I recently had an interview there. I don't know if I will get called back but I think the interview went well. Not a tech job, more on sales and finance. What is the hiring process like, and what is the company culture. thanks for any info
they get like two weeks off at christmas. plus they had yesterday off. they're a client of ours and i work with their legal department, so that's really all i have in terms of info. good luck man.
I am a former HP employee. I started out at Compaq as an intern/college hire and lived through the merger. I left last year as I was doing senior level work for college hire pay. Culture: The "HP Way" used to be a famous corporate culture that promoted work/life balance, strong benefits, etc. HP used to be consistently one of the top places to work for in the US. That has drastically changed. Much like many other tech companies, they have gone through the shift from high growth to mature companies. Cost cutting and the bottom line is the main focus as margins are much slimmer than they used to be. They got rid of their defined benefits pension and moved to a cash pension, then they got rid of that. They went from a very lucrative stock purchase program, to a flat 15% discount plan, to no discount. Merit increases in pay, even for high performers, are often non existant. The bonus structure (while apparently better this last year) is terrible. There is no defined goal to shoot for. It is randomly made up at the end of the year and is routinely cut completely, or to almost nothing. However, with all those terrible sounding things, there are advantages. Most work groups are very flexible in work hours and work location. In many groups, working from home is allowed and is often encouraged. Almost every manager I had was NOT a clock watcher, as long as the work was done, they didn't care when/where you did it. For the most part, salary is very good. There are a LOT of HIGH payed people in HP. In fact, it is a disadvantage for lower level people that came in out of college. The average pay is so high, they don't give large merit increases, due to so many people making high salaries. This gives the advantage to someone coming in off the open market. If they want you, you can negotiate a very lucrative salary. The other benefits, such as health insurance are good. The 401K matching program is kind of weak (3% match), so take that into account when negotiating. To sum up working for HP: You can come in with high pay and get good insurance while working in a fairly layed back environment (there are still guys wearing tie die T-shirts and jorts). Other benefits are fairly weak, but if you take that into account when you go after salary, you can make up for it. They also WILL give signing bonuses in some cases. The key: get as much money up front as possible and do not expect to have it "made up" later in merit increases. One other thing. More than any other company I have worked for, there is a huge difference between regular employees and "executives". The low level Directors have hugely lucrative packages compared to their direct reports. It is a totally different compensation bracket. If you can go in as an "executive" you are set. High salary, lucrative bonus, stock and stock options, etc. Its not a step up from senior manager to Jr. Director, its a giant leap. EDIT: I just wanted to throw this out as well. I personally would have stayed at HP if my salary was market value. I enjoyed the work, the relaxed environment I worked in, and the people I worked with. I am glad I moved to my current job, but I often miss the flexible work environment.
Supermac, you did IT? PG, I'd imagine the compensation structure and perks for someone in sales could be drastically different from the IT staff.
the funny thing is, my brother was a lawyer for these guys, actually met fiorina a few times. but it was a while ago and I am nowhere near his level but I will ask him.
If it is sales support, I'm not sure how they compensate that. I would imagine that you are on the regular career track and pay bands as anyone else, but may have additional compensation depending on how the sales group does. Note: If you can get the job, take it. Even if you don't plan on staying at HP a long time, HP employees are still very well thought of in the job market and HP carries weight on a resume.
If you get hired, tell them to not be such a horrible company when they make a faulty product. Most of its great.
