Pros
No matter the company arm, CoStar pays higher than many places in the Richmond area. There is a very defined pay structure, so it’s a guarantee you are being paid the same wage as those around you of the same title—regardless of your experience. As comes with little surprise, there are a lot of fresh college grads that were enticed by the pay regardless of what they studied. It’s a big company, so if you’re willing to wait 12 to 18 months, you can apply internally to new positions that are likely open since turnover is fairly high. If you like to travel, there are opportunities to go to random (not selected by you) places in the city that you get assigned if you’re a writer. There is a single work-from-home day, but it’s only Friday. If you find yourself on an improvement plan, which this company hands out like fluoride tablets in an elementary school, don’t expect to keep that perk. Calling the role hybrid is a stretch. Overall, CoStar can be good option for people just embarking on a career that aren’t quite sure what they’re looking for. No matter which department you work for, you’re bound to do things you’ve never done. In content writing, a lot of newly graduated copywriters haven’t had to experience cold-calling sources, and some experienced journalists have never before written scripts. There is definitely something to be learned from the experience, at least for a little while.
Cons
CoStar, as a whole, lives and dies by metrics with no flexibility. As a writer, if you’re unable to get a source on the line for an article for hours on end, you’re still expected to complete the article within the 6-10 hour window your writing level requires. While some days you can capture strong quotes from multiple sources within two hours, other times this can take multiple days of attempts and scheduling (which, unfortunately, many scheduled calls don’t work out). Content writers regularly work beyond their firm 8:30 to 5:00 hours. Many writers take their laptops home so that they can work as late into the night as they need. Two weeks in a row of missed metrics initiates consequences that can lead to termination, as it has for many writers. Not shockingly, there are very very few promotions each year. Metrics play a role in this as well as how long people have worked in their role, how much extra they’re willing to take on, and how favorable they are in the eyes of senior leadership. Content writers are now required to travel. As I said before, this is a benefit for those that enjoy exploring random new places, talking to strangers on the street, etc. Most of the current staff did not intend to travel, as it was not part of the job description until recently, so the benefit for a new employee would be understanding that’s part of the role—rather than being blindsided by the addition of it. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the company takes no issue with completely altering what’s required of a writer at any time without asking for permission. Though the content writing role sounds like a creative opportunity, the process is lacking in creativity. There is a little room to customize the way each piece is written for the sake of authenticity, but for the most part, every day feels the same. You’ll use the same tired phrases and paragraph structures on repeat. It’s a fast pace for writing, and there is no break for other tasks. The only other things you’ll do in a day as a content writer is go to meetings that only strain you as you fight to reach your numbers for the week. Many writers skip their lunch to compensate for interruptions. The audit system is rather broken. There are major inconsistencies across editors which lead to confusion and conflict. Edits are almost never made without being audited, which means scores are handed out on initial submissions. There is little to no time for collaboration on pieces because of it, and many writers would rather risk submitting a lower quality piece than ask for editor opinions prior to submission given the time crunch. Editors have a set number of audits they need to complete each week, putting pressure on them to work fast—again making the product more about speed than quality. Lastly, things change quickly, and leadership does a poor job of assessing feasibility and sensibility from the writer perspective prior to rolling out new ideas. Workload is always growing, as they add little bits at a time, so even when they “lower” metrics, it’s not what it sounds like. It means more work is coming.