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Frustrating work environment - Entry Level Software Consultant VMware Employee Review

2.0
Oct 17, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I learned a lot about working through stressful situations and ended up teaching myself a lot about new technologies in order to assist customers. Now that VMware has acquired AirWatch, employees have access to VMware training materials and benefits.

Cons

The management team gets no management training and therefore acts unprofessionally. In the entry level software consultant position, which is actually just technical support (They don't tell you this until after you come for your first day of work.), the team leads micro-manage everything you do down to the words you use in emails. The hours are long, 9 1/2 a day, 5 days a week, and many times we have to work late or through lunch. All decisions are made behind closed doors, and the employees affected by those decisions don't know a change is made until the day it happens. People are randomly chosen to move to different positions in the company with no formal interview process, so career advancement or lateral career moves are often done willy nilly and new positions seem to go to friends of management or employees less qualified than others. Employees don't get enough training on the product before they have to support it with customers and have to figure it out on the fly while on the phone. You see people running around with the customer on mute begging their coworkers to help them troubleshoot an issue they've never worked on before. The documentation for the product is terrible and unhelpful in figuring out what's wrong. This is stressful for the employees and totally ridiculous!

Explore other reviews about VMware

5.0
Jun 24, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

VMware is a big company but in many ways had a startup vibe. That was great because the resources and infrastructure of a big company were there, but it gave most people I worked with freedom to work on many projects, influence, move around, and contribute in many ways. Plus, many things moved faster than they might at other companies of the same size. Perks were really great including bonuses, events on the campus, opportunities, etc.

Cons

The biggest con is the annual layoff. During most of the years I was there, we were growing like crazy, beating expectations, gaining in stock price, etc. It was always positive and upward. However, every single January, it was known that there would be a round of layoffs, even when all numbers were looking great as they almost always were. Management called it restructuring. But, over the years, some really good people were let go for no apparent reason. Then to add insult to injury, a week or two later, there would be a company quarterly meeting discussing how VMware was doing so well and is still hiring, but they had to make some changes. It always felt dishonest and the sympathy for those let go came across as disingenuous.

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