My son will soon graduate with a M.Sc. degree. I was thinking whether I'd want him to join Cisco. Then all sorts of alarm bells go off in my mind. I genuinely wouldn't want my son to work here. Nothing gets done anymore, it's just PowerPoint vision, filling in key objectives, doing weekly check-ins and sucking up to your boss. What a sad place this has become. What about everybody else?
14 replies (most recent on top)
"my mood, personality and health decline due to the continued stress that Cisco brings due to the predictable cycle of layoffs that happen"
This. If anyone from HR actually does monitor this site, take note. Layoffs have destroyed morale and loyalty to an irreparable extent.
When I started at Cisco back in the late 1990s, yes, I would have encouraged my kids to work at Cisco. We had those conversations. It was a great place to work, and people worked together as a company. You felt like you were part of a community. It was probably around 2007 when that feeling started to change for me. By 2015, I know that my wife and kids saw my mood, personality and health decline due to the continued stress that Cisco brings due to the predictable cycle of layoffs that happen. I was impacted by a recent layoff. Looking back, I'm glad that I was included. The environment at Cisco today isn't healthy anymore. Cisco still shows in "best places to work" publication lists all over the place, but having watched Cisco devolve over the past 10 years, I don't see how that is possible. Today, I'd never encourage my children to work at Cisco. Cisco is no longer a community - the people model is out of touch and today's business units seem to continually be in survival mode awaiting the next round of cuts.
Cisco is not Nortel. Cisco has too many blank check government contracts to go out of business. Look at Boeing...
Boeing is still worth $90 billion after 20 years of atrocious decisions.
Would you have recommended that your children take a job with Xerox, Sun Micro or Nortel?
I don't know about all of you, but I feel like the market for new hires is slowing down a little. I would at least interview with Cisco to have as backup, Meta has a hiring freeze. I would only proceed very carefully with Cisco and test his skills to the market knowing that Cisco is there as a last resort. Getting a steady paycheck is better than no paycheck. Who knows what the economy will be like.
i recommends to my childrens 2 hours days work with high comp and dead wood grow tall
I would recommend Cisco to my enemies kids, especially that neighbor from he-l.
Cisco is still good. In a business role he would be exposed to a global enterprise that makes a lot of money. There are not many ohter companies that will offer that.
On the tech side things are more bleak, I'd say go somewhere else if he is a teachie...
Maybe a sales development program?
Not as tech role. Other areas can be a good learning ground.
only if they needed the job. Then find another job.
Sales? Absolutely, stay for 2-4 years and then bounce to a more relevant big name in tech. Basically any other role? Probably not.
Only as stepping stone to somewhere better. Also would depend on the role. For tech role probably not as its too legacy and career limiting.
No.