Editorial hires beware! - Editorial Staffer AARP Employee Review

1.0
17 Jun 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Leadership is spending millions on renovating the building - maybe not a good use of membership fees, but it will be a great facility. If you are in the right department, you're golden. Decent pay and benefits.

Cons

1. Editorial leadership is nasty, out-of-touch and not forthcoming. 2. Content providers and lower-rung editors constantly ridiculed and abused by upper management. 3. Ideas must conform to assorted agendas. 4. Content producers are not valued. 5. Managers have no idea how to motivate or reward staff. 6. There's a Devil Wore Prada mentality among key senior editors. 7. Too many meetings, which seem to serve the purpose of justifying many underwhelming jobs.

Explore other reviews about AARP

5.0
28 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

great benefits even for interns like free lunch, reimbursed parking, hybrid work. good opportunities to network, hone your skills, and potentially get a permanent role within the organization.

Cons

long onboarding. lots of hr training.

2.0
2 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

benefits are strong - pension, vacation, sick, caregiving work life balance is generally good

Cons

AARP suffers from a serious toxic work culture, particularly in the IT and Digital Transformation departments. Leadership is atrocious. People leading the 2 key technology functions for the business are incompetent and ego maniacs. Both departments are extremely toxic with burned out employees and contractors. Money gets wasted in the extreme due to these factors. Constant signal switching on projects and priorities. Everyone you work with is unhappy. Bullying and retaliation are common. Avoid these departments in particular, but the whole organization is top heavy, with terrible leadership all around. Still there are some great and talented people, but it's not the norm, and senior leadership is wrought with incompetence and arrogance. The organization flails around endlessly, and blows money with no discipline or rigor to their work and methods. Think someone is juicing the Glassdoor numbers with people saying the place is great. No opportunity for growth. The organization tries to do good work, and does in many ways, but it's so poorly run that it severely hampers its potential.

4
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