There's always something that's not perfect, no matter where you work. If you found yourself outside of the clique, you will still enjoy your work, although you will seem like an outsider in the office on a daily basis.
Plus
With such a big headcount, career advancement and promotions don't come around too often.

Recently I was chatting with a few Silicon Valley Colleagues where we found ourselves discussing the various ways companies here in the Valley evaluate and review employee performance. Based on my experience from Cisco, and what I've learned there apparently isn't much uniformity in how corporate America evaluates and reviews employee performance.

It would seem to me that Cisco by far has one of the most balanced Employee Performance Review system in place. There are a few guidelines, however it's a culture based on trust. Employees are empowered and encouraged to define there career path with feedback from direct supervisors.

Hey, looks like we are hiring agin - at least in my div - teleconfrencing the webex stuff --

There are some rumors surfacing again about layoffs -- any ne else hearing this?

allowing linux flash of home routers, great idea, stripping hardware first, bad idea. thanks guys...

The best thing I regarded about the company is its constant presence in the market as the market leader for the last decade or so as far as the router manufacturing is concerned. Being a part of market leader is such an exciting experience, I am speechless to narrate. The emotions become multiple folds, when you realized that the company is delivering its balance sheet benefits to its employees as well. Apart from the recent slum of the economy, that might have hurt employments badly, CISCO has always responded positively when there's a matter of corporate and social responsibility and I suppose according to their philosophy employees are the pivotal point of the company's success.

John Chambers keeps calling Cisco a family. He's either a liar or is profoundly out of touch with what's really going on at the company (I think it's the latter). There are so many VPs and directors running around interfering with people doing work that it gets more and more inefficient here. But that doesn't matter, the solution to everything is to lay-off domestic employees and hire more in China and India.

Supposedly Cisco does "promote from within" to foster employee growth. That's a joke, upper management routinely goes around this so they can hire their friends who have been laid off from other companies.

It's sad, but when the economy finally starts to turn around for real there are going to be a LOT of talented Cisco employees leaving the company. In their typical short sighted view of things upper management will probably think that's good because of the cost savings. This company's greatest days are long behind, if there's not a major change from the top down.

Find any Asian Vendor, he will place you in contract Job easily.
All these Primary Asian Vendors having good hold with all the Team Leasers/Project Managers, can be easily placed.
Good deals of Billing % between Team leaders/Projetc Managers and Vendors, check with any employee in Cisco will tell you.

Just learned that I've been affected by Cisco's recent round of layoff. Still trying to come to grips with the whole notion, feels like one big bad dream. Approx 2000 employees effected in Cisco's Global Development organization. Some teams in Ottawa have been hit with deep cuts.

Cisco Systems Inc. laid off several hundred employees on Thursday, as the company tries to control its costs amid declining sales.

Between 600 and 700 people were laid off at the company's San Jose headquarters, according to a person familiar with the decision. The company also cut jobs in branch offices elsewhere in the U.S., said people familiar with the matter. The total number of jobs eliminated wasn't immediately clear.

In February, Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers said the networking giant would likely cut between 1,500 and 2,000 positions over the remainder of its fiscal year, which ends this month. A Cisco spokesman said that the total number of positions eliminated Thursday were in line with the earlier forecast. The company also eliminated several hundred positions in February.