This is a compilation of stories - positive and negative, mostly negative - about working at Meltwater. Because the original post where these were written as comments is being forcibly taken down (supposedly because of copyright infringement) the stories are being included in a new post. Thanks to everyone who sent these and be sure that only those are included which are already public as comments. If you would like your story to be removed, send an e-mail to antimeltwater@live.com and it will be taken down.
Enjoy!
"Worst company ever"
lilpea
by far the worst company EVER! on top of the things that were said in earlier post, they make promises in the office such as "if you do everything right...prospect, get trials out, stay on the phone you will do well, and we will do everything to help you" Not the case at all. If you are not a managers favorite, you will get screwed. They do not recognize hard work, and only reward those who get meltwater brainwashed.
furthermore, they referred to people who had quit, or gotten fired as "he/she gone", as if they werent a real individual. they also thought it was wrong when someone left the company, and didn't want to announce it to the entire office.
they also have people illegally working in the united states apparently...
Basically never work for this company. Its awful.
"Very cult like"
emma
I worked for Meltwater a year ago, from June 07-August 07. It was my first job out of college, and I moved to Chicago to work for them. I was excited by the recruitment process, and although I had many lingering questions, and concerns- I still went. The website is the least helpful site I've ever encountered to say the least. As a sales job it was awful. I didn't know going into it that I was going to be a full time cold-call saleswoman- but I was. We worked 10 hour days and were expected to work after hours at home researching leads. We were watched by our managers like hawks, and spoken to like children. Although it is possible to make some decent money- you cant depend on it, and the pay structure is nothing like they would lead you to believe.
The whole company culture is VERY cult like. I felt like the only one not drinking the koolaid if you know what I mean. The semi annual trips are mandatory and dont expect to get out of going. You are sharing rooms with your coworkers and staying in seedy motels.
Our LA trip was the WORST time of my life. They force closeness on employees that is inappropriate- we weren't in a sorority, and I didnt feel the need to be BFF with everyone in my office.
Inappropriate touching also happens, they chalk it up to being Swedish/Norwegians but I wasn't buying it.
One event that was particularly interesting was a Green Card issue. Our two managers were Swedes, and they were in the US on work visas. They had told the US Gov that they were interns for MWater, and that another employee in our office was their boss. They essentially forced this employee to lie to the US about what these two men did for our company in order to secure a longer visa stay. I was floored that such things occurred.
I put in as much time as I could, selling a mediocre product. Frankly Google news feed is just as effective and its FREE. Everyone knows about it which just makes the Mwater product harder and harder to market.
STAY AWAY FROM THESE JERKS!
elaine
I worked for MWN last year for abt 2mths... OMG.. it was really the worst time of my life. Again, like the previous comments, nothing was clear. We didnt even get a contract before we left for our training. Aft 1 month, we realised we were working for a company without a valid employment contract in a foreign country.
Yes, the culture is really cult like. U have to bond w them, spend every second and time w each other, otherwise, u r an outcast. Geezz and they promote people who have no experience managing people, who have no clue becuz they r too young and sometimes, these people are even not v bright...
Anyways, it was an experience and I dare say, I will nv ever ever work for such a company ever again. And I hope more people will speak up so that other young people will not be attracted by the recuitment process only to be a telemarketer in a shitty company.
"Unprofessional and disgusting"
jott
When I started at M|News there were 20 people in my office.... now they're down to 7. Coincidence? I think not.
I won't regurgitate what my ex-colleagues truthfully and horifically stated, but I will add some new comments and FUN FACTS to the mix...
- BIG BROTHER (let's call him JORN, for kicks) IS WATCHING YOU! Got this little insider piece of info: Every month the Managing Director gets a phone bill which records EVERY SINGLE CALL EVERY PHONE MAKES. This includes time of call, business of the phone number called & length of call. This info allows them to know EXACTLY what you're doing/calling, EXACTLY when you're doing it. And I thought them looking over your shoulder at your computer screen was creepy.
-They put you in morally and ethically compromising situations. Calling a man's cell phone when his wife just had a baby to see if he'll "sign on the line that is dotted"?? I DON'T THINK SO. Promising a large client that you back up the Meltwater tool 100%, even though you know- BECAUSE IT'S A PIECE OF SHIT!- that it'll probably miss important articles? I'm sorry, but in my book that's called LIEING. Or how about registering a sale when the client NEVER signed the contract?? And you find out later that your contact was never authorized to sign off in the first place?! According to Meltwater a verbal agreement from an unqualified contact STILL MEANS it's a done deal and that you must inform the appropriate contact that, even though they never signed anything, they owe you 10K. INSANE!
