Company: IBM
Date: 2018-02-04
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Junior

Good Company but not best in class (IBM Philippines)
Pros: I worked for the delivery center in the Philippines (aka CIC). Here are my observations:
>They can offer high base pay for experienced hire so this should be carefully negotiated
>Lots of of opportunities for those well connected with senior management
>You can get away with process requirements in a lot of cases (very forgiving environment)
>They provide ThinkPads for all IT practitioners; work from home can be negotiated depending on the role and tenure (and connections) 
>If you are a bright talent, you can definitely shine among mediocre bunch.
>Availability of online trainings for latest IT Trends (e.g. Blockchain, cloud, agile, design thinking, etc)
>Travel opportunities (not a lot though)
>Limited free parking
Cons: >Very thin on benefits; in fact just the basics (HMO and insurance). So negotiate for high base pay and you are all set
 >This company is for the the mediocre; if you are so-so and ambitious, you just need to get along with the right people
>Senior leadership tend to be cliquish; you need to be friends with one of them and inch your way to the rest 
>Most projects are on night shift supporting US clients
>Overall global culture is fragmented due to different business towers; local culture in the Philippines tend to be mediocre, hence if you are a bright talent, there is a strong temptation to go with the flow and be mediocre as well.
>The delivery center (IBM Solutions Delivery) tend to have inferior salary and benefits vs their mother company (IBM Philippines). So if you are after better salary and benefits, go with the IBM Philippines entity.
>Support system (IT help desk, facilities, travel desk, etc) is bureaucratic 
>Employees are forbidden to divulge their rank/level in the company but we all know this is impossible to hide

I know I have a lot of gripes but overall my tenure in IBM is still a good one. I made good connections and friends, and learned a lot from my experience. So, if you are in it for the experience and paycheck, and can bear some of these Cons, it is not such a bad place at all.