Pros
Spoiler alert: Zalando is not Rocket Internet. It is not. Stop. And I do not care which reputation Zalando had in the first years. Now is different. And I explain you why.
- Probably the golden age of Zalando: startup feeling but a lot of cash that brings stability and room for innovation.
- Amazing Culture: a lot of energy, passion and fun, but also trust, responsibility and "share and learn from your failures"-mindset
- Radical Agility: Purpose, Autonomy and Mastery. They really are values that we breath daily. So much more than just a good "theory". ...just google it ;)
- Startup feeling: we work in small, agile, autonomous, cross-functional teams, highly motivated from a strong company/department/team purpose and vision.
- Transparency: bi-weekly talk from the founders, where is possible to make open questions. I've never had the feeling I could not ask for something. Moreover, I'm still amazed on how much leads make a good example, sharing big fuck-ups (and... learnings ;) )
- Fun: football and ping-pong tables, games consoles, gaming guild, meetups, team-events, and... the famous open-bar Zalando parties!
- International environment: 1st language is English. Stop. People from all the word, from Australia to Canada, USA, Brasil, etc
- Good life/wok balance: forget Rocket. My boss push me to go out if I stay to late!
- Strive for innovation: Innovation Lab, Hackweek, the Shuttle (an internal incubator), etc. You have a new idea? You'll have the occasion to validate it and, if it good, time and people to bring it to live!
- Management and leads listen to us. In the last years, I do not remember one thing we asked that was not done. From cereals and yoga-classes, to better salaries transparency and adjustment to market-expectations.
Cons
- Lack of a clear career path, and terms to go the the next seniority level. At least for product.
- Sometimes I have the feeling they prefer to hire external senior position, instead of bringing the current internal top talent to the next step.
- Zalando is a dynamic company. Change is a constant. As a result, sometimes roles or process, are unclear. A bit of mess and uncertainty is a constant. if you cannot handle it, don't apply. Go to Deutsche Bank.
- Please consider I am only talking about Zalando Technology. Other department may have a different environment. ;)
