Sotheby's reviews

2.5

21% would recommend to a friend

(650 total reviews)

Charles F. Stewart

12% approve of CEO

23% positive business outlook

Sotheby's has an employee rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, based on 650 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Sotheby's employee rating is 29% below average for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

650 reviews
2.0
Aug 5, 2025

good brand

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

brand, profile, network, art, location

Cons

salary, management, operation, clients, etc.etc..

1.0
Jul 24, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Historic company to work for

Cons

The Brand team suffers from entrenched favoritism. Multiple hires in recent years, including a former nannys and a neighbours, have raised serious concerns about conflicts of interest and the absence of fair, transparent recruitment. This has created a culture where qualified candidates are routinely passed over in favor of friends and neighbours, damaging morale and credibility. The recent initiative of appointing “Morale & Engagement Officers” felt more like a laughable distraction than a solution. These patterns are widely known internally and risk exposing the organization to legal issues if left unaddressed. HR must urgently review hiring and promotion processes in this department.

1.0
Jun 30, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The only positive thing is the name on your resume. That might not even be a positive in coming years as this company continues to plummet.

Cons

There are some exceptions to the below cons. There are a few great people to work with that are nothing but helpful and a joy to be around, the rest are the following: - In Product and Tech there are a solid number of people that are extremely unfriendly and worthless to anyone but their inner circle. They will do nothing to help you or your team even if you’re facing a priority one issue. It’s all about them and their needs. Figure it out and get lost is pretty much their attitude. They are their own clique and you won’t be part of it. And somehow, they are always shining stars to the higher ups. Yet, if you talk to the business, the people they are working with and for, almost nothing is positive is said about them. It’s really very confusing. I never had coworkers that aren’t working together and looking out for each other until working at Sothebys. It’s an unbelievably bad environment. - Management outside of Product and Tech is something from the TV show Succession. The nepotism is unmatched. The owner of the company has taken the business and filled it with some of the most inexperienced undeserving “talent” I have ever had the displeasure of working under. They continue to double down on it and the result is round after round of layoffs because they can’t seem to make a good decision and turn a profit. Sometimes you only find out there were layoffs because you go to email someone and get the auto reply that they are no longer there. They will also do a round of layoffs and have a town hall the next day and not even address it. That’s if they even have a town hall. I think in 2024 we went 3 quarters without one. They probably didnt have much to talk about because you could just find the negative business outcomes in the tabloids. Nothing like repeatedly hearing how bad your company is doing via WSJ. This company is crumbling from the inside out.

Viewing 34 - 36 of 650 Reviews

Glassdoor has 878 Sotheby's reviews submitted anonymously by Sotheby's employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Sotheby's is right for you.