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Microsoft is a great place to work, except in their IT department

Senior Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET)
Former Employee
Worked at Microsoft for less than 1 year
January 26, 2012
Redmond, Washington
1.0
Doesn't RecommendApproves of CEO
Pros

Their benefits are unmatched! They have amazing benefits, and their base pay isn't too bad.

Cons

In their IT department, they have yet to come into the 21st century of Microsoft. They still expect people to work a minimum of 10 hours a day. If you aren't, then you aren't considered to be doing a good job.

In IT, your manager will tell you weekly that you are doing exactly what is expected. Then, a month before reviews are due, they will tell you that while you are meeting expectations, you aren't wowing them and that's not good enough.

Also, if you come down with a major illness, Microsoft has a tendency to hang on to you just long enough to avoid a lawsuit and then fire you.

Advice to Management

Microsoft needs to take personal views out of its review process. It needs to be about whether the person did their job or not. They also need to level the playing field and set expectations with managers that no one can meet every single one of the possible guidelines for a role. In IT, the expectation is you must meet every one of your guidelines. There needs to be a major overhaul within Microsoft's IT department and a serious house cleaning at the upper levels of management.

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