US/Canada

What is it like to work here?

Working at Cisco is great because you really have the freedom and support to do the work that needs to be done. You’re given the resources necessary to really learn and grow while getting your work done.

Cisco is not afraid of letting individuals stretch to improve themselves. During my summer with Cisco I not only had a formal manager but I also had a very strong informal mentor. Both my mentor and my manager made sure that I had multiple opportunities in the various disciplines of my department. This enabled me to gain experiences in the broad range of work that my group is responsible for.

Because Cisco gives you the opportunity to stretch yourself I really think it brings out the best in everyone. Cisco is really a culture of constant improvement and being a part of it is very inspiring.

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

I wouldn’t say that is a “typical” day at Cisco. I worked on such a wide variety of projects and with different teams and individuals that depending on which project I was working on that day, the day would turn out very different.

Broadly though, I set my own schedule and was responsible for ranking the priority of the various projects I was assigned. I was responsible for my own time management and making sure that I was communicating my relative progress on each of my projects to the respective project’s manager. The autonomy that I was able to experience allowed me to get more done in a summer than I otherwise would have had the chance to complete.

How do you work together with your team?

Some of the teams that I worked in person, however, a larger majority of the teams that I worked with this summer were done using WebEx. Instead of having meetings in a conference room and travelling between buildings, which is something I was used to in the past with other companies, the first preference for everyone at Cisco seemed to be WebEx. Because the meeting participants had not invested a lot of time and effort to travel between buildings to meet with each other, we were able to end meetings sooner and not have the meetings balloon into the time period that we allotted. Overall I had shorter and more effective meetings with my teams over the summer than I have had at other companies.

Why did you choose to work at Cisco?

I originally chose to work at Cisco b/c of the company’s outstanding reputation and my previous experiences working with Cisco as an enterprise customer. I chose to continuing working at Cisco because of the wonderful corporate culture and fantastic business outlook.

Cisco really impressed me during the interview process. I knew that I would be challenged during my job and I knew that I would learn a lot more at Cisco then I would if I had worked anywhere else. I’m happy that this turned out to be more than true and the contacts and connections that I’ve built as a result of being at Cisco will be with me forever.

What is your favorite thing about working here?

My favorite part about working for Cisco was the new hire training that was made available to everyone. Although it is impossible to understand every product Cisco offers in depth without it being your full time job to do so, Cisco does an amazing job of making sure that every employee knows a little about each product. This inspires a sense of confidence in what Cisco does and what Cisco creates. The training that teaches new employees about every product is definitely my favorite part of Cisco and is something that brings all the employees together.

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

If you are lucky enough to have an offer from Cisco you should take it. I can honestly say I would not be as happy with my career path if it had not been for my continued experiences with Cisco. Overall Cisco has allowed me to grow personally and professionally and my summer was excellent!