Low salary, nepotism, superficial work culture - Anonymous employee OverDrive Employee Review

2.0
16 Oct 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work-life balance, schedule was dependably steady.

Cons

Catering to the CEO's every need anywhere is not uncommon, but the amount of new laptops that had to be wasted on this CEO for very menial issues—issues that management hardly wanted to question or research—was hardly fathomable. Having to humor his political opinions during monthly and quarterly all-team meetings was insufferable considering the amount of money he walks away with from OverDrive. The amount of wide-open nepotism at the company was equally unfathomable, but completely normalized and unquestioned. Those who benefited from said nepotism were the people that were safe from company-wide management cuts and other general layoffs that occurred during my time there. The whole pseudo-Silicon Valley work environment was laughable. The work environment had a tinge of feeling like high school with its obvious cliques. All the while, there was a complete void in communication between departments when it came down to effectual day to day work. This is a company that provides an expensive service to public institutions—schools and libraries—that spends ridiculous amounts of money on infrastructure and amenities in the building, while underpaying its employees. It all the while plugs itself as a champion of these same public institutions as if it were one with them. Don't be fooled by OverDrive—just another private company wrapped in a facade of a place doing a "public service."

Explore other reviews about OverDrive

5.0
8 Nov 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good culture. Good collaboration. Good benefits

Cons

Not left with much to complain about

4.0
22 Apr 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great work environment, great people to work with, solid benefits, and wonderful perks. I feel like I get along with most people I work with and am not looked down on by people in other departments, even though support is less glamorous than development. It feels like a lot of people at OverDrive are interested in getting to know other employees and are interested in doing so via fun activities, which I appreciate.

Cons

Sometimes there seems to a climate of worry about whether the executive team will stand up for lower-level employees. It's not an easy time to be a diverse group of people working closely with libraries, and it's not always clear to what extent we will be protected from the effects of that. I'm sometimes frustrated by the gap in compensation between support/partner services staff and development staff, even those at the same level of skill and experience. That being said, I think this is partially an industry issue. The only competitive wage for a developer is a large one, but a living wage with good benefits is competitive for Support.

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