Company: Microsoft
Date: 2010-06-06
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

Great place to work, but stay out of the pigeonhole
Pros: --Competitive pay with platinum-plated benefis
--Opulent office space
--Can-do spirit on new teams
--Can genuinely make a difference
--Upward mobility within your team is a distinct possibility with persistence and results
Cons: --Finance and accounting systems are a mess
--When we make a difference, it's because we know how to work the system, but is that really value-add?
--Over-matrixed culture creates overburdensome bureaucracy where big projects just don't get done, but division CFOs get to move on after spending million$.
--Microsoft IT is a HUGE impediment to the success of the broader finance org
--Internal movement 100% self-driven rather than coached/choreographed at senior levels; internal job search just like an external search, complete with cold calls, resume drops, etc.
--Be forewarned that when things get stale in the group that hires you, it WILL be difficult to make a change unless you are among the anointed.