Company: IBM
Date: 2008-06-11
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: former

The long spiral downward
Pros: The company provides myriad opportunities to have a variety of lateral assignments and grow a broader skill set all while moving from one industry segment to another.  The breadth and depth of the company is significant, with only a small handful of other companies that it competes with across the board.  The company also provides a wonderful opportunity to learn about bureaucracy, politics, kremlinology, and navel-gazing.  These dilbertesque skills are vital in the world of big business.  If you are someone who can set a personal agenda, build a network of cronies and not let processes and various levels of management get you down, this is the place for you.
Cons: In a company this large it's both easy to get lost in the crowd and even if you do stand out (in good ways) there's often little room for career advancement. This is driven by a very old-school, command-and-control management style where everyone must wait their turn for advancement.  Swinging for the fences will only get you noticed, but may never bring any reward, even when you hit a grand slam.  A downside that's also an upside: he company also provides a wonderful opportunity to learn about bureaucracy, politics, kremlinology, and navel-gazing.  These dilbertesque skills are vital in the world of big business.