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It really depends on your role and what product you work on. - Anonymous employee VMware Employee Review

2.0
Jan 10, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Please note—I can really only speak as someone who worked on an acquired product. If you're working in Palo Alto at the headquarters, it seems like there are many smart, driven people on campus. The posted company values are great. VMware is very charitable and their actions prove it. All employees are given a certain amount of money they can donate to a charity of their choice each year. The work/life balance has been great, but it's also a bit of a con—it's only because no one is really ever in the office.

Cons

Working on an acquired product is painful. The team is currently unmotivated and has no morale, due to many factors. One huge one is VMware really didn't pay attention to the product until things got really bad and they had to step in. I don't know if it's the same working on one of the actual "flagship" products vs. a product from an acquisition. I am not an engineer but I have managers who just don't know how to manage non-engineers. If you're a designer, be very cautious of this place. When it comes to understanding of design, it's extremely painful having both PMs and engineers who have never worked with designers. And as for career growth, I actually don't see any here. Also, nepotism was a huge issue in our office! People with 1-2 years experience were put in senior positions simply because they were friends with the hiring manager. It's definitely been a messy acquisition.

Explore other reviews about VMware

5.0
Jun 24, 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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