Company: Microsoft
Date: 2013-08-27
Overall rating: 1/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Senior

The glory days are long over
Pros: - Decent healthcare benefits that are free (for now). Even these have deteriorated in the last few years and the slide will continue
- Really smart people at least in individual contributor role
- Free soda (if you are into that)
Cons: - Terrible review system based on rank and yank. Kills morale completely and leaves no incentive to work as a team. In fact we spend better parts of the year trying to sabotage and upstage other team members. 

- incompetent management. In the decade I have been here the ranks of group managers, directors and senior directors have grown exponentially slowing any project to a crawl. These "senior leaders" are so clueless that you wonder how they even got into this role.

- Non-existent work life balance. There is crushing and unrealistic pressure to deliver from upper management which itself appears immune to any accountability. 60-70 hour weeks are a given...and that's just to stay afloat.

- Redmond centric culture. There are almost zero opportunities for people outside of Redmond and if you are in the field and reporting to a manager in Redmond...start counting your days before you are ranked and yanked.

- Too much focus on PowerPoints, excel spreadsheets and meeting numbers. Cost cutting is an epidemic...if you are Level 63 or above...you are at risk. The goal set by KT is to eliminate these "higher paying" positions and backfill with fresh, college hires which are cheaper.