- The office INCEST is ridiculous! Everyone hooks up with everyone and it's unprofessional and disgusting.. This behavior is encouraged by constant communication w/other offices through MSN and the company semi-annual trips to "fun and exciting locations", which might as well serve as glorified orgies... They expect you to stay out all night: drinking and partying and hooking up! THE CEO even through a party in his hotel suite!! WTF?!
-And if you wanted to report this incestuous or unethical or, hell, any of the disturbing behavior that unfolds in a meltwater office on any given day, guess what? There is no HR department to report to!! No HR... No 401K... Is this even a real company?!! I'm surprised they actually offered medical benefits.
- They made me announce to the entire office, with no advance warning, that I had quit. I quit on a Tuesday morning.. My managing director told me to come in at the end of the day to say goodbye, hand in my computer & keys, etc... WELL- when I got there, everyone just thought I had been out sick!! MY MANAGING DIRECTOR NEVER TOLD THEM I HAD QUIT.. she made me tell them.. UHH.. AWKWARD?? again, the unprofessionalism is unbelievable....
- If you quit, expect them to badmouth you. When I quit my manager told the other members on my team that I "couldn't take direction" and that I "just didn't fit the culture" (thank God for that!). Again, unprofessional.
- They violate your privacy. When an ex-colleague of mine quit she left her MSN name and password stored in the computer.. She later saw that someone from Meltwater had logged into her account. um... gonna go out on a limb and say that's illegal.
Needless to say, I spent a miserable 4 months at this terrible terrible company.. I wouldn't wish those 4 months on my worst enemy. So, what I'm trying to say... STAY AWAY!!
"High-pressured phone-sales cult"
Dale
wow - thank god there are actually some normal people who got out like I did!! I worked in the Manchester office back in 2005. It is a cult - I felt like I was the only one who felt really embarassed one day when we were shown a video in the Oslo office of a guy surfing a huge wave (accompanied by over the top rock music) and told that we had to go out and achieve our goals (cue much wooping and high-fives).
At first things went quite well and the management were nice with us. However, every month the team leader or office leader would take you to one side for a 'chat', to which he ahd brought a list of the phone calls you had made that month and potential deals that could come in.
In my second month I reached my 10000 target (only the second person to do it from my office). Wow - I got a phonecall from Jorn - he wanted to congratulate me personally on doing so well. (Cue more wooping and cheering via msn from brain-washed scandinavians) However, the following month I took 2 weeks holiday and was only able to bring in 3500. I got another phone call from Jorn, as did my office manager Clive Tomkinson, asking why I wasn't performing that month. Forget the fact I had the highest sales of any of the new starters in my office!!
Anyway, the best part was after coming back from a day off sick, I went for a return to work meeting in a nearby cafe with Clive Tomiknson (office manager) and Charles Haworth (team leader. Clive was great and chirpy all day with me leading up to the meeting. However when we sat down for the 'meeting' Clive decided to take offence to the fact I had been off sick for a day and proceeded to shout in my face, accusing me of taking the p**s out of him'. Nice....!
I really could not advise anybody more against taking a job with this company. Yes, on paper they seem like they're very successful amd expanding massively. However, this is done by taking bright energetic young graduates and reducing them to soulless zombies by running them down with high-pressured telephone sales. I actually felt like the soul had been drained from my body when I left this horrible place.
DO NOT bother applying for this company. It is a high-pressured phone-sales cult and nothing more. They want you to live to work and not work to live (lots of offices are kitted out with kitchens and even beds so that people stay late and sleep over there). Very strange!!
"M News majorly screwed me up"
Kopi
omg omg omg I was so happy to find this blog! I think M News majorly screwed me up. I gave up a job which sucked, because of better pay and the works, to work for M. News. Suddenly, I realized that the previous job didn't suck so much after all!
The cult issues really disgusted me. It was as if i wasn't allowed to have a mind of my own anymore, and that I was committing some sort of huge sin if I didn't smile, laugh and "network" all the time. My colleagues were quite rich, and were eating at these expensive places all the time during lunch. I couldn't afford it, but had to "be part of the team".
