Pros
Great healthcare benefits you will never have enough time away from work to use Great commuter benefits, $100/month to your SmarTrip card Beautiful office space (DC office) Good selection of complimentary prepared/prepackaged foods and snacks in the cafeteria (DC office) Generally good and friendly people who work here. I am still friends with a handful of former coworkers. Competitive initial compensation Parking decks across the street in case you need to drive into office - $12 and $13 per day
Cons
No remote work allowed pre-pandemic: CEO likes to call CoStar Group a tech company-although sometimes he calls it a real estate company, which it is not-but doesn't allow remote work, as though Microsoft Word or Excel only works in the office. It is very thinly veiled distrust of his employees. Operates in chaos: CEO describes culture as "startup" culture, but that means company changes direction and priorities at a moment's notice. No obvious guiding values or principles. Managers treat everything like an emergency, when it is often a lack of planning on management's part. Depending on your department, prepare to be stressed out over ridiculous deadlines and working weekends because CEO wants it ASAP. Who cares that leadership won't actually look at it or give feedback for 1 or 2 weeks? Wallpapers over DE&I issues: Company puts on a very good show of caring about diversity and equity, including hiring a new VP for diversity, but there is not a true commitment to changing the culture. Black and brown employees tend to be lower-paying roles and largely absent from executive/senior leadership and the board. HR believes adding white women to senior leadership/board = increasing overall diversity. After national tragedies involving minorities, they issue no guidance to managers about how to actually talk to employees without saying "benevolently racist" things to employees of color. Diversity leaders do not appear to be empowered to make real and significant change in the company, but it is a box to be checked to say they are doing something. Pay: Great initial compensation but very small raises once you're an employee. Get the experience and what you need for your resume at CoStar, then get out. You will probably not make it to the 3 years it takes to be 100% vested in your 401K to keep the company match. Founder challenges: Founder-CEO can be blind to his privilege and wealth when talking to employees, which definitely comes across as incredibly tone-deaf or arrogant/condescending. This can come across as him punching down, whether in all-staff emails bragging about beating or buying competitors or by berating staff (including senior leaders) publicly. Everyone can remember an all-hands meeting-or more than one-where this happened. Open office space: Need to make a call to schedule a doctor's appointment? Prepare for all your coworkers to hear you in the open office floor plan. Work-life balance is a myth, depending on your department. Healthcare plan appears to only have tele-doc services for therapists. I could never figure out how to navigate this. You must accrue vacation and sick leave because they do not trust you to be an adult and use it wisely. It will be a year before you accrue enough time off for a decent vacation. Contributes to employee burnout.