Is leaving Cisco and coming back again, as someone mentioned, really the best way? Because, I know a person who left but couldn’t come back.
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As someone said, get a raise, switch and don't come back. A ton of mediocre jobs out there which pay awesome and are easy on web. After much boot licking and 55 hour weeks I got looked over for a promo in March 21 cycle. Then I finally got the g11 promo in Oct 21 cycle. Looked into the market and folks half my exp were making much more monies than me, while my management said that our team was over budget.
I made it out , but the scar of Cisco haunts me and the drain it has caused on me psychologically and mentally . I got underpaid in my new job because I was from Cisco (different benchmark if u r from faang) . Still the job is atleast 50pc more than what I made at csco. And work is more laid back than having a kn--e over my neck
... If I had known that the "pat on the back raise" was setting me up for a "kick in the pants LR", I would have refused it and left. Live and learn.
What's the point of refusing the pay increases if you're going to leave anyway? Either refuse the pay increase so you can stay, or take it and enjoy the extra cash while you look for your next role. It gives you better leverage to negotiate a better salary at the next company.
"I watched a high-performer in IT receive a huge raise... followed by a layoff. The increased salary puts a target on your back."
This right here. Same happened to me.....got a couple of raises due to excellent performance (and there were no promotions to hand out). One year later I got LR'd, because my salary was above the midpoint. If I had known that the "pat on the back raise" was setting me up for a "kick in the pants LR", I would have refused it and left. Live and learn.
Same here, got 15% pay raise and was shown the door in 4 months. It's not worth it especially if you're over 45.
And I bet they didn't say a thing about your performance suddenly not being up to par. It's really age discrimination, but they disguise it by saying you're too "expensive" instead of "you're too old". And they'll bring in two people w/ half the years of experience at 2/3 your pay and claim they're getting twice the work out of them for the cost of an extra 1/3 pay except that these less experience people take twice as long to solve problems they've never seen before that you could easily fix quickly.
Almost all companies are like this. You usually get a nice pay bump when switching jobs.
Same here, got 15% pay raise and was shown the door in 4 months. It's not worth it especially if you're over 45.
PS: I'm not from HR. Just giving candid info.
I got promoted and six months later, LR'd. Go figure.
The best way to get a raise is to leave Cisco and NOT come back.
Most other places in the industry are paying above Cisco by 20-30%.
I watched a high-performer in IT receive a huge raise... followed by a layoff. The increased salary puts a target on your back.
Careful what you wish for. I can think of two people that left Cisco in 2019 and returned in 2021 to, effectively, their old job, but had to accept a grade lower that they had.
Now, because of grade overlap they might have got more money, but I doubt it.
You can get a raise (up to 10% is not unheard of) without leaving of course. You just can't catch up with what you'd be getting today if you were to start fresh in your current grade. Be careful when leaving: make sure your attitude and skills are such that Cisco (or any other employer) will really want you back. I've had moments of joy and relief when folks announced their departure.