senior account executive

account director

account manager

account executive

hospitality manager

Octagon

I worked at Octagon for about 5 years, and for the majority of my time there, I experienced a lot of pros, on paper. From the blue-chip client accounts, to building and executing unique and impressionable experiences that are sure to add an impressive skillset to your resume.

While there are certainly pros of working at Octagon, in my time there, I experienced far more cons than pros. 

One of the biggest cons of working at Octagon is the pay. They claim to compensate their people in line with market average, but there is constant high-volume attrition due to employees joining other agencies for increased pay/elevated opportunities. Octagon could consider raising compensation across the board but live by the mentality that "someone will always be willing to take the job." At the end of the day, It's true, but it's not right. 

Work/Life balance is also a big area of potential improvement. Octagon as an organization claims to care about the well-being of their employees, including mental health and work life balance. However, your work-life balance will ultimately be determined by your designated client (who in my experience, cared VERY LITTLE, if at all, about the people executing the work, but rather the results produced). Unfortunately, Octagon does little to mitigate this. While it is the nature of the business to a certain extent, Octagon bends over backwards for their clients at the expense of Octagon employees. 

Internal growth/employee development is another area that Octagon claims to focus on, however, it only seems to be the case if you have been identified as a "high potential" employee. If you are not one of the "chosen ones" you will no doubt spend month after month and year after year, wondering why you are not being recognized, promoted or fairly compensated for your work. Instead, you will be "volun-told" to assist with other client projects and teams without additional compensation. 

Lastly, this is a very cut-throat environment, so make sure you're up for that because not everyone is. Octagon is FULL of gossip, cliques, backstabbing and social climbing. This is a place where people will act like your friend to your face but will turn around and report you to your manager for not meeting unrealistic expectations. As a rule of thumb, watch what you say, and who you say it to....trust no one, and always cover yourself because if you don't, you will pay the price.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Support from colleagues (excluding leadership)

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of true transparency—communication is often misleading and inconsistent. “Octagon family” culture is not reflected in reality; clear cliques exist. Employees outside of those circles may feel undervalued or easily replaceable. Leadership lacks consistency, accountability, and clear direction. Noticeable lack of diversity, particularly within leadership roles. Concerns around inclusivity and workplace culture are not adequately addressed. HR communication lacks follow-through, creating a disconnect between what is said and what actually happens. Compensation is not competitive for the workload and expectations. Benefits are below standard. Work-life balance is extremely poor. Recent acquisition appears to have negatively impacted morale, culture, and operations.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
High school drama. Pretends to be inclusive, but is not.

Truly a great company to work for especially if you take the time to get to know your fellow employees. The people there are amazing and make coming into work everyday the best incentive. Client work is engaging and exciting especially if you are on the right team, but there is availability to help out other divisions if the opportunity to comes along and works for your schedule. There are some aspects like pay and politics that make it a not ideal place to work depending on your office location. While they have a solid ground work to get employees in the door it does not necessarily keep them their for more than a couple years especially when it comes to the younger generation of employees.

The job itself is quite simple, but there is a lot of information that you need to learn. When I started they gave me about an hour of training , and then they put me on my own after that. It’s a sink or swim mentality at this job. We work out of a parking garage. There’s pigeons flying around and you’re exposed to whatever diseases the immigrants have. Management is only there to get after you. Schedule is not flexible at all. You’re pretty much stuck with whatever schedule they give you. Definitely do not recommend this job. 

A typical day at work starts at 830 and ends at 7
I learned quite a bit about sponsorships and the financial services and automotive categories 
Management and their particular growth and goals presented challenges 
The hardest part of the job was the competitive nature of team members 
The most enjoyable part of the job was exposure to industries and events I may not have normally attended and been exposed to

Ive been with the company for quite a few years working on one of their major accounts. They pay is bottom of the barrel. If you're lucky and have good directors above you, you can move up but there are a lot of empty promises, and favoritism. BUT, it is still better than a lot of the other agencies I've been with. 

not much direction given

interacting with those at a title below you was looked down upon

quick to throw people under the bus

preach culture and try hard to put it into action, but just not there 

good people leave quickly

great people to work on teams with

life changing events to travel for that most companies would not provide

long hours, unrealistic timetables, no work life balance

-Fast paced, energetic, forward thinking, encouraging, welcoming, open-minded
-Always striving to be the best people for our clients and for each other
-The thought, programming, and consideration for building strong teams was apparent
-Work hard play hard. Everything from happy hours to sangria making competitions, intramurals, and more
-Leaders care about the experience employees are having and go …

I had a great experience working at Octagon. It was a laid back environment with a great atmosphere. I learned a lot on the job from management and co-workers around me. If not for the need to relocate, I would have loved to remain a part of such a great company.

Great opportunities are available for recent college grads to work on national marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, beyond that it is quite a revolving door. Entry and mid level employees seem to last no more than 2-3 years unless they advance quickly (which is really rare) due to lack of competitive salaries and benefits, poor communication from management and poor work-life balance.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior account executive 7 salaries reported	$50,000 per year
Account director 10 salaries reported	$87,250 per year
Account manager 5 salaries reported	$65,000 per year
Account executive 12 salaries reported	$40,000 per year
Hospitality manager 15 salaries reported	$73,400 per year

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