Yahoo

Yahoo is an amazing community filled with highly technical, passionate, and kind people. Yahoos are really open, and the company is focused on improving the products already released and creating new products that users will enjoy. The environment is great for any age, and the community vibe gives it the feel of an extension of college. If you thought college was the best time of your life, you will love Yahoo. It's fast-paced, the people are great, and there is so much to learn and do on campus. You can find great opportunities anywhere.

There are some reviews on here which state something about a bell curve review system where every employee has to fit a position in the bell curve, and if you are at the bottom of the bell curve for 3 quarters in a row, you get fired. Sigh. It is complete bull. I wish I hadn't believed it because it stressed me out a little bit when I started, but I asked my manager about it, and he just laughed. There were some rounds of layoffs a couple of years back when MM took control. There was a rating system in place, but basically, it was people who weren't trying and who were not committing any code who were laid off/fired. If you go in every day, work with your team, enjoy the fun things at Yahoo, and get things done, no one will want to get rid of you.

I also heard that if you keep getting the highest ratings in your quarterly reviews, they promote you and give you raises and more responsibility to make sure you are challenged. It isn't about waiting for a spot to become available; it's about making sure that you, as a person, develop, not just the company. I LOVE that!

You also get long-term disability insurance for free. This is a highly valuable perk! I had a friend who injured himself scuba diving and is now paralyzed from the neck down. His company didn't provide LTD insurance, and he had to ask his friends and family for money to help support his family and pay medical bills. It was heartbreaking to watch someone so vibrant do something they were embarrassed about while losing the use of 90% of their body. Most companies only give you short-term for free. If the same accident happened to me, I would get half of my salary from Yahoo until I was 65, and Yahoo would also take care of my medical bills. I am sure you could pay extra to increase the percentage to something like 80%; I'm thinking about it. I like to scuba dive.

Craziest perk: In building C, there's a refrigerator next to the gym entrance filled with flowers. If you're going home late or it's your wife's birthday, you can grab some nice bouquets of flowers to take home. Free, of course. :)

There's the whole "Work from home" thing that was a big deal to a lot of people, but I agree with the policy. I'd rather be on campus collaborating.

You can work from home, but you need a reason such as a doctor's appointment, a DMV appointment, or a plumber coming, etc. But wouldn't you just rather be on campus for the free food?

One point I will mention is that I had cheaper healthcare at my former company, which was a lot smaller. There are about five policies to choose from. I used to get brand-name meds for $10; now they're $30. It's still a great price compared to Obamacare, and sure, I get paid a lot, but I was expecting a little bit better from Yahoo.

Cheaper healthcare? :)