Pros
- Young environment w/ tons of other Category Specialists who've graduated within 1-3 years ago. This is great if you're new to SF and want to make friends w/ co-workers. - Unlimited PTO... but flexibility of PTO really depends on your manager and how well you perform as an associate. However, I've seen that as long as you give a month or more notice of a longer PTO (~2 weeks), and it's not during peak seasons like holiday, then you should feel comfortable asking your manager for time-off. - Kind, relaxed environment. General vibe of associates is pretty sociable, chill, and kind. Based on the other tech shuttles I've seen, Walmart associates definitely look a little less nerdy and tend to dress well. Despite there being lots of highly educated CSs from Ivies and other top schools, no one comes off as overtly competitive or socially awkward. I would say the company has a social environment. It's normal for CSs to hang out during weekends, go on weekend trips, and actually become close friends. Some teams are closer than others. Some teams are more competitive than others. It really depends where you end up getting placed. - Free fitness classes. I've taken the 3C class since I started working at Walmart.com. It's a really great workout class, offered multiple times a week. It's taught by an Equinox trainer.
Cons
- Does not offer as many perks as other tech companies. No free food, only occasional free snacks. No company sponsored events except for Day at the Ballpark that comes once a year. No company holiday party. Once a month, we have an in-office Happy Hour. - Fires associates with little warning. Two associates on my team have been fired within the last 8 months. It's abrupt, and the rest of the team is left wondering why our co-worker has been let go. There's no explanation, and you can't ask because it's awkward, and the manager tells us that there's not much they can disclose. - You must go above and beyond to "Meet Expectations" during annual performance. Others on my team have struggled to even get "Meets Expectations". Managers say that doing what is required of you is not enough, and you must go beyond your role to meet or exceed. - No say in which category you get placed. After a year, you can request to transfer categories. But even so, it's difficult to move outside of your super-department. For instance, if you're in Home and want to be in Entertainment, it's recommended that you stay within Home. - Personal bias in performance reviews. My manager seems to have a personal bias that affects his/her judgement when it comes to firing or promoting associates on the team. I'm making this assumption based on the fact that two associates on my team got fired, for no outright fireable offenses. However, it was known that my manager did not seem to like these associates as much. Though I will admit these associates weren't as strong as others, they still did their jobs and were intelligent. What bothers me is that I talked to them both after the incidents, and they were both very shocked about what happened. One of them even said that in his/her last review, he/she got the feedback that he/she was improving. And I think if they were on a less strict team with a different manager, they would have been fine. This manager has also promoted others on my team quickly, quicker than what I think is fair. I was promoted as well, but I put in more time and helped trained the people who got promoted. The lack of transparency about firings and promotions among team members is discouraging. I'd like to trust my manager and believe that he/she is doing the right thing, but it's hard to do so with such little information about the reason behind the actions. I also think my team is held to a higher standard than a lot of the bigger teams at the company. I wish I was on a different team. - Managers like BS. So far, it seems to me that if you're really good at shamelessly talking yourself up, you'll go far. A girl on my team isn't much of a team player. She doesn't do much for the team as a whole, but she's really great at doing her own work and speaks well about her financials. She's not someone I want to work with and doesn't add much value to the team on a personal level; whereas, I'm always there for others on my team, take time out of my day to show others how to do things, etc. Because of this, I have to work longer and get less done. She got promoted alongside me even though I helped train her, and she started after me. It's things like this that I'm learning that corporate mobility is about self-interest and who can brag the most.
