I want two years and sense of self-worth back - Research Associate CoStar Group Employee Review

The role of Research Associate (Or Analyst as some boast on Linkedin) is not a research position. You are essentially data mining. I felt like I worked on an assembly line in a factory, performing the same monotonous task over and over again. Employees are rewarded based on how much they do rather than their end product, which results in inefficiency. Emphasis is placed on quantity, versus quality. Company places too much emphasis on adding listings and growing their database instead of boosting quality in other areas, such as obtaining property data, tenant information and sale and lease comp robustness. It is profoundly disturbing how little to no commercial real estate knowledge management has. Again, for emphasis, I AM COMPLETELY DISTRUBED AT HOW LITTLE MANAGEMENT KNOWS ABOUT COMMERICAL REAL ESTATE OR THE MARKETS THEY MONITOR. This is largely because of the push to promote from within to attract its young work force. This results in incredibly inexperienced people compiling market data that major brokerages, funds-- really everyone in the industry uses to make large investment decisions that impact the lives of countless individuals. Another thing that really stood out about working at CoStar was the culture of fear. I have never met so many bright, motivated, young professionals who were constantly afraid of losing their jobs. Almost once a month you would see 8-10 firings for reasons largely unknown reasons. The company is incredibly self-righteous. They touted being an industry leader, which is easy when they acquired their only competition a little over a year ago. Check out GlassDoor reviews for LoopNet based in California before and after CoStar acquired them; the perception of employees does a total 180. In closing, working at CoStar Group was akin to being in a cult. I am not just saying this to be sensational. CoStar uses the following methods which correlate to classic cult indoctrination and thought reform tactics: -- Deception: Company does a poor job of explaining job duties to applicants, largely college recruits from prestigious universities. Students are flown in from out of state, dined, and put up in a very nice hotel. They tour the impressive building and meet with all but scripted employees talk about how much they love the company and its great opportunities for advancement. They brag about the amazing connections they have made in commercial real estate and how they feel their career will really launch. In reality, your day-to-day will most likely consist of calling individual property owners in suburbs to make sure their properties are still for sale or lease. They won't want to answer any of your questions and will yell at you a lot. They are not sure why you are calling or call every month, multiple times until they are force to answer your questions. --Isolation: Costar cuts employees off from the outside world by creating a culture of fear. Employees are discouraged from speaking about or questioning the effectiveness of the data acquisition process or ways to effectively serve their clients. This prevents the company from getting a much needed reality check from the outside world regarding the employees concerns involving the company. --Induced Dependency: CoStar demands absolute, unquestioning devotion, loyalty and submission. Your sense of self is systematically destroyed. Feelings of worthlessness and "evil" become associated with independence and critical thinking, and feelings of success become associated with unquestioning submission. Management controls every minute of your day. Any special talents the employee has are immediately devalued and criticized in order to confuse their sense of self-worth. The indoctrination into being a Research Associate at CoStar Group is a long process that never really ends. Researchers are continually subjected to the above techniques -- it's part of daily life in the cult, I mean CoStar. Some adjust well to it after a period of time, embracing their new role as Research Associate and casting aside their old sense of independence, and perhaps even becoming a Research Manager for the Iowa Metro Area. For most however, working at CoStar is a perpetually stressful existence.