Average tech company problems - Graphic Designer Zillow Employee Review

3.0
8 Mar 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Great benefits Med, stock, 401K, Dental, Vision -Great opportunities to learn and grow with Linkedin classes, manager trainings, conference budgets etc. - Direct manager is great and supportive when needed - Collaborators are skilled and eager to work together to get the work done

Cons

There are a lot of typical tech company problems and some that are unique to Zillow. - Hours: expect to work 50-60 hours, not 40 - Not family friendly - Turnover is high even for tech - Firings are common - Fast turnarounds with lots of churn on work - Teams are overextended and sometimes, unhappy - Lots of production, not a lot of creative work - 4-6 hours of meetings a day leaving little time to design - Too many meetings. This is a big one. Here is the typical approval process: A project will need to be approved by your manager (very typical and necessary), then in a separate meeting, pitched to your mgr's mgr (no problem), and in a separate meeting, pitched to your mgr's mgr's mgr (am I in the movie Office Space? Why can't this be in the same meeting?), then pitched to stakeholders all in the span of 2 days and incorporating all mgr feedback along the way. This happens about 3 rounds a project and never happens in the same meeting. After that, it's simple math. You must schedule 4 separate meetings for each of the 3 rounds of feedback, that's 12 meetings for a month long project. Let's say you are assigned to 6-10 projects. That's conservatively, 72 meetings for 6 projects a month divided by 20 working days which equals 3-4 mgr meetings a day plus all the normal manager 1 on 1s, team meetings and company meetings. That's why you're in 4-6 hours of meetings a day leaving 2-4 hours for design.

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Zillow Response
6y
Thank you for your years of dedication to the company and your teams. As a 5 year veteran, you have seen a lot of changes, and right now, we're in the midst of one of the biggest changes yet. There are both exciting and challenging things ahead, but this requires new ways of doing things and working together. Specifically, as we move fast and work hard, efficiency is key. I encourage you to address this within your team and be vocal about solutions, especially given your strong relationship with your manager. Efficiency must be a priority across the company and we all need to be open to ideas here and respond. Please reach out to me at dans@zillowgroup.com if you ever want to share your thoughts. - Dan Spaulding

Explore other reviews about Zillow

5.0
8 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The posts about AWS culture infiltrating Zillow must be pretty team or person specific, as I've seen nothing but leaders who really care about their teams and the business. Middle managers can often drag down morale and culture - and working remote makes that hard to see/fix. But generally, the culture and support at Zillow is WAY better than any other tech company I've worked at (or heard about from friends). Fully remote with decent benefits and people who generally care about each other is fantastic (and hard to find in today's market). For those complaining about bad culture - I'd suggest you look at another role in another org, you might be pleasantly surprised the ZG people first culture is still strong.

Cons

Fully remote makes it hard to get the right visibility and promotions and ratings are unfortunately tied to whether senior leaders see your work and know who you are. You have to make an effort to be "seen" and that's hard to do remote. The news cycle is noisy with lawsuits, but I think a lot of that is because we're a big name with a big target on our back. A judge just ruled in Zillow's favor, against Compass.

2
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Zillow Response
3mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your review. It’s great to hear that leadership support, flexibility, and a people-first culture have stood out in your experience. We also recognize that visibility and growth can feel different in a remote environment, and feedback like this helps highlight where continued focus and clarity matter. We appreciate you sharing your perspective.
3.0
8 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You can make good money here.

Cons

In sales, job can change often. For example: I was making good money and excelling because I am a relationship Sales person. Then they changed it to where you get the sale, and instead of being able to grow that account via that relationship you just broke into, you have to pass it to an account manager and go back to cold/robo calling. You "book" of business you recive to prospect from is a lottery. I received a book of prospects/accounts that most of the were low income, or senior living properties. They don't have a budget and have a line of renter on a waitlist. No way to convince them to spend money on advertising but you still have the same quota.

2
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Zillow Response
2w
Thank you for sharing such a detailed perspective. We understand that frequent changes to roles, account ownership and business priorities can have a real impact on relationship-building and the day-to-day experience in sales. We’re glad to hear compensation was a positive part of your time at Zillow, and we appreciate you being candid about where the model and structure felt frustrating. Feedback like yours helps us better understand how these changes are experienced across teams as the business evolves.
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