Inside sales- circling the drain - Inside Sales Adobe Employee Review

2.0
Mar 30, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits, fountain coke AND pepsi machines, pearl ice, waterless urinals, free sunglasses, completely sealed gaps in bathroom stalls, natural landscaping, goats, a nice perch to look down on all the point product companies below.

Cons

Well.... if you are still reading this you must either be very bored and lonely, a recruiter (seriously guys... you are at a 9 with the Linkedin emails and I need you at a 4), a disgruntled previous employee making sure the grass didn't green back up...(pst... it didn't), perhaps a "sales" leader looking for a real opinion... Or maybe you are a prospective new employee, eager to start your sales career and are looking to base a major career decision on a random, anonymous, TOTALLY unbiased online source (seriously millennials, don't talk to internet strangers). I direct my comments to you though (please take as many grains of salt as your parent's insurance-provided-doctor prescribes). You'll notice the other reviewers' chief complaint is with our Sr. dictat... I mean director... to summarize, he has no successful previous sales experience, has insulated himself with a thick layer of mid-level management, armed himself with a fleet of analysts, doesn't listen to any of his more experienced line managers, and targets people who challenge him then warns others to not ask "career limiting questions." He tries to come across as genuine but is basically a male version of Dolores Umbridge. So how does a marketer take control of an inside sales organization? The key is to remember that most of the roles in this org involve finding prospective buyers and setting up demos for our sales team. There are a few roles where you work with an AE to close small deals but these are difficult to work your way into and frankly the juice isn't really worth the squeeze once you make it into that. So more than likely you aren't in "Sales" (from Adobe's perspective). Sure -- you are developing valuable skills for your future as a sales professional, and many very successful salespeople cut their teeth in this org, but from Adobe's perspective you are a lead generator (not unlike a marketing email, display ad, paid search term, etc). Ultimately, a cost of sales -- and costs are meant to be lowered -- which is exactly what the Sr. Director spends most his time on. That's how a marketer takes over an inside sales org. Because somebody who spends more time with spreadsheets then people thought they could lower cost of sales and manage people like a marketing campaign- while simultaneously preparing them for sales careers. Hopefully Adobe wises up, replaces top leadership with actual sales professionals who can groom the next generation, and stop the hemorrhaging of great sales talent leaving in droves. That being said, maybe you will be the transfusion to replace the lost life blood of inside sales... About 15 spots have opened up and there are a lot more coming soon (like empty first class rooms on the sinking Titanic). Just go in with your eyes open, get Adobe on your resume and then have an exit strategy. Good luck!

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Pros

Good benefits Treated well Sabbatical Policy

Cons

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4.0
Jun 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Refreshing focus on employee wellness * Brilliant colleagues * Compelling problems on interesting tools * Good work/life balance culture... generally (see cons) I've been at a few big tech companies and Adobe is one of my favorites. I feel empowered to make impactful changes here, I'm constantly stretching myself in fun ways, and the products we make are incredible. Product and engineering have big dreams, and all the resources we need to realize them.

Cons

* Big time crunch culture around arbitrary goals By far my biggest disappointment has been just how hard product pushes on big projects with arbitrary deadlines and difficult scope. It turns into cutting corners and delivering sub-par experiences even though we absolutely have the talent and capability to make some exceptional things if we just let the dang thing bake a few more months. I'd be more impressed with the tight clip if the goals were reasonable for good business reasons, but as far as I can tell the reason usually boils down to "some high-level manager wanted X and thought Y sounded like a good target date". * Comp growth leaves something to be desired. Raises feel pretty flat, though it's not the worst thing since stock rewards can be pretty good as appropriate for performance. Career progression is pretty good here too - I just find it odd how stale the base pay increases are year to year.

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