US/Canada

What is it like to work here?

Working at Cisco is very fast-paced. There is always something new coming up that needs attention. Team members are there to help support one another, and my managers are here to help me with whatever I need, while providing guidance and helping in my development.

What is a typical "day in the life" like? What do you spend your time doing?

I am working on several projects at once. A typical day includes attending several meetings with team members and clients to determine client needs and how to resolve them. The rest of the day is spent performing the necessary tasks to solve the problems. I am currently performing a user experience study and creating a whitepaper from my findings, so a lot of time is spent analyzing conversations I have had and trending the results.

How do you work together with your team?

Our team works together in many ways. Sometimes it is in physical meetings to discuss issues, other times it is through asynchronous communication using a wiki. Working closely with the team helps to solve problems through the combination of many people's skills.

Why did you choose to work at Cisco?

I chose to work at Cisco because of the company culture and goals for the future: creating new technologies to promote future growth of the Internet and solve business problems.

What is your favorite thing about working here?

Everyone is very helpful. People are very forthcoming with information or sharing contacts that can help. This makes work more effective and collaborative.

What advice would you give to anyone interested in joining Cisco?

If you are interested in joining Cisco, find an area that you are passionate about within the company and apply there. Always play to your strengths and passions; it's where you will succeed the most. Be prepared to learn a lot and work hard after you get here.

How have you grown since joining Cisco?

I feel that I have been given the chance to apply my strengths to my position and been given a chance to challenge myself and achieve stretch goals. These goals and the projects associated with them have made me more confident in my ability to lead projects, as well as reemphasized my analytical thinking skills. I also feel that I am more capable of defining the direction of a project and understanding how to meet more ambiguous milestones and goals.

What have been your most enjoyable experiences?

The most enjoyable experiences are the ones where I have worked with a close-knit team. Getting to know everyone and playing to their strengths to achieve success have been a lot of fun.

What have been your most challenging experiences?

There is a lot of ambiguity within Cisco. Oftentimes you will be asked to do something but not given a lot of context as to how, or even what exactly is expected. Finding a way to define the goals and then determining how to achieve them have been very challenging and extremely rewarding, and have invaluably added to my skill set.

How is the work/life balance?

Work-life balance at Cisco is something you have to be proactive about. It is easy to get very involved in many projects and spend a lot of time in the office. The ability to work from home, as well as the flexibility of the culture, provides you with the tools to maintain your work-life balance. Sometimes you have to learn to say no or negotiate deadlines and deliverables to do so, but mostly the balance exists. We work hard, but are given time to relax and enjoy our lives and families.

What keeps you excited about working at Cisco?

Things are ever changing. There is always a new challenge to meet. This constant level of challenge keeps me active and involved, which really motivates me.