Common Thread Collective reviews

MANAGEMENT! 90% of the management is unqualified to do their jobs. The company has people in positions of leadership that would NEVER succeed in the role of those they manage. Paid media has leadership that's never managed an ad account, creatives have leadership that can't discern between a good/bad ad, the NY extension is led by someone who's never excelled at any role they've been in, and the company has people making processes around project management but no one actually has formal project management training. Besides the lack of technical skills, most of the management also lacks people skills. The company may pride itself on transparency and feedback, but that's as good as trying to water your lawn behind a glass wall. You can see exactly what's going on the other side, but the moment you try to do something about it, the water just splashes back on you. They always ask for feedback but don't really do anything about it and when you try to give managers "managing up moments," they get defensive and make excuses. So many people actually feel uncomfortable giving their managers unfiltered feedback because they feel that nothing will change and it will only paint them in a negative light to their managers. You'll be stressed and overworked if you are a media buyer or team lead. These are the people who are responsible for generating revenue for the clients and they take the most heat. If something goes wrong, all fingers point to either or both of those positions. You'll only get celebrated if upper management likes you or if you have a fragile personality, then management will make sure that even if you took a dump in the wrong place, you get props for finally learning how to poop on your own. The internal company structure is absolute chaos. Every department points fingers at each other for who is responsible for what, but somehow only the team leads and buyers are responsible for revenue. The creative department is unorganized, lackluster, and is the same poorly run cycle regardless of how many times it's been restructured. Lastly, if you are extremely sensitive about discussing social issues, then this isn't the place for you. The company really prides itself on having women in management, whether they deserve to be there or not. It definitely leans left. If you don't want to share your dreams or dig deep into your soul, then this definitely isn't the place for you. It's mandatory for everyone to participate in a dream program and share with the company AND it's one of your kpis.

Anyone considering working here should brace themselves for high stress, low pay and backstabbing co-workers. Every agency is stressful and demanding to a point. However, working at common thread collective I have never felt more stressed or tasked to the max in my life. CTC is a total sweatshop. Do not be fooled, you will have no work/life balance and little to no room for advancement unless you are in the inner circle or you will be given lip service or the run-around. Pretty much all of the people who were promoted to managers obtained their position not by their contributions or expertise but only because they are apart of the CEOs inner circle. There is no integrity at this company. You're pressured to work insane hours while the managers watch your every move. I thought that moving the company to fully remote would elevate some pressure. However, the micromanagement and work load has actually gotten so much worse in the last month to a level I couldn’t even imagine was possible. CTC prides itself on being “the coolest place to work” and “care about their employees more than any other company”. The last time I checked, forcing employees to work 50+ hours every week and frequently work on weekends is not very cool or caring. CTC’s idea of the coolest place to work is listening to the CEO give “inspirational” sermons, mandatory therapy, and a company retreat at a school children’s sleepover camp in big bear. Common thread promotes a “family” culture where everyone pretend to be best friends. If you don’t particularly enjoy forced bonding events with your coworkers then this place is not for you. Despite the extraordinary effort by management to portray to the world that working at CTC is a happy place, that couldn’t be farther than the reality of the daily grind . Your coworkers/managers will smile to your face and throw you under the bus the next minute. CTC has a way of breaking down your spirit which is a reason why so many people have reached their breaking point over the last few months. I know for a fact that many employees - at all levels- including myself are out and looking for work elsewhere and are only riding it out until they find a new gig. Read the the other recent reviews, they're up here for a reason. Don't be fooled into thinking your experience will be any different. Hard work, dedication and commitment are not valued at common thread. You are just a number.