I hear that it's all about who you know and how connect you are - would you care to chime in?
7 replies (most recent on top)
It's not what you know, it's who you know.
Being connected is very important but when the layoffs are massive such as in 2020, the reqs are hard to come by in a short timeframe. When it happens, you may receive a hundred emails of shocked staff, but the reqs are in short supply when you need them.
let's not be naive - networking is important in life in general, not just Cisco.
the problem in Cisco is that professional networking is not as important as blatant favoritism. tribalism. and hiring of family members. in some cultures it's not easy to tell who's related to who, you know. if you look at several organizations that have been repeatedly had layoffs, it's clear some people are untouchable even though nobody knows what they ever do other than being in the close circle of someone "up there".
this was always a Cisco cultural issue, but it became a cancer after 2005 or so, when the company started to need genuinely talented people to guide it to new horizons, rather than connected ones that were just interested in perpetuating the status quo.
You Just have to be from the same village as your manager.
Cisco is a relationship based culture. It's very important to manage up... always compliment those with power and never say anything negative. Work for another company if you care about merit or performance.
@ipy+1b1I8Hvn - some cheese to go with all this whining?
If you are woke , have a great set of knee pads that can take some wear and tear and a non-existent gag reflex, You will go very far.