As PR pros, it’s important to be positioned near our clients, so we can staff a media tour, hold an in-person briefing, meet an interested reporter or live tweet an event at a moment’s notice. That’s why V2 has offices in two top business hubs: Boston and New York City. Having multiple locations gives V2ers the chance to experience different geographies and unique work environments, from our South End headquarters to our Midtown WeWork. Each city has its own merits, so how does a PR pro choose where to plant their professional roots?
As two V2ers who recently switched cities, we created a quick quiz to help you decide if Boston or New York is the place for you.
1.When going for drinks after work, you head straight to
A. A swanky speakeasy or cocktail lounge
B. A classic Irish pub, complete with accented bartender
C. Anywhere with happy hour–it’s not about the location, it’s about the prices
2. When you look out your office window, you want to see
A. Rustic brownstones, a smattering of retail locations and a patch of blue sky
B. Skyscrapers, endless options for lunch and busybodies on the street
C. I have a window in this hypothetical? Nice!
3. When it comes to socializing in the office, you prefer to be surrounded by
A. Your well-known cohort of coworkers
B. New faces every day, including people from other companies
C. Anyone who isn’t a chatbot or a personified email signature is a success
4. You feel most productive when you’re working at
A. A cubicle or in a small conference room
B. Open tables or switching between several workspaces
C. It doesn’t matter; when I work, I’m in the zone
5. When I collaborate with coworkers, I prefer to
A. Meet in-person to ensure the clearest communication
B. Pick up the phone for a quick chat so I can stay focused at my desk
C. Pop my head into a manager’s office or send a message on Teams–I’m comfortable with both
6. I feel most involved in my company’s culture when
A. I’m at the corporate headquarters, surrounded by colleagues and company branding
B. I’m actively involved in team projects, wins and internal comms
C. I’m anywhere–I bring the culture everywhere I go
7. When it comes to professional networking, I like to
A. Tap my company’s well-established network
B. Venture out on my own and make new connections for my company
C. Attend PR Club and PRSA events — they’re everywhere!
8. Based on my professional priorities, I want to be in a city considered
A. One of the country’s top tech hubs, with tons of tech companies, startups and publications
B. The country’s reporting and communications capital
C. A central location for business, news and professional opportunity
Now, it’s time to tally your answers. If you answered mostly “A” to the above, you belong in Boston:
The city: Boston has a unique brand of charm, from its history to its lively sports culture. Its size makes it the perfect starter city for any young professional — big enough to explore a new neighborhood each day, but small enough to offer familiarity. When it comes to tech, Boston is where you want to be. As one of the country’s most economically powerful cities, Boston is home to a thriving tech ecosystem that may be positioned to overtake Silicon Valley as the world’s center for innovation.
V2 Boston: V2’s Boston headquarters is the perfect place to launch your career in PR. With the vast majority of your peers and management team located right in the heart of Boston’s South End, the tools and guidance you need to begin, and develop, your career. Whether you’re popping your head into a manager’s office for some extra clarity on an assignment or chatting about the front page story in that morning’s Boston Globe around the Bevi machine, the vibrant Boston office is a well of knowledge just waiting to be tapped. The ability to learn straight from V2’s partners and founders Maura and Jean is invaluable (they keep their office doors open and work side-by-side with their teams). Camaraderie is a big selling point as well — with staff meetings every week, it’s easy to celebrate the team’s wins and be in-the-know on all the agency’s activity.
Did you tend to answer “B”? If so, you might feel most at home in New York City:
The city: Based on your responses, you tend to be a bit more independent — we certainly are — and V2 has the office to match. With the scale of NYC comes an equally vast pool of opportunity. As the media and publishing capital of the world, New York can have any media-hounding PR pro salivating with all the opportunities. In addition to the chance to rub elbows with reporters, television producers and more, New York’s “Silicon Alley” offers a blossoming tech community of its own.
V2 New York: Situated right by Grand Central Station in the heart of Manhattan, V2’s office is nestled in a WeWork building — a lively, bustling coworking space. Working in a WeWork can prove to be a unique experience: instead of filling up your morning cup of coffee next to a fellow PR pro, you can cross-pollinate with companies from other industries that also occupy the space. Networking becomes second nature, and it’s a great way to help V2 become further woven into a larger business fabric. That said, with so much going on, it takes focus and self-discipline to thrive in this type of environment.
Plus, with digital technologies, video chat and internal processes, we are still in constant contact with our Boston cohorts and remain seamlessly part of our account teams. Throughout our moves to the Big Apple, V2 made the transition easy with support and encouragement from HR and management. It may seem intuitive, but it can’t be overstated how great it is to work for an agency that empowers its employees!
If you answered mostly “C,” you go where the work is:
You’re clearly a versatile worker and could thrive in either city, which is an excellent skill to have since remote work is on the rise. In fact, 70% of global employees work remotely at least one day per week.V2 is on the frontlines of this trend, offering employees one work-from-home day a week and having honed the two-city office model. Whether we’re in Boston, New York City or even San Francisco, V2ers are focused on driving meaningful PR results for our clients.