American Cancer Society

Employee - Director

It's a difficult work environment for the independent thinker and the experienced employee who is not in upper management. It's a great place to gain experience and knowledge.

Employee - Vice President (VP, SVP, EVP, etc.)

The staff are all there to assist those diagnosed with cancer while educating on how to prevent cancer. We were united in our efforts. We worked closely with survivors and their loved ones and we were proud of the work being done. The past few years have been stressful as the new CEO tries to 'right the ship'. The organization has undergone two restructures in trying to reconcile the budget with the decreased income. This has negatively impacted staff morale - not the commitment to the mission but concerns and sadness with staff departures.

Employee - Director

There's no room for growth; bad behavior is rewarded; communities are taken for granted; success depends on how good you are at internal politics; financial growth is established and measured through cookie cutter lenses; although it is a nonprofit portions of funds raised are enjoyed by very senior executives and does not trickle down to the field.

Employee - Director

Closed culture, difficult to communicate.

Employee - Manager / Senior Manager

Company is nearly continually in a state of flux. Repeated reorganizations (or "Transformations" in ACS lingo) mean that employees are shuffled and reshuffled, and innovation is squashed. Most people are just striving to keep their jobs, so they follow like lemmings and keep quiet. A company with a good mission, but terrible, ineffective leadership, especially at the regional level.

Employee - Manager / Senior Manager

Know that every day is in flux here. And "personality" is far more important than professionalism. The best thing is that this experience enhanced my extensive prior professional experience, which allowed me to return to my former (pre-ACS) career with additional skills. I am more grateful to have been able to leave ACS on my own volition, than I am happy to have worked here.

Employee - Manager / Senior Manager

In terms of support of resources, needs and education for the population it serves, Cancer Society is doing a phenomenal job! So when I had a loved one while working at ACS who was diagnosed with cancer, I was given support and resources, but in terms of the actual work I did for ACS, I was given little resources, guidance or support. As a woman of color, there was little to no diversity and experienced individuals making discriminatory comments in my presence.

Employee - Assistant / Coordinator

Although the mission of this organization is wonderful, I have found that there are a lot of issues with management. It is definitely a "who do you know" environment. Excuses are made for those who are in the "in crowd" and for those who are not, they struggle. The expectations of the "boots on the ground" workers is very high. Management says they are concerned about Life/Work balance, but then turn around and give you more work with no extra compensation. As an hourly employee it was very difficult to get the work done in the time allotted. We were not allowed to work overtime, we had to "adjust" our hours for the week, which only put us back further. It was understood that you did the work and not get paid for it. My position was a Sr. Coordinator. This was explained to me when I applied that it was a player/coach role. I did the coordinator position, but also coached, or managed others in that role. It was said that the "coaching" aspect would only take up 10% of my job, however, it was the other way around. I was virtually managing 7 employees throughout NY state while doing the same job they did. I did not have the title as Manager, nor the compensation. In fact was only paid one to two dollars more than those I was managing or "coaching' as they would prefer. My feeling of this organization is that unless you want to work at the executive level, and you better know someone to get there, you that this is not an organization that you can support yourself on, especially if this would be your only income.

Employee - Assistant / Coordinator

The most important thing to know about this company is that you have to have the ability not to care about how things are managed but have a very strong belief in the mission and the organization itself. If one can look past the ill management and remember the mission and the patients that you are trying to help, it is rewarding. But one can not make this a career unless they are in the executive level. If you are lower than the executive level, you get burned out very quickly and the emotional, mental and physical rollercoaster you go through is very difficult.

Employee - Manager / Senior Manager

In terms of working with volunteers to raise millions of dollars to fight cancer, I am proud but not of the culture that compelled me to leave.