Im RIFed, but still a great company - Sales Microsoft Employee Review

5.0
20 Sept 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You get to work with really smart people Benefits are very good. As some noted they used to be outstanding but like all companies they've had to cut HC costs. Still they continue to work on improving benefits where they can, like increasing company matching on 401k contributions and accelerating stock vesting...both relatively recent improvements relatively flexible work options, home, office, customer site, mobile. Note: I was in a field office not Redmond, but I believe it's still flexible at campus

Cons

While I believe in Satya's vision for the company, the new reality of Microsoft at least for the next few years will be a constant risk of RIFs. You have to be really adept at knowing which group to be in. It's like a giant game of whack a mole, you can get hit at any time for no reason regardless of how good your performance is. I personally know someone who won Platinum Club (highest sales honor) and less than 2 months later was RIFed. There is ZERO consideration of the individual or talent when it comes to a RIF. While they do allow you to interview back in, it's sort of an empty welcome as you are booted out of the company and treated like a new hire, at least from an access and interview perspective. Also you are only given 2 months...not nearly enough time given the glacial speed with which MSFT recruiting teams move. I've been on both sides of this now. I've interviewed and hired in dozens of great people at MSFT but the process is painful in my opinion.

Explore other reviews about Microsoft

5.0
7 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Interesting and varied work. Seasonality to the job allows for rest period

Cons

Less stability than there used to be makes people afraid to take risks

4.0
28 Jan 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. If you love tech, this is a great place. No doubt you'll talk tech (mostly the MSFT stack) from enterprise to consumer - from PCs to phones to Xboxes - from datacenter to desktop. 2. What were GREAT benefits are now VERY GOOD (took a small step down) but still probably better than you'll find at 99% of large corporations. If you've got family - the value of the benefits is even higher. 401k match is nice. 3. Even with it's struggles MSFT is still a cash printing machine. This means if you can keep your nose clean and do reasonable work, you can have a stable job, pay your bills, feed your family, and not worry (too much) about layoffs. The stock you own likely won't tank, but probably won't go up much either. You'll get a bonus each year and some stock. It's a decent life if you aren't looking to light the world on fire.

Cons

Brand on Your Resume: After many years of losing market share and struggling to be at the front end of innovation and the fact that there's 90,000 employees, don't think MSFT is necessarily going to be attractive on your resume to more agile and smaller companies. Managing Your Career: Make you say this out loud so it registers - 90,000 employees work there. Double that for vendors. It is VERY hard to "stand out" and move up in the company. Don't expect your manager to be much of an advocate or enabler to help you meet your career goals - they are basically trying to survive the stack rank every year too. Not familiar with the stack rank? Check out the 2012 Vanity Fair article called "Microsoft's Lost Decade".

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