Here’s a hot take…
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There are lot of mixed reviews about Nagarro.. some folks are saying Nagarro do not fire even in covid the only did the pay cuts and did not fire anyone... where as some folks are saying Nagarro is hiring rigorously more than their projects strength so firing will happen for sure and if you are on bench for more than 1 month you are in red zone as the same happened in past... what is the mystery.. can anyone from Nagarro an honest review about this organization.
Nagarro Nagarro ES HCL Technologies Tata Consultancy
Hi everyone! having tackled virtual onboarding personally I wanted to write about my experience to help new starters and managers go through the process. I also spoke to two friends (one starting at Deloitte and the other at an early stage startup). Hope it helps you all! hipr.pl/37DgkAm
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MPLS, you ok?
Is there anyone from Carmichael Lynch in here?
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I’ve lived in MPLS for 8 years. Transplant from NYC and SF. This is the brutal truth about the Minneapolis Market.
First, in 8 years, I’ve never worked a single day for an agency or client here. That’s significant for several reasons, not least of which is that I’ve been busy enough to employ some local talent throughout my time here.
Minneapolis agencies are symptomatic of the endemic issues some here have already pointed out, but I’ll be more specific. Minnesotans have a deep seated inferiority complex when it comes to the coastal elite. If you live here you may have heard stories about people who “lived in LA for a year” or “tried NYC,” but the truth is they get eaten alive in those cities and end up coming back to their safe haven in the midwest. I’ve met several very nice minnesotans who admit they are either too afraid to leave or have tried and failed.
This same provincial comfort is also evident in the work produced by local agencies. There’s no edge to anything coming out of MPLS. It’s all safe, fun, poppy colored heritage vernacular. You know the vibe - Americana typefaces, over produced and overly staged photos of people and dogs with perfect skin. It’s like the Target disease infected everyone here. Why? Because it’s safe. Because their client base won’t be alienated. And because when you are in a creative cage the only thing you know how to make are the bars holding you inside.
Here’s an experiment. Imagine all the local agencies’ websites are in front of you at the same time with their logos covered up. Would you know who’s who? Nope,
You wouldn’t. You’d see Chicos and Target and Caribou Coffee and some Agricultural work and some MN United stuff and some General Mills pizza pocket stuff and it would all blend into a vibe of midwestern mediocrity.
Case Study: look at the Houston White work done at Ten Thousand Design. This is a Target brand but why in the world this is not dripping with swag is beyond me. Why is it poppy bright green and pink and playskool colors? Bro. Epic fail.
Some personal stories:
1. I was contacted by CM and back then didn’t know any better so I went to talk to them. I spoke to a white guy who said “your work is amazing but It’s not Target.”
True story. At the time I assumed this was a good thing but it was not in fact a good thing because I had no aspirations of making Valentine’s day hearts on end caps at Target. This same guy had a company photo of himself squirting mustard on a hot dog while wearing a sport coat, apparently to show how wild and crazy he was. These people are living in a dream world where their own sensibilities feed back on themselves, and it’s a very very narrow set of sensibilities.
2. I was also contacted unsolicited by a recruiter mentioned in another post - Katy Thieman. She blew smoke up my ass three different times and ghosted me every single time. Bro - she called me. Not the other way around. I eventually ghosted her when I figured out that it was a colossal waste of my time.
3. Heather Soladay Olson. She is an out of touch AIGA bot. Like 100 years old and has no critical insight on the market or really anything for that matter. When is the last time you benefited from the AIGA? Thought so . Total “make work” organization for people who want to feel like they are doing something meaningful. DOGE should take them out. My recommendation: don’t waste your time or your money (she charges for a “consultation”).
It might sound like i’m bitter, but I’m not actually. This is just my perspective as an outsider on an industry that i’ve observed from a wide lens. MPLS agencies are running on fumes trying to ride out the legacy of the olden days when CS Anderson was a thing and when Olson was legit. Those days are over. You can also see this in not just the client base these agencies work with but in the kinds of work they do. Very traditional retail and broadcast and CPG packaging. Very little emerging technology or digital stuff. They don’t have the talent or the chops to do it. If you’ve moved here from elsewhere and have these skills, you’ll be overqualified to run these companies much less work there. Which brings me back to the deep seated inferiority complex…
If you are legit and have legit experience in real cities with real clients, they are afraid of you. They will feel threatened by your presence and won’t let you in. If you’re wondering why you can’t get in — that’s why. You make them uncomfortable and we all know minnesotans don’t like to be uncomfortable.
Sounds like you wanted to work at Carmichael and never got it, so you’re still bitter
Account voice here - you nailed it. Also why this bowl is dead and doesn’t act as a community.
This is so validating. I had a short stint in the Minneapolis market and left quickly because I hated the environment. It was incestuous and felt like everyone had a chip on their shoulder- which caused them to act like hot shots when they had deep seated insecurity (as you mentioned). As someone not from MPLS, it was incredibly off-putting and I felt like such an outsider. Whenever someone would ask about my previous work history, I would explain, and they’d immediately try to put me down by saying generic shit like “oh I could never work in [insert large city], the crime is awful and everyone there has massive egos”.
The kicker was that I’m also from the Midwest, so I’m not sure what point they were trying to prove.
Anyway- thank you for saying all of that. It’s a shame because there is some great talent there, some folks get stuck there due to family reasons, but the agency world there is slowly suffocating.
I’m worried people are going to think this IS me.
Don’t worry. We all know it’s the minor leagues. And no one will confront you because, well, “minnesota nice!”
I’m not afraid of coastal elites, I’m just starting to think you’re dumb. I don’t go to NYC and complain about the crowds or the smell of piss in the subway. Why do you come here and complain about a small market making small market work. We export plenty of people to the coasts and they assimilate and make the creative exciting work you like. The people who have stayed maybe just have values outside of living to work. I could go on to talk about why our shit is stale but I don’t actually care, because I have a life.
What?