Company: Microsoft
Date: 2008-06-12
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: current

Not the place for a true sales professional
Pros: The benefits package is best in class. From 100% free, no co-pay insurance to free health club membership and more, this is a 'gotcha' that makes looking at other companies tough.
Cons: The pay is not keeping pace with the market, nor is reflective of one's efforts. Microsoft has a well-known pay policy that they pay 65% of the going market rate. In the past this was not a bad position since employees could double, tripple, or more because of the stock options. This is no longer the case. For non-executives, the current "stock grant" process adds, at best, about a 5% kicker to the total cash compensation.

By clinging to team-based revenue plans, there is virtually no difference in compensation between the top and bottom performers, nor any difference between team members who manage vastly different revenue streams.  For all intents and purposes, year on year there is very little upside potential. The sales team I am on has made, within a 3% swing, the same take-home compensation for 4 years now - even while growing our revenue contribution by 50% in the same period. 

Microsoft is not a place for the true sales professional who expects to be compensated according to the revenue / margin they bring in.

The other stark reality is that most promotions happen to those in Redmond. Do not expect much career advancement opportunities if you are not willing to dedicate 2-5 years at the mother ship.