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Experiences here can vary dramatically - Anonymous employee VMware Employee Review

3.0
1 Oct 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great technology that is easy to get behind, generous compensation, great benefits, very professional atmosphere, no time-off policy (i.e., 'take as many days as you want/need'), you get to work with some very smart and impressive colleagues which challenges you to grow & improve as an individual. Sr leadership, for the most part, are very engaging and approachable assuming you can get time with them.

Cons

VMware is still trying to figure out the best way to sell all the new technologies they're bringing to market which means it's still very chaotic. The sales organization went through two reorgs during the 10 months I was with the company, and my particular team's focus changed weekly, sometimes daily. I more or less spent my entire time with the company responding to fire drills which made it very difficult to add meaningful/lasting impact and value. I definitely can't say that's the case with every position or team; my role was newly created so realizing the implications of that was a learning experience for me. My position ended up being eliminated after 10 months which was frustrating as it takes that long just to get ramped up at this company, especially if you work in the field. Work-life balance is determined by your manager (mine was a known workaholic). The biggest widespread pain point I see is that the company continues to hire people in droves from outside the company instead of promoting from within, despite having a phenomenal crop of candidates within their salesforce. With so many people constantly being hired from outside the company, there isn't a prevailing culture so your experience will very much be determined by who you report to.

Explore other reviews about VMware

5.0
24 Jun 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

VMware is a big company but in many ways had a startup vibe. That was great because the resources and infrastructure of a big company were there, but it gave most people I worked with freedom to work on many projects, influence, move around, and contribute in many ways. Plus, many things moved faster than they might at other companies of the same size. Perks were really great including bonuses, events on the campus, opportunities, etc.

Cons

The biggest con is the annual layoff. During most of the years I was there, we were growing like crazy, beating expectations, gaining in stock price, etc. It was always positive and upward. However, every single January, it was known that there would be a round of layoffs, even when all numbers were looking great as they almost always were. Management called it restructuring. But, over the years, some really good people were let go for no apparent reason. Then to add insult to injury, a week or two later, there would be a company quarterly meeting discussing how VMware was doing so well and is still hiring, but they had to make some changes. It always felt dishonest and the sympathy for those let go came across as disingenuous.

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