Zendesk

1. Plenty of smart people.
2. Weekly happy hour.
3. Great parties.
4. HR and recruiters are good.
5. Very likable CEO.

1. Compensation is not that great when you consider that there’s no 401K match. Medical benefits are okay, parking is a problem and very expensive, and there are no commuter benefits.

2. Lots of politics in engineering groups, a culture of favoritism and exclusion.

A couple of people hold power, and they can be the decision-makers for your career. The team is poorly managed. It can be a total nightmare and career suicide if you get into the wrong team.

1. Growing very fast and not able to keep up with the numbers; what worked for 50 employees won’t work for 1000.
2. A great engineer may not be a good manager or a team lead.
3. More transparency is needed.