And it's true, they don't recognize hard work, and only give credit to those who have been brainwashed. I remember thinking, "these are all smart people, how did they get so stupid???". And I really, really hated their "proven sales methodology", as they call it - it involves lying, flirting, and being extremely persistent to the point of being disrespectful to the client or potential client. I couldn't bear the thought of doing that to someone else, e.g., disturbing them on their private mobile during dinner with their wife, or something like that.
And it's also true that they treat people like complete idiots/children. My manager hounded me every five minutes and eavesdropped every conversation I had on the phone. She'd whisper to me what to say to the client on the other side of the line, and one time, the client said, "I know it's not your fault that you're so persistent. I can hear your boss whispering to you. Tell her that she's being very cheap and unprofessional."
Thank god I got out of there fast, but then I've been in a string of bad companies ever since...now I've developed a fear of jobs because of all the shit they throw at you. Argh.
"I probably will kick myself for leaving"
Poitiers
I worked for Meltwater news for 1 year before I moved to Europe to open a business in Italy with my Uncle. I may be biased but I read the above comments and laughed. First of all, I don't think that Meltwater is for everyone but a mediocre product? Is that why all the fortune 500 companies are clients & the company is one of the fastest rising internet companies in the world? You should really get your facts straight. "Stay away from these jerks". WOW someone is bitter, like I said, it's not for everyone but there and so many people doing so well in the company and make a lot of money.
Although I must admit, the recruitment process was vague (in the day to day job description and explanation) I succeeded and made great money during my time there. I think Emma (above) must have had a low self esteem...inappropriate touching? LOL The semi-annual trips she talks about...Well, after New Years for 5 dayds, they flew all of us to Monaco and we stayed in the most gorgeous hotel I have ever been to, everything paid and we basically partied the entire time and had so much fun. Everyone in the company is young and outgoing...you obviously are not going to have a good time if you're a negative person and closed minded.
Anyway, sales is not always fun...OBVIOUSLY but I was able to see a lot of my friends move up in the company to completely new roles that have nothing to do with Sales. Sales isn't always sexy but if you're good at it, you WILL make money and put your time in and you will be awarded.
I probably will kick myself for leaving, especially since I hear when they go public, the employees will make a great profit. Anyone remember a company called google going public???
Read your facts and then decide for yourself! Know going in that you have to put your time in and do cold calling to sell but if you're good, you are rewarded.
"It's all relative"
Janelle
I worked for Meltwater for 3 months before I quit.
I wished I could have done better b/c the company itself seems promising but to be honest, I'm just not the most motivated individual, haha. I have to say my MD (Managing Director) was so great. They were all such nice people but it just wasn't for me. I didn't really know too much going into it but no one really does too much. That's what sales is all about though, they make it sound amazing and then you can decide for yourself if you can handle it or not. I don't think it was "Cult" like, that's just strange. The people that work there were fun and loved to party, haha.
In the beginning, you have to work hard and long hours to hit your monthly quota but most people get into a routine and it becomes more natural to them hence easier. Sales just isn't so fun for me but those who could sell did very well.
There were a some guys in our office who did well and made a lot of money. If you're into sales and are good at it, Meltwater is definitely the way to go. If you're scared of cold calling don't do it.
It's all relative, I hear the company has grown/opened so many more offices and expanding like crazy in the US so they gotta be doing something right.
"The fun and not so fun"
anti
meltwater news. let me tell you that yes, it's not for everyone - most jobs aren't for everyone, but this one is not for a LOT of people.
i worked there for over a year and saw many different aspects of the company. i saw it grow from just a few offices in the US to so many that it couldn't handle managing them all.
one of the reasons i took the job over another (really good) offer was the company culture - or what was so effectively sold to me as the company culture during my recruitment session.
meltwater news takes pride in its company culture. they want each of their offices to run like a mini meltwater news world - they want each office to be just like the first in norway. to do so, they instill company values. each employee is a meltwater ambassador and should share the following core values.
the core values are MORO, ENERE, RESPEKT (apologies if i have mispelled these norwegian words).
1) MORO (translates to fun or as one upper manager explained "joy" in english)
i would say that aspects of meltwater are fun. joy i am not convinced of.
examples of the fun and not so fun:
- working with young (straight from college for the most part -poor kids), smart, ambitious, and of course good looking people. that sounds like a great environment and it is to some extent. you feel camaraderie, you feel kinship, you make friends, you throw nerf footballs around, etc.
however, a comment on the good looking people part...one rumor in the US went that one of the upper managers only hired women based on their appearances. actually, i witnessed many comments made about potential female employees during the recruitment - they were downright rude and disrespectful about women's looks and potential to succeed in the company. if the woman was attractive, this boosted her chance of getting hired.
