CoStar Group reviews

While good work is typically acknowledged and rewarded by your immediate manager, the ultimate decision-making all happens from 30,000 feet by a mercurial billionaire founder/CEO, and these decisions are in informed by the performance of the share price rather than the performance of the people. This means that your job security is often dictated by forces that are entirely out of your control, making individuals feel like chess pieces and the company culture feel like the Hunger Games. Individual production numbers are projected onto 65-inch screens on every floor while HR leads new hires on building tours saying, "don't worry about the numbers, nobody looks at them and the trackers aren't even accurate." Entire teams are erased without warning, only to be rebuilt again 6 months later. Middle managers are regularly shuffled around to lead teams outside their areas of expertise. Based on my experience, most people work at CoStar no longer than 18-24 months, half of them leaving voluntarily and the other half being unexpectedly laid off. Those 18-24 months can be valuable for your professional development and financial well-being, but do not expect to build a career at this company.

You are expected to meet unattainable goals no matter the situation, weather, construction, etc. They keep moving the goal posts back without notice. Changes to your job happen without notice. In fact, they change things and tell you a week later. So, you have been doing it “wrong” that entire time. They want cookie cutter results where every photographer’s work looks exactly the same. Actual architectural photography is a very small part of the job. It’s more street photography. Get in people’s face while they are eating at a restaurant, shopping in a store or enjoying time in a park. No work – life balance. Direct management doesn’t back you on anything. You get sent someplace you have never been and know nothing about and are expected to capture what it is like to live there in a very short time. They monitor your every move. If you respect your photography, this place isn’t for you.