Microsoft Reviews in Mountain View, CA

Pros

Many opportunities across teams. Lots of flexibility. Advantages of working for a big company. Get to work with many talented people.

Cons

Its a very big company. Lots of competition. Can be slow moving at times. Sometimes working or collaboration between groups is not efficient.

Advice to Senior Management

Need more consistency in management across different groups. Some groups are awesome and some are not so great. A consistent approach in what is expected from managers will help.

Pros

The health insurance and other benefits are one of the best among the industry.
The company provides good work environment.

Cons

Lack of innovation.
Lots of bureaucracy.
Technical skill sets obtained from this company may not be usable in other companies.

Advice to Senior Management

Build a more open environment for the research and development teams.
Embrace more new technologies and open source software.
Need more out-of-box thinking.

Pros

Work with bright pPeople
Technology availability
Benefits

Cons

Too political
Some higher managers not properly qualified

Advice to Senior Management

Stop looking after their own careers and more about their people and projects

Pros

Polishing your analytical thinking. Extreme attention to details. Building consensus.

Cons

Too much inward thinking. Company is not in touch with the industry as much as it should be.

Advice to Senior Management

More focus on Silicon Valley. Redmond is not where the industry is being shaped today...

Pros

Good place to start a career
If you are looking for career advancement go to Redmond not the satellite offices
Smart People
Good healt benefits, 401K, ESPP etc

Cons

Career growth stalls quickly if you are in one of the satellite offices
Too much inter/intra group politics
Senior Management can't stick to there decisions

Advice to Senior Management

Make decisions on what is the right thing not how strong you are
Expand satellite campuses, which will give remote employees more professional growth and career advancement opportunities which are lacking right now and a major cause of attrition

Pros

Many intresting technologies
Lots of smart pepole
Good work life balance
Great benafits, great health benafit, 401K match, matching of donations to many organization, company store, etc.

Cons

Too many competing products
Beyond window lack of focus and clear direction
Trying to be best in everything SW
Too much legal involvement, can't use any external SW in the products
Too many reorgs

Advice to Senior Management

Beyond window get more focus and clear direction
Stop trying to be best in everything SW

Pros

- Looks good on resume
- Benifits are good
- Secure
- Excellent working conditions (peronal office, top notch hardware ...)

Cons

- There is very little organic growth in the SVC campus
- Lots of stick very little carrot
- Developers are disempowered and micromanaged
- Frequent reorg's
- You won't get any experience working on technologies that are in high demand in the valley (Linux,Php,J2EE ...)

Advice to Senior Management

Encourage innovation and increase presence in the valley.

Pros

Really Smart people
Great benefits, Salary, work environment

Cons

Losing traction in the market worrisome
Not executing as well as it should be

Advice to Senior Management

Get your act together, please!

Pros

The right people and resources motivated to tackle an opprty when solid, visionary leadership is in place (there is a leak in the plumbing, sadly)
The most comprehensive ecosystem of technology partners world-wide

Cons

Politics
Bureaucracy
Process
and MUST live in 98052 for career advancement at the company while forfeiting a proximal connection to the rest of the industry in Silicon Valley

Advice to Senior Management

1.) Spend significantly more time in Silicon Valley (or anywhere out of Redmond, WA) and listen to what the industry and customers are saying. This applys to all levels of the organization, Steve down to Steve's doers
2.) Make a serious investment to be located in the technology hub, Silicon Valley
3.) Stop the process overload. You are killing our spirit, the will to compete, and ability to deliver innovative products, services, and programs customers really want! Is it really that hard to see?

Pros

Lots of very smart people to learn from. Vast amount of resources if you are on an approved project. Benefits are outstanding.

Cons

Too political. Not much career opportunity in satellite offices. You are career dead if you work for a team remotely.

Advice to Senior Management

Clean out the management pool.