Microsoft reviews

Limited Career Advancement Opportunities For Some People- If you don't live in WA state or nearby one of Microsoft's campuses, career advancement is very tough unless you want to stay in a sales-oriented or 90%-travel position. Difficult and Time Consuming to Move Around in the Company: The internal interview process to move into a new role or organization within the company is very slow (can take weeks or months), not at all transparent, and is a full-day interview experience just as external candidates have to face. Competition is fierce but if you're persistent it's possible to land a new position. Tools & Processes: Employees continually have low marks on yearly polling regarding having the right tools, reports, and processes in place to get our jobs done effectively. I haven't seen many improvements in the several years I've been here and don't expect many changes in the future either. Compensation: While the benefits are fantastic, the total compensation could be much better. I feel that salaries and stock rewards are falling behind compared to other top tier tech companies.

Managers, especially lower-level, are poorly (if at all) trained. The company rewards arrogance over performance. Speaking your mind, while encouraged, will usually backfire on you. Always toe the company line, jargon, and "cult of personality" regarding leaders. Never admit you have weaknesses or need help. Everything needs buy-in from everyone, resulting in few decisions being made, and even less real work getting done. It's not how you do the work, or how much you're doing, it's only about the appearance of your work - even at the expense of others or actually not doing work. This is a "watch-your-back", Machiavellian kind of workplace and people out to get you will do so with smiles, passive aggressiveness, 360-review feedback, and even hugs. Potential employee beware!