Cisco

Work-life balance is prime here, and everyone respects people's personal time.

Culture is fairly nice and open; it's not cutthroat.

Great for anyone looking for a stable, predictable job—especially good for people taking care of a family (onsite daycare, maternity + paternity leave, etc).

Salary negotiation is non-existent if you are hired through the university program. Really. Nor is team matching.

Promotions are rare and are often based on inter-company politics. When they are awarded, they are underwhelming and don’t match the local rent inflation.

RSUs are very rare and, again, very political / based on team+BU.

There is always talk about innovation by the leadership, but the culture is fairly stale, as are the products, so opportunities for innovation are few and far between.

No free food or snacks. A couple of buildings do have free snacks, but it was for a “beta snacks program” that was never spread company-wide.

Invest in your employees; they are the lifeline of the company.

Hand out RSUs, give more connected recognition.

Even things like free snacks are small quality-of-life boosts that go a long way.