What it does: provides public relations and marketing consulting services.
Best known for: Being the go-to agency by governments and private companies for drafting public relations crisis campaigns.
Staff stats: 5,000-10,000 employees worldwide
The good bits: Fair compensation, and helpful management staff. Working in Edelman is an opportunity to work for some of the world's most famous companies. Health benefits, maternity and paternity leave, and flexible work schedules.
The not so good bits: Management has a tendency to get too focused on revenue and deadlines, over employees' work-life balance.
Edelman was founded by former journalist and World War II public information officer Daniel J. Edelman in 1952. Edelman thought that he could offer public relations (PR) services that were far more superior to what other PR companies were offering their clients. Edelman brought on well-known clients such as Sara Lee and Paper Mate. He revolutionised the PR industry by using stories that are told through media to help sell products and help brands capture their respective markets.
As the company grew, Edelman worked with various industries, from healthcare to technology. Eventually, Edelman went on to specialise in crisis management—Edelman was the choice of world-renowned companies to handle PR crises. Through the years, Edelman's client list grew to include clients like Nestle, Dow Chemical, and S.C. Johnson.
In 1960, Edelman opened its offices in New York. Five years after, it opened its Los Angeles office, while the London and Washington offices opened in 1967, and 1969, respectively. Edelman's offices in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Canada, Europe, and Latin America opened in the following decades. Daniel Edelman soon passed on the company's leadership role to his son Richard before he passed away in 2013.
Today, Edelman is still one of the world's top-performing PR agencies in the world, helping clients such as Heinz, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Samsung with their PR needs.
Applicants may submit their CV directly to the HR department. Within three weeks, applicants can expect a call from the HR manager to schedule the first interview, which is conducted by the supervisor and manager of the respective department the candidate is applying to. Chosen candidates will be called in for a second interview on the same day. The second interview focuses on salary negotiations.
Applicants can send their CV to the HR department or get a referral from a current employee. Applicants must go through a series of assessments to be considered for a position in Edelman Hong Kong. The first interview is conducted by human resources. Successful applicants are asked to return for a second interview, conducted by the respective department manager. The final stage is a written assessment which includes analytical questions related to their department of interest. Selected candidates are then contacted for a salary negotiation interview.
Applicants may submit their CV either through a staffing agency or directly to the HR department. Chosen applicants will go through a three-phase assessment. The first round of assessments will be a casual interview conducted by the HR department. The second assessment task is a written task to test the applicant's skills. Selected candidates will then proceed to the final interview conducted by the manager or supervisor of the applicant's respective department of interest. The entire recruitment process can last up to three weeks.
Applicants who wish to work in Edelman Singapore may send their CV directly to the HR department. It may take up to two months before an applicant gets an email or a callback from HR scheduling the interview. Chosen applicants will go through two interviews, one with HR and the second interview with managers and supervisors from the applicant's respective department of interest. All the interviews and application processes will only take a day. Chosen applicants will be notified within the following week about the result of their application.
Applicants who have sent their CV to Edelman's HR department will go through a two-phase assessment and one interview. The first phase of the assessment is a document evaluation where the applicant's portfolio and professional history will be discussed. The second phase is an English proficiency test where applicants are asked to translate news articles from English to Korean, and vice versa. Applicants that pass the assessments are called in for the final interview.
Applicants may send their CV directly to HR's email address. Within two weeks, chosen applicants will be called in for two interviews; one with an officer from the corporate division, and one with a manager from the applicant's department of interest. During both interviews, details from the applicant's history will be discussed, and the applicant will be asked about his or her proficiency in previous roles.
The recruitment process in the South African offices of Edelman may take up to three weeks. Applicants may send their CV directly to HR's email address. Chosen applicants can expect three stages including an interview with management, a written test and a final test which assesses the applicant's ability to come up with strategies and ideas that will improve the applicant's department of interest. The applicant will be given a week to turn in these strategies and ideas. A few days after submission, the applicant will receive an email or a call, notifying them of their application results.
Those who complete an Edelman internship have a great chance of being hired at the conclusion of their internship. In 2014, more than 600 interns were hired after their internships.
Edelman is a multinational company with offices in 60 locations, worldwide, which opens up opportunities for employees to move throughout the company, globally or locally, with support from the company. Those who decide to move on from Edelman have landed managerial roles in other world-renowned companies such as Facebook, Walmart, and Bloomingdales.
Worldwide, Edelman offers flexible work hours, telecommuting and reduced workweek arrangements, extended parental leave, family leave as well as child and pet adoption support.
Entry-level employees in the PR industry in Indonesia can receive as much as IDR 14,757,612 per month. Employees that are promoted to executive positions in Edelman can earn as much as IDR 106,420,000 per month.
Interns in Edelman Hong Kong are paid up to HKD 5,000. Employees in managerial positions can earn as much as HKD 50,000.
Edelman India pays its interns INR 6,000 per month. The salary for associate employees can go as high up as INR 20,000 per month. Those in the managerial positions can earn at least INR 111,000.
Interns in Edelman Singapore are paid SGD 1,000 per month. Associate employees can earn at least SGD 2,400 and can go as high as SGD 3,200 per month. Managers in Edelman Singapore can earn at least SGD 61,000 a month.
Interns in Edelman South Korea are paid about KRW 1,151,000 per month. Directors and managers earn at least KRW 39,000,000 and their salaries can go as high as KRW 1,010,250,000.
Entry-level employees in Edelman in the UAE. earn at least AED 14,000. Those in the managerial roles earn at least AED 30,000, while executive personnel earn as much as AED 120,000.
Employees in Edelman South Africa can earn at least 46,000 ZAR per month, higher than the industry average of 33,000 ZAR. Senior officers in the company earn at least 145,000 ZAR.
Edelman Indonesia, much like its offices in other countries, has good international connections. As the company works for clients on a multinational scale, communication and corporate structure make it easy for employees to coordinate with each other. However, handling big clients forces the company to miss important aspects of the office culture like work-life balance, and the maintenance of office morale.
New employees may find it quite difficult to get used to the work culture in Edelman India. They have the opportunity of working for big brands and gain experience in expanding their expertise, but they should also expect management to be less than accommodating to the pressures of the heavy workload.
Edelman Singapore has a strong team-based work culture. Management is constantly challenging employees to be more productive and to constantly improve. It's no secret that the workload in Edelman's offices in Singapore is high, which makes it challenging for employees to maintain a good work-life balance.
Employees in Edelman South Korea are used to working long hours. New employees are trained on how to work efficiently with a global mindset. It is an office where contributions are valued.
The offices of Edelman in the UAE offer a cosmopolitan experience for its employees—they get to work for world-famous brands and be part of a global agency. What new employees need to watch out for, however, is the office politics that can either make or break career growth.
Employees at Edelman South Africa are constantly challenged by the clients and the management to produce better results. This may enable employees to get better at their jobs, but it can also mean putting in long hours during the workweek.
Edelman has implemented various programs as an advocate of human rights, sustainability, and education. The company offers employees eight hours to spend volunteering, each year, as well as the chance to put company funds towards their chosen cause.
In 2012, Edelman launched the Global Women's Empowerment Network (GWEN) to promote the equal representation of women in the workforce. 68% of Edelman's workforce are women, but only 37% of these employees are in leadership positions. Today, more than 70% of Edelman's employees are women, with more than 40% of which are in the top seats in the company.
Edelman offers the framework for work-life balance but appears to struggle to put this into practice in some locations. As a leading PR company, interns and graduates can expect to learn from and work with innovative PR talent.