Novelwall Reviews

2.2

33% would recommend to a friend

(38 total reviews)

31% positive business outlook

Novelwall has an employee rating of 2.2 out of 5 stars, based on 38 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Novelwall employee rating is 41% below average for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

38 reviews
1.0
17 Sept 2024

Fraud, Lies, and Exploitation – The Worst Company You Could Work For

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are no pros for working for Novelwall/ University & Student/ PickaUni

Cons

Novelwall/ University & Student/ PickaUni is not just a bad company to work for, they are dangerous, immoral and blatantly follow illegal practices. They are a disaster from top to bottom, no matter what new name they decide to go under. The CEO is the most abysmal sexist bully I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, a borderline sociopath, and he is backed by a team of incompetent, unethical minions. They exploit employees and simply don’t pay them, unsurprisingly resulting in multiple lawsuits, just look up Novelwall, University & Student or PickaUni and see it for yourself. They refuse to provide basic tools like laptops, phones, flyers, or office supplies. If you don’t want to get paid for your work and want to be harassed at the same time, Novelwall/ University & Student/ PickaUni is the perfect place for you. They constantly miss bill payments, meaning we got locked out of our office multiple times. The only reason we were able to work is we had to beg the receptionists to let us in, needless to say it was an embarrassing and mortifying experience. Even better, management does all this and still has the gall to blame their staff for missing targets. They will threaten to sack you every other week, job security is nonexistent. It really is just an endless cycle of mismanagement and blame-shifting that will only result in more lawsuits and, undoubtedly, more company aliases. Their marketing is so embarrassing, always full of typos, mostly AI generated, and very poorly written content, to the point where all customers initially think they’re a scam, which I guess they are at this point. If you as an employee critique this and make suggestions for improvements, you will be blocked by management, insulted for thinking you know better, and indirectly punished for it, maybe even unfairly dismissed for 'causing problems'. Novelwall/ University & Student/ Pickauni will also blatantly lie to customers about what they offer, falsify references to help students get into universities, and misleads clients about the benefits of their services. Of course, they have already lost multiple investors as a result. The company has rebranded several times (NovelWall, University & Student, PickaUni, and more to come, no doubt) in an attempt to evade the consequences of their actions, but they cannot run forever. Each time, they are the same company under a new cloak. PickaUni was the last one, but please don’t think it is any different. Anyone thinking of investing in Novelwall/ University & Student/ PickaUni should run in the opposite direction if they care about their money and their business. They burn through good employees by stifling their potential, and the turnover rate is insane. I only worked there for 5 months and I saw 8 employees leave or be unfairly dismissed, not even including myself. Honestly, the only methods management knows to go by is to evade responsibility. Their ongoing and constant legal issues should raise enormous red flags to potential employees and investors alike. Novelwall/ University & Student/ PickaUni isn’t just a bad company to work for, it’s a terrible investment. The toxic culture, unethical practices, dismal marketing, and leadership’s inability to manage even the basics of running a business guarantee failure. Avoid this sinking ship before it takes you down with it.

1.0
16 Sept 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Some of the customers were a pleasure to work with. The office we rented had amazing community managers.

Cons

A clueless CEO, who manipulates those around him and attempts to use deception and intimidation to control staff. CEO constantly threatened to sack the team. His manic mood swings make it impossible to predict how he’ll react to updates given. An undercurrent of misogyny, sexism and racism in company meetings. Sexually graphic imagery was often used. Wages regularly late when employed. Wages and expenses not paid when staff leave. Bills often unpaid, resulting in company email going down or being locked out of the rented office. Instructions or guidance given to team was mostly immoral, and very questionable. Students promised thousands of pounds cash back, when in reality the company cannot pay the staff they hire. Marketing dept has an inability to produce content without typos.

1.0
13 July 2023

Only join if last resort

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The day to day customers are nice. Some of the long term team are nice people. But have no power. Anyone who steps out of line is fired or ear marked for dismissal. This is a regime make no mistake. There is one vote, and one vote only on the voting paper.

Cons

Firings are a daily occurrence Unfair dismissal daily occurrence A silent Senior Management Team who cannot influence a one man tyrant owner Mr Ousmand. Not their fault they have mortgages, families they are protecting these people. Putins Russia is the best way to describe it. No one is at fault, he listens to no one, the only way to influence him is to leave. Note on payday it is a common occurrence to not get paid, leave a window of seven days after payday. Expect the unexpected.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 38 Reviews

Glassdoor has 38 Novelwall reviews submitted anonymously by Novelwall employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Novelwall is right for you.