Pros
-The benefits are good. -The product is decent and has a ton of potential, though it is incredibly buggy and unreliable. -ClickUp seems like an incredible place to work; it been through a few series of funding, it wants to go public, and its product has potential to be good. It even seems like your typical startup that is making it big- there is a ton of energy and excitement around the company and working there can be exciting and fun at times.
Cons
But there is an incredibly dark side to working at ClickUp- here are some things that I experienced in my time: 1: MLM-like environment: ClickUp has a subpar product but spends millions and millions on marketing and portrays itself as the fun and exciting new thing. This is very similar to the multi-level marketing playbook. Market the heck out of a product that isn't very good while claiming theres nothing like it. Like an MLM, many in management are promoted from within with very little experience and are promoted solely on the basis of being favorites. It's also rumored that a few of the directors of departments were high up in different MLMs before they came to ClickUp and it shows. 2: Management: Speaking of management, lower and mid management are generally empathetic and good people, but they are over matched and unqualified and have very little power. They talk the talk but are unable to walk the walk because they are hamstrung by upper management. Of course this is endemic everywhere, but at ClickUp its so pronounced that establishing trust with management in any capacity is impossible. It creates an environment of distrust and fear. 3: Hiring: ClickUp is disastrous at hiring. In my time there they completely mis-managed hiring in almost every way. They either under hired, and other departments had to constantly step in and cover for one another, or they over hired, and people didn't have work to do and it cost the company money. There was also an entire department that was "experimental" and it was rumored they wanted to hire up to 100 people only to one day out of the blue decide to dissolve it after only 9 months. They then moved people to roles they weren't hired for with little to no input from the people themselves. Also, many outside hires for senior positions were let go shortly after being hired with no explanation leaving everyone confused and scared. The hiring practices at ClickUp are utter chaos. 4: Diversity: For a startup in the 2021 ClickUp seems to have little regard for diversity. There are very few people of color and the ones that do work there are often let go. Also, they require everyone to read a book during onboarding that is incredibly regressive and problematic for this day and age and has offensive content for people of color. 5: Growth opportunities: Growth opportunities are simply not there in many departments at ClickUp. They are very unclear with how to move up in the company and are distrustful of anyone that is interested in switching departments. I've never been at a place that punishes people more for wanting to grow personally and professionally. Ultimately ClickUp looks like a great place to work on the outside, but an absolute disaster on the inside. I'd stay far far away.
