Floundering Company, But Still a Nice Resume Booster
Pros
Dell has a great work-life balance. HR has done a great job in building an environment in which employees can have a flexible schedule that fits their needs. There are lots of amenities and benefits that are really nice, including low-cost massages, on-site gym, decent cafeteria food, coffee shops, fairly extensive health and wellness benefits, and lots of options for 401(k). Plus, the occasional bonus. As this is a seasoned corporation, senior management has reasonable expectations, unlike many startup environments in the area. They understand the need to either hire FTE's or contractors to accomplish their goals. And when there are hiring freezes (which happens a lot), they reduce their expectations. Also, Dell is a great resume builder. Having the Dell name in a resume commands respect.
Cons
Dell has a long history, with employees who have long histories. Quite frankly, some of these long-term employees need to go. They've worked their way into cushy jobs, but they no longer perform or expand their skill sets. They've managed to avoid layoffs, but they couldn't possibly survive in the real world. Mid-level directors and managers -- well, quite frankly, there are just too many of them vying for resources and budget dollars. While Dell has undergone a tremendous upheaval in the past two years, it needs even more. I was always baffled that certain departments got more money, while things like infrastructure and the website team suffered great losses. There is a buddy system at the upper levels, where ELT and directors protect each other. There must be, because, frankly, I don't know how the Design (DCX) team's management hasn't been fired. They've broken the website more than once, created a really bad user experience, and ignored the advice of other departments. All the while, the CIO keeps giving them more money and more authority over other teams. While Michael Dell seems to genuinely care about the company, sadly, he is kept oblivious to many of the biggest issues by his own executive leadership team. When he discovers a problem or a problem is brought to his immediate attention, he pursues the problem until a solution is implemented. And while it's great when he does act, there are hundreds of these types of problems evading his gaze. And when it's too late, and an ELT member is let go, they receive a great, big golden parachute, even after years of hiding problems. Meanwhile, very important employees with tons of vital tribal knowledge are swept up in the semi-annual purges (layoffs). (As a side note: employees should expect a potential layoff every six months at Dell without fail. This is just the nature of Dell.) While these employees are well-compensated with severance packages, oftentimes the wrong employees/management are let go. Vast amounts of knowledge are lost, exacerbating the problems that exist. If you find yourself beating your head against the wall and unable to get anything done, it's nearly impossible to move around within the company. Hiring freezes abound. And, if you've gone out to the internal job search site and tried to find a job, you are tagged and marked for the next round of layoffs.