Senior Manager, Partner Strategy & Operations
Pros
There are some great leaders at the VP and exec level (especially Betsy Sutter, Ryan Knauss, Brandon Sweeney, etc.), but many of the execs are not that approachable and keep themselves on a pedestal. There's an excellent gym on the main campus and it's a truly beautiful place to work. The delicious cafes and snacks available all the time are a huge perk as well. The company does it's best to keep employees feeling like they are part of a larger community with interesting industry speakers, musicians, and large company events. Every employee was an A-player when I was there in the early days , but as it got bigger, it got very political. I worked there from 2007 - 2015, and it was a wonderful and stable place to be during the uncertain times of a major recession.
Cons
I spent nearly 8 years of my career life at VMware and I made many friends and poured my heart and soul into the company. For the first few years it was the epicenter of innovation, but soon too many laid off employees from Cisco came over and changed the culture. It evolved into a place where everyone was jockeying for a promotion and the team environment soon dissipated. Sadly, some managers purposefully make it a mystery how to progress in one's career. I loved VMware and was sad to leave, but leaving and going to my current company was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
