Pros: The work environment is very transparent. People treat each other with respect. All the co-workers are fun and friendly. Zillow gives awesome parties. There is a happy hour every other week with company-sponsored beer, wine, and food. It is well-stocked with game tables like darts, air hockey, pool, mini golf, ping pong, etc. They cater dinners and lunches regularly if people are working late. Of course, they provide free food and sodas.

Cons: Be prepared for some very hectic work schedules. Senior management can have some unreasonable expectations, and the release schedules are extremely aggressive. It can take its toll after a while; many people can end up feeling burned out. The work-life balance is good, but not great.

Pros: The employees and the atmosphere. Having worked at large software companies before, I appreciated Zillow's open policy about everything. Even when the news isn't great, senior management is very professional about how they discuss things and they welcome an open discussion. Over time, this transparency exposed me to every aspect of managing the business outside of my job description and expectations. This is something I would have never seen from the aforementioned large software companies.

Cons: Restructuring the company to better handle a global slowdown in advertisement markets, Zillow recently went through a reduction in force (RIF). This sudden and drastic change greatly affects the company's makeup, its culture, and it unavoidably drains the company of senior talent and "tribal" knowledge. Rapid development and execution of ideas were largely a result of throwing lots of resources at a problem. Rather than rely on the product development team to quickly innovate and then refine an idea, execution of a plan was often bogged down quibbling over minor details. Almost making the argument for the RIF, a smaller team with less oversight could deliver a similar, if not quite as polished, product in less time.

Pros: Lots of internal growth of employee resource groups in the past couple of years, giving minority groups the ability to build a community and push for a more diverse and inclusive environment. Internal mobility program also allows for personal growth. Great work-life balance, with many in management setting the example. Lots of great mentorship opportunities, either as a mentor or a mentee. Benefits are excellent, especially in terms of health insurance. Company handled quarantine awesomely; business looks strong for the foreseeable future. Work-from-home for nearly all employees through the end of 2020, with moves to allow for teams to be more flexible on WFH in 2021. Volunteering and charity donations are encouraged and can be matched by the company (up to $100/yr per employee).

Cons: Like most companies, your direct manager determines how much of the company culture is applied to your day-to-day. Many are great; however, there are certain teams which may be run a bit differently, so work-life balance may not be enforced or modeled by leadership there. Lots of "happy hours" and drinking alcohol during celebrations. There have been some moves made in the past year to address this, by offering non-alcoholic drinks at functions. COVID has reduced the rest of the events, so there may be changes in the future. Work-from-home is not work-from-remote, as your compensation is based on where you live. So moving out of CA or WA to the Midwest would invoke a salary reduction. Not much diversity on the exec team, even after several years of "addressing it". There's a humongous gap in compensation between lowest-paid employees and C-suite.