Symantec Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Symantec full-time for more than a year

Pros – Market leading products with dominant positions
They compete in relevant markets that are not going away
Compensation seems to be in line or above average for the valley
Benefits are above average
Most groups respect work/life balance (hours aren't crazy, telecommuting is OK)
Symantec is a logo that is known and pretty well respected in the valley when you are ready to leave
Very strong corporate responsibility

Cons – Prior leadership was generally ineffective in creating company's vision, strategy and execution
Way too many silos across products and business units
Very slow moving to get things done (projects, programs, etc.)
Inconsistent in attracting and developing top young talent (i.e. post-MBA level); better at recruiting/developing post-undergrad and Sr Mgmt (director and higher), but folks in between often fall through the cracks and leave for greener pastures

Advice to Senior Management – Continue to execute on Steve Benett's vision, which was very successful at Intuit. Make this a company that people want to love to work for. Take pride in career development.

On the product side, break down silos between BUs, streamline operations, shorten sales cycles, and invest in emerging technologies. Stop letting new players eat at our market share. Get back to innovating instead of reacting defensively.

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

Current Employee – been working at Symantec full-time for more than a year

Pros – +New CEO,Steve Bennett is changing the culture to become more proactive and to have employees and management take ownership as leaders.(Top Down, Bottom Up Approach)
+Culture is quickly improving to become more transparent and accountable
+Reenergized workforce
+Clearer visibility of goals and objectives

Cons – *The changes envisioned will take a lot of time and energy on everyone's behalf, some people have more difficulty with change than others.

Advice to Senior Management – Stay the course and focus on the positive opportunities ahead.

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

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

Pros – Compensation is better than average, benefits are great, and the culture is good, people are great at the office. Challenging engineering problems are always present, and flexibility in work schedule and process allows for creative solutions. Symantec has just picked up a new CEO that is laser focused on reinvigorating the business, and this is providing a more positive outlook on the future.

Cons – 'Thrashing' occurs frequently because of the loose process and somewhat ambiguous direction or absence of vision. Layoffs have occurred multiple times so there is always a looming apprehension about this reoccurring. A career track is virtually non-existent - it seems as though most are destined to remain in their hired positions for the length of their employment, rather than be encouraged to promote up. A common direction and enthusiasm for the business has been absent for some time, but may turn around with Steve Bennett as CEO.

Advice to Senior Management – Encourage more enthusiasm for the business, and emphasize the importance of each role in the company as a vital part of the future success. Promote up key/star employees within the company, and foster a competitive culture that encourages more of this. Align all business units with focus that is in sync with Symantec's vision, and communicate more effectively how each business unit is a part of that vision.

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

Former Employee – worked at Symantec full-time for more than a year

Pros – The software and IT engineers were very experienced, knowledgeable and friendly. The mid level and project managers were very good and organized. Communication between and within teams was good.

Cons – The senior upper management seemed to not really know how to properly run a technical software company: their focus seemed to me on marketing and sales rather than making a quality product. Important teams were outsourced to India and China with much less efficient results and lower quality code.

Advice to Senior Management – Focus on making great products, not on driving your stock up. Let your employees create great products and stop with the cost-cutting, layoffs, and outsourcing.
Off topic: entirely overhaul your UI/UX design process: the software has been getting harder to use, not easier.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Symantec full-time for more than a year

Pros – Great culture, working environment, cooperative co-workers

Cons – hard to come back to a big company after working at start-ups.

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

Former Employee – worked at Symantec full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Flexible work schedule, middle management has open door policy.

Cons – Lay offs took place at least twice a year, there is constant reorganization and merging of acquired talent/products. The yearly review process is cumbersome and does not allow for performance changes that are related to medical leaves of absence.

Advice to Senior Management – Products need to have an end of life. Recruiters need to be move involved with the hiring of talent or the rehiring of talent that was laid off due to reorganization or such.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

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

Pros – Great opportunities to learn at a large, relevant company. Lots of resources.

Cons – Limited opportunities to move around and constant change.
Too much cost control and limited investment in employee development and growth.

Advice to Senior Management – Create and clear a path for high performers to move around. Pick a clear winning strategy for the team to rally behind. Used the latest and greatest products that customers use.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Symantec full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Large company and will be here for a long time. Good benefits. Depending on the group you are with, work/life balance can be good - but that is not constant across all teams. Good place for entry level people to get a start and learn.

Cons – Large company lacking focus and direction, or I should say focus and direction seem to change each year. Upper management's main focus is just to cut costs of developing and supporting software without any concerns of impact to quality and customers. They also do a lot of employee surveys on what needs to be fixed, then upper management puts out a lot of "we hear you", but then do nothing.

Advice to Senior Management – Focus on building quality products and customer satisfaction will improve.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Symantec full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Lot of opportunity for growth, good benefits, worldwide, cutting edge technology

Cons – You need to know how to play the political game, layoffs layoffs layoffs, salary was not comparable to the market, company is going in too many directions and lacks focus

Advice to Senior Management – Understand that human capital is valuable and you need to check your egos at the door.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Symantec full-time for less than a year

Pros – Ethics driven Company
As an intern, I didn't find any politics, everybody was nice and helpful
Good pay and nice cafe

Cons – Not everybody is smart (some people are just going along because they have been at the company long)
Older workforce in general makes it less attractive for new interns and new hires

Advice to Senior Management – Hire more young people, and make changes fast (older workforce although good, is still resistant to change...just my impression though)

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