RealSelf Reviews

Pros

Benefits, Work Life Balance, Teammates, and Professional Development

Cons

I don't have any Cons

Pros

#1 without a doubt is the coworkers. People care, people are friendly, people are understanding, etc. Beyond that, it's a place that feels like work takes place on marathon cadence vs. a sprint or a scramble. I've never had trouble with work/life balance, or with taking time for an appointment or personal matter. In recent years the office has moved strongly towards remote work, either partially or in full. Pay is solid for this range of company. Not megacorp-scale, but I'm also not working megacorp hours or megacorp stress either. There's a stronger corporate ethic than usual, I've seen. There's a regular pattern of civic and corporate giving/efforts, and when possible it bleeds into product decisions for the better. On-call rotations are pretty light-weight, and there's a solid shared goal in making sure disruptions don't keep alerting. There's room for internal advancement, which I haven't seen much of in this industry. I've been promoted and it feels like I'll be able to continue being promoted (hopefully).

Cons

There's a tendency for company or department initiatives to get ~80% of the way to execution/completion and then trail off. There's also a pattern of key internal-facing efforts being bottlenecked by higher-ups who are already stretched thin, letting those efforts get bogged down. Some key people are taking on the work of multiple people in their position while staffing-up happens. More power to them, they're great, but the creaking is audible. Career advancement criteria is murky, with the main reference being an old document that was silently deprecated and talk of an upcoming draft that keeps being deferred.

Pros

I've been working at RealSelf for a little over a year now and am so happy I made the move last September! We have an incredible mission, great culture, benefits, pay and room for growth. There is a lot of opportunity to own your career path here and if you work hard you are compensated for it - I was promoted a little under my one year mark! My manager and team are extremely supportive and helpful. The best part about working here, in my opinion, is the people - everyone is so great to work with and so passionate about the work we do. Other perks: Great culture, beautiful office space, super flexible work schedule with WFH opportunities, free snacks, fun office events, employee development grant, opportunities to explore what you're passionate about.

Cons

Change is a constant here - if you don't like a rapidly changing environment this likely won't be a great fit for you.

Pros

I started at RealSelf just over 3 years ago and then about 3 months ago I left. That is not where this story ends however. This week, I returned after being gone exactly one quarter. It was hard to leave, but easy to come back to. I went to try out an opportunity that, at least I thought, I could not miss. I learned a lot, but most of all I was able to take a step back and get perspective. Sometimes the old adage, the grass is always greener is true and sometimes what is right in front of you is where you need to be. Of course there are hard times, there will always be ebbs and flows, but you can say that about anywhere you are. I will say though that at RealSelf the good times far outweigh the tough times. I also don’t want to forget to mention the RealSelf team. I have never worked with such dedicated and caring people. I thought about them every day while I was gone. I will end by saying, anyone that is currently here or considering joining, if you have concerns or just want to talk about RealSelf, please reach out to me. I am happy to share my experience and also talk through what is on your mind.

Cons

To be here, you have to be comfortable with change. The good news is that we offer support for this, but it's not always easy for people to handle.

Pros

The people here are thoughtful and bright. Leadership is active in working on challenges the company faces, and clearly communities with the rest of the business. Tom and the rest of the execs are open, honest, and seem to care about their people. The analytics team is rebuilding, and there is a lot of opportunity there for someone to come in and make impact. The work/life balance and benefits are second to none. The office space is also great.

Cons

It’s gotten better but focus seems to be an issue. Often times context or priorities switch. I ran into cases where I worked on something for two weeks that was decided to be no longer needed and dropped. But this has happened a lot less in the last three months. The business is trying to get its footing after a decade of growth. A lot of turnover in the last six months

Pros

The people are fantastic. It's a testing environment and you're empowered to try new things and make a role what you want it to be. The work is mission-driven and the challenges are unique. I'm personally interested in this part of the beauty industry so the work and the community I engage with energizes me. I love the office environment–it's open, inviting, dogs are allowed, and hours are flexible (but it depends on your manager). I also love that the company participates in large community causes and regularly invites or notifies employees of service projects to be a part of.

Cons

Things are constantly changing (i.e. reorgs, goals, office environment) so that means you have to be agile and flexible, and work with sometimes ambiguous or broad goals. Most times this is great, but it can be a con because it can slow progress in some areas even when it's growing other parts of the company. This can lead to a lot of uncertainty but managers are pretty supportive through changes and transparent of what's to come. Career-pathing isn't always clear but that is starting to change. Representation of women/women of color in leadership isn't as prevalent but that is starting to change as well.

Pros

Good work/life balance in the company.

Cons

Dog friendly office and office perks are not the only criterion for ‘good work culture’. During my time at Realself I experienced mobbing, so good luck fighting for acceptance. Lack of direction and ever changing priorities are some of the other challenges for the working teams.