- parties! everyone loves parties... but parties are mandatory at meltwater (this is one of many unspoken rules at meltwater news).
yes, they fly you to some lavish, over the top, expensive, international location once every year in january and then you sit in the hotel conference room for 2 days doing ridiculous sales workshops. then after sometimes more than 8 hours of workshops and more hours of other mandatory events, they expect you to party like a rockstar all night long, sometimes in the CEOs suite. scandalous rumors of the CEO hooking up with employees are common. professionalism is thrown out the window.
despite the company's "NO DIPPING" policy (no dipping in the company ink), employees hook up quite frequently. hard to resist when they liquor you up and then put you all in a club with euro trance blasting.
other parties. a summer party each year. slutty dress, drunken speeches, drunken business conversations (oh, yes, they do it all the time), etc. blah blah you've read above.
i have witnessed inappropriate touching and inappropriate comments at many of these parties. it's true, meltwater news does not have an HR department, so it's difficult to report harassment because it's the upper managers who are normally doing the harassing. and most people do ignore it because the upper managers are Scandinavian and thus there must be a cultural misunderstanding. however, these Scandinavians know american culture well and know better. other people ignore it because with meltwater news, it's hard to draw a clear line between what is considered friendly and what is considered professional. you can't just tell your boss who is also your friend that you don't like when they make comments about seeing you naked! (yes, this happened). girls, it's tough in the meltwater world.
friday parties. go out with your coworkers and "bond" - more. that's fun. but it starts to get old when your lifelong friends tell you they never see you anymore and they think you are in a cult. or when you feel forced to go which many employees do.
- sales! yeah actually sales can be really fun! the accomplishment feels great when you get that deal. you can also make good money with an uncapped salary based on commission. but it's not all that it's cracked up to be in the meltwater news world.
the stories above are true - the pissed off client because the manager whispering in the employee's ear, calling the cell phones of potential decision makers at ghastly hours...many shady sales techniques are encouraged and celebrated. think "boiler room" and you will get what i mean.
oh and if you don't sell, meltwater news does not have another department most people can switch over to. it's sales, or client relations - glorified department name also known as customer service or more sales, less earning potential) or a tech job. they have a few other positions, but these jobs require more specific training/degrees.
- promotions (woohoo!) - i was successful in sales and i made a decent amount of money. however, then they promote you. great job! but wait a second, now as a sales manager, you have the same target/quota, have to keep your sales pipe piping hot, and then have 2 to 3 or sometimes 4 new employees (newbies) to manage. what?!?
it's all part of meltwater news' scheme to keep your ego pumped and your wallet thin. you see, as a sales manager you have been promoted because you are hitting targets and they see management potential in you. that means you are making 20% commission on everything you sell. but before you can rack up a decent amount of this money in the bank, they promote you. this lessens your chances of selling in the same capacity and increases your work load/responsibility. if your newbies do not hit target, you are seen as a failure and then the management starts to have those heart to heart talks with you about your lack of drive, your lack of stamina and your lack of management potential. then when you finally get the hang of working 12 hour days and micro managing those newbies and hit your target dead on with sweat beating on your forehead, they promote you again!
each promotion basically limits your salary potential in a way that's deceiving. it's still uncapped (unless you are a managing director of your own office), but the amount of time, effort, and work that they expect of you decreases your chance of success and decreases your salary.
other not so fun things you are required to do at meltwater news:
- participate in recruitment interview sessions that last for sometimes 14 hours each day. many times these recruitments are on the weekend. yes, you still have to go if they want you to. no, your quota is not lessened is you have to go to a recruitment session. why would they compensate you in some way for asking for so much of your free time?
- prospect for your own leads. when? usually at home when you have "free time." don't waste your precious phone calling hours at work!
- manage your accounts and clients that you sold to. yep, it's still your job to take care of these clients at least for a few months. so on top of selling, managing newbies, prospecting and recruiting, you manage client accounts. more work at home with no compensation.
- eat lots of candy and drink lots of redbull. managers use this technique to pump up the office when they need energy to close deals. i am sorry but this is just a pathetic way to try to get your office to "buzz."
so there you have it. the fun and not so fun.
i will have to leave the other values (ENERE and RESPEKT) for another time.
until then, happy reading.
