Company: IBM
Date: 2014-07-31
Overall rating: 5/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Senior

Great company with great people
Pros: For nearly 30 years, I was proud to call myself an IBMer. As IBM has moved into more services, the nature of work changed and the variety of project opportunities was great. The company values diversity of thought and demographics and encourages innovation at every level. Total compensation is competitive.
Cons: Trying to optimize profits for reporting to the street has been a challenge for more than a decade. Acquiring and shedding businesses to optimize profitability has driven decisions from HQ. Trying to squeeze every cent of profit has forced specialization. The downside of being to specialized is any person may become temporarily benched, which hurts performance and perceptions.