Common Sense Media reviews

3.8

61% would recommend to a friend

(56 total reviews)

James Steyer

60% approve of CEO

46% positive business outlook

Common Sense Media has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 56 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Common Sense Media employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Nonprofit & NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

56 reviews
3.0
Dec 29, 2020

Just OK

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great talented team - some big names in the Bay Area

Cons

Lack of direction, roles undefined, low pay for anyone not at the upper management level. Most people only get promoted if someone else leaves

5.0
Dec 21, 2020

Great place to work at

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Awesome people and teams who really care about each other.

Cons

There is no negative feedback on my behalf.

2.0
Nov 16, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

First (and against all odds), the staff are kind, funny, hard-working, and bring a variety of specialties to the table (legislative, editorial, education, data privacy — it’s pretty incredible!). Second, the organization’s mission is one that many folks can get behind as issues like media literacy and safe tech use for families have only become more timely. Also, the benefits are decent.

Cons

Junior staff are shuffled around to accommodate leadership’s experimental whims, especially on the Marketing team. Within two years of working here, I had already experienced 5 managers and 3 titles changes, which seriously eroded my confidence and career ambitions. There are few legitimate opportunities for growth, though more than half of the organization is made up of VPs and Directors. It’s obvious that Jim suffers from “founder’s syndrome” and uses Common Sense as vehicle for advancing his political career. (Not to mention he once invited an ex-employee who had very serious allegations of sexual assault raised against him back into the office for a meeting – truly awful, in my opinion!) Only the teams that are shielded from him do well for themselves (like Education and Consumer), while the ones he feels personal stake to (like Advocacy) either flounder or become so enabled and entitled that they’re unbearable to work with and emotionally abusive. Unfortunately, I would never recommend this place to anyone, especially not to those early in their career.

Viewing 22 - 24 of 56 Reviews

Glassdoor has 89 Common Sense Media reviews submitted anonymously by Common Sense Media employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Common Sense Media is right for you.