Where to begin… after working at Meltwater for 2 1/2 years, I can certainly say that my experience has been something to remember!
I am extremely thankful for wonderful clients and a great product, however that is not 100% of your day - for starters, Meltwater does not provide equitable pay for anyone that has been with the organization for an extended period of time. At the time of me writing this, the same job / role level, new hires are getting paid upwards of $26k+ more for less experience overall and obviously no experience with the product. When you inquire about this, promises of a promotional cycle and compensation discussion are made, however there is a lack of follow-through and real conversations seeing as majority of leadership is in their first or second jobs (ever) and have been promoted due to roles being vacated.
Meltwater went through a major overhaul of the Customer Success organization in April 2024, meaning that each account receives a CSM, AM and RM - as an Account Manager, your main focus is ACV, well at least you are told that until you realize that your comp plan is set up to pay out more for retention (GRR) of your client portfolio, rather than growth (ACV) of your client portfolio. Leadership pushes demos, SQLs and pipeline creation, while insisting clients have a capacity to spend more - whatever is best for the client does not always supersede the insane / ridiculous / unobtainable quota that you will be given. Quota you say? Yes, out of the entire CS Org. In the Americas, SEVEN, yes 7, Account Managers hit their quota in Q1. Instead of reflecting on how to make things more attainable, so that employees feel heard and listened to, the org was questioned as “what happened” and told “our focuses are in the wrong places” + quotas and “standards” were raised equating to less pay for the same or even slightly better performance.
As for the culture at Meltwater, the company does a phenomenal job showcasing what they want you to see, however if you dig a bit deeper, you can see that it is a group of ill-equipped managers, who do not have tangible experience and/or training to manage the team or portfolio size that they do - for my own personal experience, favorites were obvious (I felt like I was one) and you feel like an outcast and ignorant if you were not one. I know this because I would consider myself “one of the favorites” and was promised promotions and leadership opportunities if I “stayed patient”, yet all things changed when I decided to speak up for myself. One could call it “drinking the kool-aid”, however I have never considered myself a follower and will always speak up for what is right and what is just.
When expressing interest to move internally to another team (Meltwater offers an Internal Mobility Program to support career shifts and or opportunities within the company), I was targeted and told by my manager that I “owed her for the opportunity” and "explain why I want to be on her team and work at Meltwater" to where an HR complaint was made and dismissed by the team without any consideration of training for her. After another two months, I decided that it was time for me to explore other opportunities because the mishandling of the last interaction was so clear - I put in my resignation after discussing feedback and my experience to my manager’s boss and their boss.
48 Hours passed by without hearing from my manager, all while she was discussing me and the situation to several team members (4 that told me explicitly). Including some of the quotes below -
"We hired him back a year ago after he begged for his job back" - I would never beg for a job or to work with you… if I was not good at my job, why would you hire me back?
"He pushed for AM 2 and has been really struggling" - after ranking 2nd for the Americas in Q4, I think the word “struggling” is not an accurate assessment.
"I'm not doing a big announcement to the team that someone is quitting for a second time, I'm over it" - You’re over it? Interesting way to manage, maybe enroll in some course to learn how to have a conversation?
"I have been talking to a lot of people this morning about him" - this one makes me laugh, why would you ever admit this and think that is appropriate in any way?
"I keep hearing how negative he was" - as stated in February in our meeting with HR, please provide examples of team members saying this and I am happy to address. (Look through the glowing client emails that came back from my departure email, I know you can see them)
"If there is ever someone who has a bad attitude like that, I hope you feel comfortable telling me because you shouldn't have to sit there and take it in silence" - YOU are the one that we don’t want to work with. Your managing style is horrific, your ability to micromanage may be the most impressive skill, all while making the environment suffocating and toxic)
All of this to say, I am thankful for my time at Meltwater and have met some of the most wonderful people and clients, while working with a truly world-class tool. You could think “how bad could it really be?”. I landed a new job before resigning, so it doesn’t do me any personal good to share here, however I would want to know how I would be treated before I joined a company - You really need to trust your gut, advocate for yourself, and beware if you are applying for / considering a role. Do your research, look up the hiring manager, and don’t trust everything that is advertised.
