Pros
Zillow has some of the smartest, most caring, and creative thinking people I have ever met. Their Chief People Officer and the majority of their executives are wonderful to work with, and the vast majority of peers are kind, intelligent, and thoughtful.
Cons
Zillow is stuck. I'm not sure if the acquisition strategy, the attempt to enter traditional real estate, or bureaucracy is to blame, but despite having all the right pieces and people, Zillow is rowing in circles. The polite culture has been infected by politically minded people using superficial metrics and being loud to move up in the company over more qualified, better employees. People have started being punished for pointing out problems, and are encouraged to gloss over mistakes and avoid big swings. Resources are conservatively allocated, so people start to in-fight and manipulate in order to avoid being understaffed. Compensation is extremely low compared to even earlier stage companies. Using the right language and virtue-signaling is prioritized over efforts to actually increase representation and inclusion. It breaks my heart to see a company filled with so many wonderful people have no clear path forward.
