The Nickerson PRoblem - Associate Nickerson Employee Review

Beware! Under the surface of Nickerson’s positivity is a shady, twisted and broken people relations company that cares little for people and the relationships they end up destroying. It is a cruel and stressful job where you will be unhappy and alone for the entire ride. Red flags were present for me at the start, including: - Not being hired for the position applied for until many months later - Being put on the team in the middle of a move; I had to set up computers for myself, the other staff, and the CEO - Having my manager quit without warning and leaving me to fend for myself (this became a running theme in the office) - Staff coming in as early as 6 AM and not leaving until well past 5 PM - Phone systems not being set up correctly; clients and job applicants constantly came in and had no idea who to call or where to meet us - Interns being overworked on executive-level projects without pay - Receiving no formal training, no one to regularly report to, and having no idea what I was supposed to be doing Ready or not, my position and duties kept changing to fit the CEO’s agenda. While this may be common in most jobs, the team would not be fully informed on what any project was about. Also, the CEO was never usually present to give any form of clarity. This only led to miscommunication and frustration. She would often blame others for her own failure to successfully deliver a project. Worse, one’s extra hours, long weekends, and time-off working on these projects usually ended up becoming futile. With the CEO’s mismanaged schedule and needing to have the final say in everything, projects take forever to get approved of. And when I say “everything”, I mean projects ranging from business proposals to a caption on a social media post. The only time you could review them for edits/submission was when it was convenient for her only. And so, more often than not, projects end up being dropped, never to be spoken of again. There is no “I” in team, but there certainly is one in “Nickerson”. This brings me to the worst part of the job... Aside from Nickerson's overall incompetence, what had to have been the most disappointing aspect for me was the team dynamic. It is hard to feel welcome when you are stuck in a distrusting, rude and fearful environment. There is no positive recognition, no team activities, and no one to talk to about your issues without reprehension. Instead, you will be excluded from team meetings and talked down to if you are not a "yes-man". You will constantly be the subject of office gossip and put down for every minor error you make. You will go home most days uninspired, humiliated, and angry. You will be kicked on your way out and never thanked for your hard work and flexibility. The day I was laid off I didn’t receive a performance review or was asked to do a post-job interview. They had already deleted my Dropbox account (while I was still working) and cleared me out immediately without as so much as a goodbye email. They still, however, use team pictures of me and other staff no longer part of the company in recent promotional material. Important components of any team-based environment are trust and communication. When a communications company fails to deliver these components, trust me when I say: Stay far away from Nickerson.