Cisco Systems Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Cisco Systems as a contractor for more than a year

Pros – telecommute, nice co-workers, fair management

Cons – Frequent reorganizations, goofy management policies

Advice to Senior Management – Be even more clear and concrete about what is happening and when it will happen

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Cisco Systems full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – - Work Flexiblilty
- Package
- Big Company/Opportunities

Cons – - Very little diversity
- Recognition
- Political

Advice to Senior Management – Get rid of slackers

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Cisco Systems full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Always on the cutting edge, one step ahead.

Cons – Long hours but interesting work.

Advice to Senior Management – Cut the fat in the middle, not the top or the bottom. Heavy middle management...too many layers.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Cisco Systems full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Strong learning opportunities and mobility opportunities across groups

Cons – Large organization, hierarchy, potential power struggles between functional areas

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Cisco Systems full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Great working environment and management teams are supportive.

Cons – Had 7 managers in the last 5 years.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Cisco Systems full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Large stable company, not struggling to get funded or get product name recognition. Everyone in the networking world knows the name Cisco. It's a great resume entry.

Cons – Not all groups are well funded, and promotion opportunities are more limited from within. There is a bit of an internal joke that says if you are looking for a promotion, leave the company and get it there.. then come back at your new level.

Advice to Senior Management – Don't neglect your internal personel in your pursuit of new external hires. It is very demoralizing to be struggling for a few years to get promoted or a substantial pay raise only to see a new hire come in from a competitor with a higher grade or substantial pay raise when compared to your own.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Cisco Systems full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – - Job rotation is encouraged to develop all-around skills
- Work/life balance
- Onsite childcare
- Strong exec team

Cons – - Promotions take forever to come
- VP's are not very nimble in decision making and very risk averse.

Advice to Senior Management – - Quicker decision making and more upfront innovation ( in terms of leading the market).

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Cisco Systems full-time

Pros – Excellent training opportunities, endless learning, a great place to work! Very nice benefits.

Cons – Really eats into your life, you can work 30 hours one week and 70 hours the next.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Cisco Systems full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Cisco takes very good care of its employees. Work ethic is taken extremely seriously and so is the respect towards your coworkers

Cons – Like any big company Cisco is at times engulfed with "processes" that impact productivity and creativity and this can become source of frustration.

Advice to Senior Management – Encourage creativity

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Cisco Systems full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Very employee friendly, good benefits, wide range of technologies and jobs for easy internal movement.

Cons – Stable business and therefore slow moving. Heavy processes make innovation and risk taking harder

Advice to Senior Management – Cut the middle management and 10s of VPs

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend