Great Place to Work if You Loved High School Cliques and Being Overworked - Coordinator Smithbucklin Employee Review

2.0
May 30, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Travel is great if you like to visit different cities - Some benefits are okay. - Depending on your department, you get some room to be a little creative and resourceful.

Cons

-You'll feel drained! They will work you until they can't work you any more. Especially if they move you from hourly to salaried. Salaried is just another word for work for overtime you never get a chance to take. - There's a lot of clique mentality here. A lot like high school. From the low levels and sometimes through management. - Someone said the people here are very smart, I think the correct word is opportunistic. You get ahead better if you cozy up with the right people and step on a lot of heads attempting to climb your way to the top. -You'll always find yourself fighting for what's right for the client by defending your decision to use certain vendors. Especially if your manager has a friend who wants the SB's business. They'll work hard to get rid of a great vendor just to slip their best friend's less than grea/shoddy business in the door. - Don't expect them to understand or recognize MLK Jr. day. Greek orthodox holidays, yes! MLK day, no! If you ask why, they'll option you to use your vacation time to celebrate on your own. -Very corporate and everyone is divided with no understanding how each division needs to work and understand each other to run harmoniously.

Explore other reviews about Smithbucklin

5.0
Jul 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great work environment Hybrid work schedule - office and WFH

Cons

Low ceiling for climbing the job ladder.

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Smithbucklin Response
17h
We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. We're glad you enjoy our work environment and hybrid flexibility. We appreciate you sharing your perspective on career growth.
3.0
Jun 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. Gaining experience in marketing, communications, editorial operations, project management, time management, organizational skills, and interpersonal communication, which can help you become more competent in those areas, learn what you're good at, like and dislike, progress your career with the company, or use the experience to pursue another role that fits your goals. 2. Working a hybrid schedule with the ability to handle your work on a computer is a great lifestyle and flexibility advantage. Working adjacent to Downtown Chicago is an incredible experience that can bring even more lifestyle, professional, and personal opportunities. 3. Networking and getting to know a diverse group of people in the company and your department is great for relationship building, both professionally and socially. 4. Smithbucklin provides a robust onboarding and professional development program, providing support for advancing your career, feeling more comfortable at the company, and pushing you to grow.

Cons

1. Workloads can be overwhelming if not properly managed. Managing tasks for several clients at once demands a higher level of time management, organization, consistency, and interpersonal communication tolerance (for a great number of meetings, emails, and messages) that seem to be quite challenging for many associates. But if you ground yourself and continue to become efficient at your workflows, you can handle it. 2. Performing work across different clients makes it hard to focus and specialize. You may be more of a generalist starting, but by discovering the industries, clients, and type of work you like, you may be able to carve out a path you want. 3. The work itself, which can consist of executing digital marketing, comms, or editorial operations tasks, can seem underwhelming, and the learning curve may take time, but the tasks themselves are not necessarily difficult.

1
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Smithbucklin Response
4w
Thank you for your feedback. We're glad you valued the professional development opportunities, hybrid work environment and collaborative culture. We appreciate your time with us and wish you success in your future endeavors.
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