Lots of opportunity if you are sharp; You can stand out and make a difference
Pros
Lots of opportunity to shine. The company is so large that there are always opportunities to get promoted if you can add value in some way. Have patience while working in lower level positions, learn the ins and outs of eBay, and within a year or two you will be a very knowledgable asset to the company and a smart leader will be happy to promote and offer you a great opportunity and likely more money. Once you're in the higher roles, you really need to be able to execute and achieve results. If you can set realistic goals that help the company achieve top-level targets, then you will go far. Be critical to a degree, but not too cynical or negative. If you are critical, try to offer something proactive and helpful in exchange. Be thoughtful in meetings and when working with senior leaders. eBay needs proactive, high-energy, highly intelligent folks who can adapt quickly to changing market dynamics and execute. I've been very impressed by most of the directors I've worked with and eBay has some very sharp VPs and Sr VPs in place who know what they are doing. This is a company that wants to be around for a long time, not just a quick bump in the stock price. They are passionate about the culture of eBay and laser focused on improving it. I am fully confident in the leaders we have currently and it's very easy to buy in and support them.
Cons
Once you reach manager level or higher, work-life balance will suffer. You may lose any sense of family or leisure time as demonstrated by countless managers, Sr. Managers, and Directors working 12+ hrs/day. Most of the time your manager won't be sensitive to it either and burnout is commonplace. I hear the same for Amazon and other tech companies, so it's probably commonplace in the industry. It's a fast-paced and intense culture where they promote innovating and moving quickly to capture market share, but most of the time that translates into very early mornings, late nights, calls from your boss over the weekends, being expected to check email over the weekends, frequent sacrifice of family time, etc. To be fair, any company where you want to earn a significant financial reward will demand a lot and so some of this comes with the territory. But I find it slightly odd that the company promotes work-life balance so much when it's really non-existent for higher-level employees.
