Answers To Your Most Frequently Asked Questions!
Q: What is it like to work at Weber Shandwick? A: It’s a rush of positive energy, constant learning and deep pride in accomplishing great things as part of a team. Every day is different, and our employees strive to help every client develop a legion of believers, supporters and followers they need today to drive growth, cultivated through the power of advocacy. Weber Shandwick repeatedly has been recognized by industry awards programs as one of the best large agencies to work for, and many of our offices have won “best places to work” honors in their individual markets.
Q: What is the best thing about working at Weber Shandwick? A: The answer our employees give most often is “the people.” Our team members are diverse, highly motivated, smart, creative, talented and energetic, and combine creativity with incredible business acumen. Employees are empowered to work together across practice groups and geographies, drawing upon and learning from the best talent, services and resources throughout the agency to do superior work for our clients.
Q: Can you describe Weber Shandwick’s culture?A: Weber Shandwick combines the best of a boutique firm – creativity, agility and entrepreneurial spirit – with the advantages of global organization: a far-reaching, worldwide network, employees with specialized skills and knowledge, and the resources needed to get the job done. One of the agency’s hallmarks is our true spirit of collaboration, within teams and across geographies and practice areas.
Our employees come from a wide range of backgrounds, beliefs, experiences and perspectives. The fresh thinking that results from this diversity helps us deliver superior solutions for our clients, while contributing to a highly engaging, culturally rich work environment for our employees. In addition, our leadership team promotes an intense client focus and encourages seamless teamwork. And, we work hard and play hard, enjoying activities such as company softball and volleyball teams, summer gatherings and “Agency Idol” competitions.
Q: Why do people choose to work at Weber Shandwick?A: It’s exciting and compelling to be part of a winning team that gives you the opportunity to learn and grow professionally every day. Weber Shandwick’s culture, people and rewarding and fulfilling client work demand strategic thinking and keep our employees engaged and focused. In addition, the agency’s broad scope provides continued opportunities for professional growth and career progression. Equally important, the agency works hard to promote work/life balance for employees through a range of programs offered in individual offices.
Q: What differentiates Weber Shandwick from other agencies?A: We strive to help every client develop a legion of believers, supporters and followers they need today to drive growth, cultivated through the power of advocacy. We are intensely focused on client service and execution. As a result of our efforts, Weber Shandwick has won more
PRWeek awards than any other agency in the last 10 years, was named an “Agency of the Decade” by
Advertising Age,
The Holmes Report Global Agency of the Year, International Consultancy of the Year by
PRWeek UK and is regularly ranked in “Best Places to Work” lists.
In addition, Weber Shandwick has the largest, most sophisticated global network of any agency in the world. We are organized around the principle of helping clients benefit from our scale, while offering the entrepreneurial nature and can-do attitude of a smaller firm. We have an extensive set of tools and methodologies to leverage our strengths and maximize work efficiencies and effectiveness globally.
Q: Does Weber Shandwick specialize in particular industries or service offerings?A: Our expertise spans a wide range of industries, issues and specialty areas, and we develop and add new offerings each year. Our employees collaborate across our worldwide network to draw upon the best expertise for each client engagement. Digital communications and social media are embedded in everything we do, providing new, evolving opportunities to engage consumers, people with opinions or anyone who voices a perspective.
Click here for a list of our major practice areas and specialty services. Regardless of practice or specialty, our communication programs are crafted to sustain and build advocacy on behalf of our clients and their organizations, products, services and issues around the world.
Q: What type of training and professional development does Weber Shandwick offer?A: We provide a continuous learning environment for all employees through our Learning Navigator program. This professional development program offers more than 100 courses across nine tracks in a variety of formats, including live classroom training, e-learning and webinars. More than 95 percent of our employees have participated in at least one course. Our course offerings are broad, and cover topics such as managing your career, negotiation skills, creativity and innovation, digital communications and situational leadership, among others. Additional online management training courses are offered in partnership with
Harvard Business School Publishing.
Q: How does Weber Shandwick evaluate employee performance?A: Our talent and performance-assessment processes focus on providing our employees with developmental opportunities to improve their skills, knowledge and abilities, preparing them for future positions.
Q: How might my career progress at Weber Shandwick?A: Weber Shandwick is deeply committed to career development. We offer four development tracks for client-facing employees: business unit leader, practice leader, client relationship leader and corporate services.
Q: What opportunities are available for international experience at Weber Shandwick?A: To gain further experience in the global scope of our business and cross-office collaboration and integration, Weber Shandwick provides employees with the opportunity to apply for participation in our Global Exchange Program. Employees selected for the program have the unique opportunity to work in a different global office for six months. They handle multinational accounts, develop new skills and gain first-hand experience with diverse business environments and cultures across our global network. Participants then bring their experience back to their home offices to share with colleagues and clients.
Q: What is Weber Shandwick’s approach to social media and digital communications?A: Digital communications and social media are embedded in everything we do. We view these evolving areas as new opportunities to engage consumers and reach people with opinions. Weber Shandwick has always built campaigns based on how people are influenced and where they get their information. Because people are influenced in myriad ways, each Weber Shandwick campaign is optimized for the combination of channels that carry the most influence, whether those channels are online or offline. We call this approach “Inline.”
The Inline approach helps us identify which combination of channels will be most effective in driving advocacy for a specific brand, issue or company. We offer training in Inline communications through our Learning & Development program, and have digital experts embedded in each office throughout the Weber Shandwick network.
Q: Is Weber Shandwick a “green” company?A: Our culture is environmentally focused and Weber Shandwick is committed to being green. In 2008, our U.S. offices were awarded the prestigious “green certification” (ISO 14001) following a review of our environmental management processes. Our London office also is certified. We have green teams in every office that customize environmental programs, from “lights out” days to “bring your mug to work” promotions.
Q: What is Weber Shandwick’s approach to corporate social responsibility?A: Weber Shandwick’s global specialty group, Social Innovation, guides the agency’s efforts to deliver exceptional value to clients interested in corporate social responsibility, sustainability, strategic philanthropy, cause marketing and nonprofit branding, positioning and advocacy. Our approach is to embed innovative communications programs and principles in our clients’ businesses, in consumer experiences and throughout nonprofit advocacy.
Q: What type of community outreach or pro-bono efforts does Weber Shandwick support?A: Weber Shandwick supports the communities in which it operates through pro-bono community outreach programs around the world. These efforts are an important part of our company culture and bring to life our commitment to serve as advocates for causes in which we believe. We recognize the significant contributions of our colleagues’ pro-bono efforts, which are as varied and diverse as our offices, through our annual Making a Difference internal awards program
In addition, through office initiatives, we partner with community organizations to enhance job readiness, accessibility and success. Some examples include
Hoop Dreams, Washington, D.C.;
Enterprise for High School Students (EHSS), Los Angeles;
Springboard Forward, Los Angeles; and
YouthForce, Seattle.
Q: How does Weber Shandwick promote work/life balance?A: Through our offices, we offer a variety of work-life wellness programs promoting experiences that enhance creativity, cultural awareness and health and wellness. In addition, offices often organize discounted tickets to cultural events, memberships to health clubs, concierge services, awards and recognition programs, intramural sports, seasonal outings and more.
Q: How should I apply for a job at Weber Shandwick?A: Click here to go to our job listing database, through which you can view available positions and submit your resume online. Please note that to be considered for a position, you must submit your resume following the instructions provided. Weber Shandwick policy requires that all employees and job applicants be treated equally without regard to race, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, veteran status and disability.
Q: Where can I find more information about the public relations industry? A: The following sites offer helpful information about the public relations business: