Reading through the list of reviews, I see how after every heartfelt one a 5 star thingy appears. And that's what prompted me to share my own experience.
Cause it's is how Semrush is or was for the year I've spent there. Keeping a straight face, while collectively deciding how to handle mounting criticism or backlash in a dedicated Slack channel.
There are stories from old-timers about how great the culture and the vibe were. And there's reality when old-timers are let go in one day after 8-10 years of work and dedication.
They keep replying in comments that "they need to adapt for x,y,z. And that they are aimed at leading and scaling" Well, I am all for strategic decisions, which were none. It's just a mess.
Multiple times you come to work for the news of a new big shiny change without any clear communication from high-ups. People got more and more frustrated. And then the fear of lay-offs with that storm has been added on top.
There are mid-high managers who go around talking about greatness and unrealistic ideas of market conquering. And then there are people who work hard, trying to catch up with bloated egos and weird expectations, and then they are just thrown out.
And how's that for a fact: they laid off 120 or 150 people (like 10% I guess of the workforce), including me. And the strangest part is that my direct manager was not aware of the incoming thing until it happened.
How do you decide to let so many people go without even talking to those who really know what the people are doing or how they are performing? 🤷♂️
They just let go of those who were easier to fire cause of contracts, salaries, and other things that have nothing to do with performance (they said it themselves).
AI SEO is the new priority, but they let go even those who worked on it, too.
And that should tell you a lot about the company and how the things are looking there. Maybe it will change, but after a year I will not recommend it to a friend.
