Company: Microsoft
Date: 2012-08-15
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Junior

Microsoft Sales Environment - better wear kevlar vest
Pros: Good Salary.  Decent benefits, but diminishing very quickly.  Health care will change from nearly free to costly HSA format this year.  Probably a great place for technical people.  For sales, you won't be there long.  Most sales people have 1-2 years, many less.  MSFT doesn't seem to care how much you spend on travel, lying on travel claims is rampant.  Bad news for shareholders.
Cons: If you go into sales be aware:  commissions are recoverable if you do not meet 80% of your quota.  Very poor account history and sales history.  MSFT doesn't seem to know what they sold, when, where?  The least collegial atmosphere I've worked in in over 25 years in business.  Daggers are out for everyone.  My manager took public pleasure in firing people and spoke freely with smiles when he told the story.  Managers would not help educate on admin/sales systems, or on accounts. Atmosphere of fear and unnecessary competition between people in divergent groups.  No/very little technical support for sales people.