If you're joining as a new graduate, there are few marketing roles that allow you as much scope to try new things. Equally, when you choose to move on to a new company, you will have a uniquely broad skill set.
Cons
Content Guru’s potential is consistently held back by terrible senior management, who are mocked both within the company and in its sector. While there are/have been some great experienced hires, these invariably leave once they realise that the company is a lost cause, or are fired for, however tactfully, making improvement suggestions to the clinically-narcissistic Global CEO. Amongst the remaining senior staff (one or two good eggs not included here) there is daily backstabbing, trying to ‘one-up’ each other, and even avoiding work so as not to attract C-level attention, creating a culture that's near-impossible for everyone else to negotiate. Some of them even turn to writing fake Glassdoor reviews to fill their working day, instead of addressing the problem. While you will always have to manage stakeholders in a marketing role, at Content Guru every aspect of collateral, the website, press releases etc. is micromanaged by directors to the extent that the team is blocked from producing anything that is modern or looks good. One director, although not always the most reasonable person, is infinitely more talented at marketing than his brother and yet, even at his level of seniority, has yet to earn the right to an opinion. The way women are treated by this senior management team is abhorrent and repeatedly illegal, eventually causing my own resignation. Some gems include being threatened with dismissal for not smiling enough in the corridors, for wearing a trouser suit instead of a skirt, or for daring to have children. Colleagues were told that we ‘shouldn't even think about opening a cupcake stall on the side’, which was a huge blow for us, as financing back-alley Victoria sponge operations is one of the primary reasons women enter tech. It’s important to say, though, that male colleagues have equally poor job security. Dismissal-worthy crimes include having a suspiciously good posture, or taking any pre-agreed annual leave. The few that stay at Content Guru over a year, whether through admirable loyalty or apathy, are not rewarded with anything but distrust and bullying from the directors. If you're thinking of joining CG, I would consider whether you are willing to gamble your immediate career on one director’s mood swings, or whether you would rather work in a company that judges you on performance.