Job Title: Financial Analyst
Location: Raleigh, NC
Submitted on: 02-Jul-04
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Corporate Culture: Make the numbers. NO MATTER WHAT. I never saw
anything illegal done, but the numbers were the #1 priority.
Customers? No one in finance thinks about customers. In finance there
is no long term thinking; only how do we get through the quarter.
(Again, I only have the perspective of finance)
The other depressing thing is that they set such ridiculous plan
targets for growth and profit. While Sam Palmisano is on the cover of
Fortune and Business Week touting IBM's ascendancy, we are getting
screamed at for falling short of plan.
Diversity: You sit through the 30 minute power point once a year and
send a note to your manager confirming you attended. That's really
about it. I never saw any evidence of sexism, racism, agism or
homophobia from any IBM manager or executive.
Hours: Depends on your job and your boss. My first job in pricing was
very erratic. One day I was done by 3pm, the next day I was there
until 8 or 9pm trying to close a big deal. My planning job was more
predictable. During month and quarter closes I worked extremely hard.
The other weeks I was strictly 40 hours.
IBM is good at work/life balance in terms of being able to work
remotely, even from your home. It is nice to be able to work at home
while you wait for a furniture delivery or a repairman. The downside is
the end of "sick days".
Dress code: business casual...jeans on fridays....However business
casual in Raleigh is a little different than business casual in the NY
offices.
Opportunities for advancement: In finance, all roads lead to NY. If
you want to be even a first line manager, you have to spend time in a
headquarters role in a NY location. You can then work at a remote
location, but if you want to advance further, it's back to NY. (This
isn't 100% true, but if you don't go to NY, expect your climb up the
ladder to be about 3 or 4 times longer) The cost of living there means
very few people are willing to make that sacrifice. If you are, you're
ahead of the game. If you're not, like me, get some good experience
and get out. I am about to move on to a great position with another
company and the IBM name on my resume was a huge help.
Also career development is totally up to you. Only the rare manager
cares to actually help you.
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