Pros
Amazing, hardworking people with vision and promise come through these doors.
Cons
Throughout my tenure, I’ve witnessed a myriad of new hires come onboard, all of them bright-eyed, upbeat and passionate about the work they do. It doesn’t take long for that light to dim and eventually disappear completely- every time, like clockwork. Following their inevitable departure, another employee enters in their place, unaware of the cyclical, revolving-door nature of the place that will soon chew them up and spit them out. While working here, you can expect to be led by a trio of incompetent individuals with an abysmal lack of vision and foresight. These people will put no faith in you or your team to make the right decisions, only reprimand you for taking initiative and force you to conform to their backwards thinking. At every turn you will be sucked into management’s desperate and pathetic attempts to save a failing organization. Along the way, you will commonly encounter fits of screaming and crying from burnt out employees. One very quickly realizes at Paley that any value they bring goes unappreciated, any trace of creativity or ingenuity definitively stomped out. The CEO makes a point to remind employees at every opportunity that new ideas are encouraged, that our voices are heard- after all, we are a “family.” And yet, when brought to the table, every suggestion is met with resistance and skepticism. The culture of “this is how we’ve always done things” persists. Working at The Paley Center is akin to being in a toxic relationship- you are shamelessly manipulated and lied to, only to discover that YOU are in fact the the subject of management‘s mistrust. You are encouraged here put your reputation on the line for the sake of a company that continues to burn bridges, almost as if that is its primary objective. To all potential new hires, let me be clear: Paley will not advocate for you. You are dispensable, replaceable, and a means to an end. Paley is only concerned about its outward perception and money brought in to fund their subpar programs. Despite the glaring reality of its embarrassingly high turnover rate, Paley continues to treat its staff poorly, and will therefore continue to loose smart, competent employees. No matter your successes here, they will be diminished and overlooked. You will never be allowed a moment to revel in the wins, only made to feel like they weren’t enough. If and when things go awry, fingers will be pointed at you, as management continuously refuses to take accountability for their own shortcomings. Do not walk, run away from this place if you value your integrity and freedom from tyranny.