Too many politics! Too much upper management! Horrible review and promotion process! - Anonymous employee PayPal Employee Review

1.0
6 Mar 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good pay. Lots of good people.

Cons

The review process is not objective, there is no way you can defend your performance because it is not based on objective, measurable,pass/fail criteria. In other places I've worked at, you set measurable objective goals at the beginning of the period. At the end of the period you can say with confidence you met or not met your goals or perhaps exceeded your goals, and you are evaluated accordingly. It makes sense! At PayPal you get "compared" to other employees in your organization. And when you ask your manager to explain why you got the rating you got, it is never an objective, measurable, pass/fail goals. It is a well known "secret" that managers are forced to evaluate their team based on a bell curve, so even if you have a lot of superstars on your team, the manager is going to have to single one or a couple out to be given a "sub par" evaluation. Some of the people that do not deliver anything, or that have their projects get promoted. While others that do deliver a working project, on time, get fired... go figure.

Explore other reviews about PayPal

5.0
7 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work life balance. Lot of opportunities to learn

Cons

Company is in transition mode

2.0
13 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

PayPal has a lot of potential. It has two very strong brands in PayPal and Venmo with significant awareness and user bases that other companies envy. There are pockets of teams that are really pushing the envelop to reimagine what PayPal and Venmo could be—especially the Venmo team—and to move with speed given the company must stay focused and not waste time with Apple Pay, Shop Pay, and so many other competitors nipping at PayPal's heels and aggressively taking market share.

Cons

While some teams are pushing to self-disrupt and are moving fast, too many teams—and I'd argue the majority of the company–are living off of PayPal's laurels from the late 2010s through the pandemic. The culture and mindset have to change for the company to remain competitive. Otherwise, they are the Titanic and they're sinking slowly. The former CEO who only last 2 years tried diversifying the company's revenue, planning for the future. But the board and its former chairman (now new CEO) felt he wasn't moving fast enough to stabilize and marketshare. Instead, the board hired the former chairman who made computers and printers at HP—another sinking ship—to lead the oldest fintech company. The loss of confidence in the leadership team and the strategy are only accelerating.

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