Barrows Reviews

3.9

66% would recommend to a friend

(66 total reviews)

74% positive business outlook

Barrows has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 66 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Barrows employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

66 reviews
2.0
25 Apr 2019

It is better to be 'part of the family'

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Barrows (New York) is a great place to work if you want a casual work environment, lax work hours and if you’re not looking to be overly challenged. Its where you want work if you’re happy with complacency.

Cons

Most of the positive reviews about Barrows on Glassdoor are not written by their employees, but by the HR department. This is pretty much common knowledge at the agency. That, in itself, tells you a lot about the place. HR was directed to take on this task after reading the many negative reviews about Barrows. At first glance, Barrows looks like a wonderful place to work. They do a good job of selling the place, while making lots of promises. The aesthetics of the office is great too. It looks like a fun, creative New York ad agency. Unfortunately, Barrows is not that. In reality, Barrows is a glorified retail shelf designer/ producer. The majority the of the creative and strategic brand positioning work is done elsewhere, and then Barrows is given the task of making product displays – that’s it. Finally, Barrows is built on nepotism, and, unfortunately, this is unlikely to change. New employees quickly see that if they are not related to one of the founding families of the agency, or if they don’t have some personal family tie, chances of upward mobility aren’t very likely. All you have to do is look at the company’s management to see that most of the leadership roles aren’t based on merit, but marriage

1.0
6 Sept 2016

Designer

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Decent client list and some unique ways of approaching design. Some great people to work with on the design side. Pay was okay.

Cons

Although the work was interesting, the project direction and management was the worst I have ever been involved with. Mainly because management was horribly inexperienced. Barrows seems to hire young people, who were not qualified to lead a team. They also seem to get rid of people that have families or other commitments that could prevent them working 12 to 14 hour days. If you're considering working here, approach with caution...don't be fooled by all the money they might offer, because believe me, you won't be happy. Also, beware of the "high school" culture.

1.0
28 Nov 2017

You better be one of the cool kids

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Benefits are pretty good to start

Cons

If you don't "fit in" you won't last

Viewing 1 - 3 of 66 Reviews

Glassdoor has 88 Barrows reviews submitted anonymously by Barrows employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Barrows is right for you.