Cisco reviews

- They have a difficult history of annual layoffs, and the dust is still settling with the new CEO in place and the changes he's making to the organization. - Cisco is not generous with merit increases and promotions are difficult to come by. - Cisco is a behemoth of a company. As such, processes for getting anything done are complex and slow. - Don't expect a lot of handholding as you start your job. Cisco prides itself on being a "self service" company. That means you have to figure out how to get things done.

Raises are almost non-existent. Raises do occur, but they seem to be only for a small section of employees at the absolute top of the performance scale or who have made the right impression with senior leadership. So you can do a great job and not see a penny more for 3 or more years. So while the world becomes more expensive to live in, you are are having less an less expendable income. If this methodology resulted in more job security it would be worth it, but it is just Cisco's normal business model to force management into stack ranking exercises to determine who could be fired. Also, Cisco does not value most experience gained outside of Cisco. So you may have years of experience coming in the door, you will not be considered for promotions until you have gained the same experience under Cisco.