CNET Networks – “A brand with great potential needs to ditch its upper management and modernize with new blood and new ideas.”

Pros

Working for a larger company allows me greater freedom in working on projects that are more interesting to me personally. As well, we have enough employees to cover one another, so it is easy to separate work life from personal life and take vacations when necessary. There is also a certain something to be said for working for one of the better known brands in the tech industry--even if the company is going through a bit of a rough patch. Overall, we work in good conditions and receive fair benefits. I know it's superficial, but it's also kind of energizing just walking into a big building that is entirely ours and is always buzzing with different people that you've never seen, which really makes you feel like you're part of something bigger.

Cons

I've been very frustrated with upper management in the past year or so. Our CEO's behavior borders on amateurish and in my opinion he is not suited for his job. I hear a lot of talk and buzz words from management, but I have yet to see any real change. I feel like management wants the company to be young and fresh, but yet they hold onto archaic work styles, like rigid work schedules (where myself and several others might prefer flex time). I really detest that I have to document a weekly status report for a series of managers. I also really hate that so many of our new management is based out of New York when our headquarters are in San Francisco. Hello--the biggest tech companies in the world are based here; we certainly have the talent. Finally, I entered the company right out of college as a relatively inexperienced producer, but my skills have advanced tremendously, though my pay has not. I feel underpaid at this point and it has me considering a move to a new company.

Advice to Senior Management

I would like upper management to quit with the buzz words and get to work finding new ways to market our brand to the world. It's 2008 and I still have to explain to most people what CNET is about, let alone brands like GameSpot, CHOW, ZDNet, etc. I personally feel like the company is too segregated--to the point where each of the sites is build using an entirely different backend system, which seems like a waste. More important than the backend of the sites, I would really like management to loosen up and allow us to work flex hours, quit looking over our shoulders and asking us for status reports for managers who aren't even in San Francisco! I really disrespect upper management's decision to base such important positions out of the office, yet they constantly parrot to us that they are part of the "team." Wrong. Finally, I wish the company would support most businesses based out of San Francisco. The company was born in the city and support other local companies as well.