Pros
- For my location, decent pay when compared to other similar companies in the area. - Excellent benefits (health, insurance, etc.). - The interview and entry process was not fast on the client's side, but on HCL's side there was no hassle. - My direct manager was very supportive, and my co-workers were all great people. These are the things that kept me in there, as well as having a good client. If you're prepared to grind a bit for a year or two, it's a good place for a career boost if you don't have much experience, but it stops there for me.
Cons
- For a company trying to operate in America, with American clients, things are still done with too much of an Indian state of mind and methodologies. - Everything is a terrible, long bureaucratic process. Something as simple as getting a monitor to do the job you're being paid for, takes up to 3 months. Mobile devices for testing the web apps, which the client is also paying us to develop, also took as long and in the meantime, we had to volunteer using our own devices for development. - Career/life balance takes a hit too, since there are plenty of shortcomings in the company, you'll have to work extra hours (which of course, are unpaid) in order to be able to get the job done and keep the client happy. This of course, is completely unimportant to upper management since you don't even get a "thank you". - The internal sites used for everything HR, training and such, are completely terrible. The UI is hideous, and you have to run IE on compatibility mode with IE 7 in order to be able to use them properly. "Best viewed in IE 6 or later at 1024x768 resolution", wow. - No career growth was foreseeable in the time I was there. - Dress code is an annoyance. While other companies have learned to develop environments were the employees are more comfortable and creativity is encouraged so they can work better, Indian management keeps thinking that formal attire, no music, no desk ornaments, no fun somehow makes you a better developer. - "Employees First" is a big, blatant lie. Don't believe any of it.