The perception of a company (especially a large one) will vary wildly depending on the individual. So a good way to describe one's experience with a company is to start with oneself!
For a person with following traits:
1> Fast-thinking
2> Ambitious (both in terms of ideas and career growth)
3> Apolitical
4> Prefer doing something with a small team than 'lording over a herd'
Before going further - a big Disclaimer## - the following are purely personal observations based on my own experiences. They are not intended in any way, to tarnish the reputation of any person/company.
The following are the observations on this company:
1> Very hierarchical - There used to be days (i spent 7+ years there) when senior people used to listen - now they don't even hearyou if you are a new employee
2> Slow-moving, Extremely Conservative - People are happy regurgitating proposals, code, ... than doing anything original and that is explained by the fact that the senior folks do not give incentives for failing on something radical
3> "Fall in line, please" - If you are out of line, people are waiting to pounce on your first mistake and they remember (and make you remember) that for life :-)
4> Work profile - This is well-known. Nothing at all to write home about.
5> Compensation - Slightly Below-average; the variable pay is a well-guarded mystery.
6> Process is God - There seems to be a strong belief that process will overcome skills/knowledge deficiency.
To sum up, if you want to do well in this company,
1> Become a manager asap - Individual contributors get trampled by managers there every second. Only two ways out - become a manager and join in, or go onsite and settle down!
2> Forget being original - There is no time for all that! There is no process written yet to think different :-)
3> Be ready to be lost in the crowd (and there are crowds everywhere starting from the entrance gate, food courts, utilities and sometimes restrooms!)
If you are the type who draws courage from being anonymous, is 'process-driven' and loves a 'stable' environment, this is the place to be.
btw - if you wonder how I spent that long a time there - life is more complicated than just your job! If you need to pull yourself out of middle-class, you need to make sacrifices!
Also, if you think i'm "venting" this out of frustration, I have moved on from this company, more than a year back and I was doing reasonably well when I was still there.
## I really don't have the time/energy/might to fight legal battles with this company.