Great people in a micromanaged company with few chances for advancement
Pros
Like many others, the people at Check Point are what keeps you here. The place is full of bright, committed, passionate folks. Traveling to Israel is a perk. It's also nice that they provide free lunches, though it often feels like they only do that to keep you in the office more.
Cons
Check Point has a tendency to wear people down. The whole company is micromanaged by the CEO and/or President. Virtually every decision has to approved by one of them. This creates gridlock and high frustration for people who are well-qualified and experienced with independent and/or team-based projects. The Marketing department, in particular, is problematic. Middle managers aren't given the authority to do their jobs, and are at the mercy of ever-changing proclamations from on high that seemingly have nothing to do with solving the problems on hand. Salaries are average to low, and performance reviews and associated bonuses are rewarded on a bell curve, so that an entire team can't be rewarded for a job well-done. Some team member always has to be the scapegoat, which doesn't foster great morale. The C-Level team has several members that verge on or actually are abusive to employees, with verbal rants and public put-downs way more common than average. HR's hands have been tied in addressing that due to the micromanagement from above, and several senior-level people that should have been fired long ago are still there, with valuable mid- or lower-level employees being negatively affected to the point of serious mental distress and/or leaving the company. Opportunities for advancement don't come up often, and instead of promoting from the inside they tend to look outside first. There is a culture of mediocrity, so that truly groundbreaking ideas are often swept away or committee-edited to the point of conservative boringness. Work-life balance doesn't exist. Long hours and weekend work is a given, not to mention round-the-clock international calls.