Pros
Overall company stability Good name recognition Most employees are smarter than average and work like dogs Stock purchase plan & overall benefits Fast computer network with lots of bandwidth :-) Great for middle-aged white men who like politics Seldom fires people for poor performance Flexibility to work from home John Chambers is a great motivator and provides upbeat, consistent leadership Wish I could say the same for most other leaders
Cons
Insane pace - all Cisco all the time - expect you to be online 24/7 Only high-level execs are promoted (I've had 5 lateral moves in 10+ years) Jobs can end without warning (due to "limited restructuring") and no one will help you find another Absolutely no help with career planning or employee advocacy - HR is worthless Few women in leadership positions and most of those aren't home-grown All that matters is managing up Too many meetings...no time to get real work done Too much bloated terminology like "market adjacencies" instead of simply "priorities" Must fly coach even on long flights If you're not in San Jose (HQ), you don't exist