Pros
Having the IBM name on your business card still gets you a seat at the table with many companies, both large and small. The company is truly a global organization, and there are opportunities for international work and assignments if that is something you want for your career - that is assuming that the hiring freeze that has been in place for most of the year is lifted...
Cons
Leadership says one thing, however they do not back up their words with actions. The company baits you in with what they call a reference salary - job seeker beware, this is not the salary you will actually get paid as (in most cases) you will be issued an incentive plan letter AFTER you start and will be told about your comp plan that be anywhere from an 8 to 18% reduction in the reference salary of what you were expecting. What this means is that in the event you ask for an 8% raise over your current salary with your current employer, and they give it to you, when you start, that 8% will actually be null and void as they take that back to incentivize you over and above your agreed upon commissions numbers - it is a bait and switch in my opinion. In addition to the items mentioned above, the company can't decide on a direction, and therefore the are constant reorganizations. Since joining IBM in December, I personally have been a part of three reorganizations where my role has changed. Not only does this impact the customer, but it makes is almost impossible for a sales person or sales manager to succeed as their teams are constantly changing and there is no opportunity to actually build the pipeline necessary to succeed. Lastly, the biggest issue of all (in my opinion) is the morale within the organization is at an all time low. This is due in large part to the items mentioned above, as well as things like IBM increasing your quota half way through the year with no justification, and making you move from a remote employee to an onsite employee, but also you couple that with the fact that IBM has experienced 22 straight quarters of revenue decline and employees wonder why we continue to try and stick this out.
