Paramount

4.0

Feb 28, 2017

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

1) Office - Amazing office. The office has a gorgeous view, especially when it's bright and sunny. There's also plenty of free snacks (chips, granola bars, oatmeal cookies) and a Starbucks machine. HR and the Social Committee also try and make the office fun by setting up company events every month or so. Previous events included movie screenings, bowling, and random happy hours in the late afternoon. Also, the dress code is really casual so jeans and t shirts are welcome, as it should be for any entertainment company, in my opinion. 2) Team culture - The team I worked with was mostly staffed with great people. I genuinely liked my teammates and everyone was helpful if you asked for help. Politics aside, I think everyone that wasn't in management was great and I'd work with them again if I could. Depending on what team you were on, your team could also be pretty flexible. Most people came into work by 10 AM and others could also WFH at least once or week or whenever if needed. 3) The business and product - CBS Interactive has a lot of really good content from their large publishing sites like CNET to their streaming service, CBS All Access. On the Interactive side, they mostly make money from ad revenue, but All Access has grown to be a big thing. They also are one of the better companies with technology and software in comparison to other entertainment companies. You'll be using the latest and trending industry tools. I had a lot of confidence in Les Moonves and Jim Lanzone and I think they're incredibly smart. The company seems to be headed in the right direction overall. 4) Salary - Pay is modest and better than some other studios in comparable positions. Annual raises were generous, at least for me. I don't think many people complained about the pay here. Overall, for what it was, I learned a good deal about digital media, entertainment, and advertising. If you're looking to get started in this field, CBS Interactive is the perfect place to start your career.

Cons

1) Understaffed - People were constantly busy, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in the case of CBS, it was a crap ton of work. I mean it wasn't just me either, people on every team were flustered and overwhelmed, it was insane. I think I was doing the work of 3 people at one point and the days were long. During the height, 10 hour days were the norm and I was constantly exhausted. Sadly, a lot of people do burn out and leave because of this. I'm relatively young in my career, so I don't think this is a terrible thing when you're starting out, but for someone later in their career, this can be a huge negative. 2) Management and politics - There's going to be politics everywhere and CBS has a lot of it. People are very keen on looking for someone to blame whenever things go wrong. At the same time, certain managers were placed in positions they shouldn't have been in in the first place and are extremely incompetent. This leads to unnecessary work and heated arguments between staff and even others in management. Unfortunately, CBS has a very "patient" policy and it's almost impossible for people to be let go. As a result, you tend to get some people stuck in roles they shouldn't be in and there's nothing anyone can do about it. 3) Knowledge Ceiling - CBS is a great place to start your career, but if you truly want to grow and expand your knowledge, you may need to go somewhere else after a while. This was the case for me. I learned a lot, but the opportunities to grow were no longer there. And I'm not talking about money or job title per se. Those things will come if that's what you're looking for. I'm talking about actual learning and acquiring skills. At a certain point, my learning consisted of self-teaching on the Internet and asking other people in the company how they did things. This is when you know it's time to move on. 4) Benefits - Only 8 sick days. Only 2 weeks vacation. No floaters. But at least you got the week of Christmas Day to New Years off. Although, depending on your team, you may actually have to WFH during that time...

Paramount Response

Thanks so much for your review, it was great to hear about your experience at CBSi. To comment on some of your “Pros” – Our office, people and business really are great! The Burbank team is a newly updated office that continues to grow (specifically with the CBSI acquisition of another CBS division, CTD). As you mentioned, you sometimes felt overwhelmed while in your role and I apologize that the atmosphere and long days took a toll. There is never a shortage of tasks to work on within our business and as the media industry is constantly changing, CBSi’s role, and the content we provide, is becoming increasingly important. With that in mind, we do realize that areas of the business that are growing rapidly need more people to support the initiatives! Our HR teams in conjunction with the leaders are consistently reviewing headcount and forecasting potential re-organizations and expansions, as needed. It is also unfortunate to hear that you felt politics was prevalent within the company and managers were not helpful. We are working diligently on enhancing the skills of our managers at all levels in the company, as well as providing performance improvement plans to those that need extra support. Although it may not always be evident, a lot of ‘behind-the-scenes’ support is being provide to help eliminate some of the concerns you stated.

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