Company: Microsoft
Date: 2014-11-02
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

Very political place
Pros: People are kind in general and very helpful in analyzing your strengths and ways you can grow in those strengths. Microsoft is a study of the human psyche and how to manage stakeholders under difficult conditions. You will learn how to navigate highly complex systems and structures that weren't designed to flow together originally, using systems that aren't typically built for the purpose that you are using them. If you enjoy thinking through massive amounts of ambiguity and aren't driven to create processes to fix those systems, you will do well at Microsoft. 

Microsoft is also an amazing place to build a vast network via consulting firms and FTEs at the company. You will also benefit from learning how a multitude of other companies are set up and structured. I've found this to be incredibly helpful in determining what teams and companies you would like to create one day as an entrepreneur or what places/structures you would find most valuable for employment.
Cons: The company is struggling with massive amounts of change coming from the new CEO, especially in marketing. Microsoft marketing is very unstructured, lacking ability to understand or utilize data to make informed decisions about customer interactions. Because it is such a political place, teams will often group together to discount an individual or team that attempts to create structure via analytical marketing. Marketing campaigns are often not measured, and the monetary waste and lack of frugality is substantial. The company overall lacks a pulse on their customers' interest/pain points/goals, especially in B2B. 

Leadership lacks vision, long-term goals, and ability to simplify or communicate. Management is highly political; some teams hire groups of people to pad for a riff without ever attempting to develop the new employees. Employees typically spend time managing vendors and lack the understanding of how the job is actually done. With technical roles, the vendor teams who are in the details will often indicate roadblocks that, if the FTEs understood the details, wouldn't exist. 

Although the company used to freely promote from within, promotions are much more difficult to come by now.