Inflexible offshore teams, zero talent retention, and corporate policies/applications that hinder rather than help - Account Manager Cognizant Employee Review

2.0
Jun 16, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It's easy to shine and be a standout employee given the quality of your peers (Although what that says about the overall quality of CTS employees is not flattering). However, the ability to shine doesn't matter, since promotions are not based on performance, but rather are apples to oranges tiering among 70K+ employees.

Cons

Limited career options. Pigeon-holed into accounts/technologies. Corporate support is the ABSOLUTE worst in the industry (HR, Finance, etc.). Lots of work with offshore (translation: hand-holding and all-night calls) and general incompetence/inability to be flexible to meet client expectations. CTS sells itself to clients as a company that has transparent teams, but clients only stay happy due to on-site manager's ability to buffer stakeholders from the true day-to-day chaos that defines Cognizant.

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
Mar 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible work timing, work from home, best Team

Cons

Less hike, compensation, no bonus

1.0
Jun 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A potential inroad into large client companies (Leave Cognizant ASAP) You aren't unemployed.

Cons

It's a body shop. Clients will view you accordingly. Contractors cannot be trusted with most tasks. You must be siloed (No room for growth) so you don't break anything. Your actual job is to fulfill gaps in the client's grunt work even if out of scope. If you don't, the hammer falls from client and Cognizant. Wages well below industry standards. 1% annual raises only exist because legally they must exist. Takes full advantage of H-1B slave system, where employees' families and homes will be thrown into a furnace if you aren't keeping Cognizant happy no matter what. Employees are complacent in their slavery. Management is just happy to get their extra crumbs and will reinforce the bad culture. C-suite is opaque. If you are familiar with India's caste system you will understand how "lessers" are treated. This also happens in a literal sense, you aren't totally safe just because you are the favored skin tone. Takes full advantage of modern white collar culture. "Your racist actions aren't actually racist if you aren't Caucasian." Expect the uphill battle to be even more steep if you're not Southeast Asian. You will hunt for your own work most of the time. Cognizant is not helpful in any regard. They exist to skim off the top and nothing else.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All