Altria Reviews

Pros

Good salary, benefits and training programs.
Nice 401-k match.
Above market compensation used to offset tobacco stigma.
Get in, get your MBA and get out.

Cons

The company does not post jobs internally.
Zero ability to advance without VP level support.
Good old boy network runs the business like it is stuck in the 1960's.
Jobs are eliminated routinely, as cigarette volume declines the company cuts jobs.

Advice to Senior Management

Practice what you preach.

Pros

Altria is committed to developing talent. Training continues through every level of tenure and position. Employees are always willing and able to help and the environment is friendly. There is a competitive nature as with any sales position, however in the end, everyone is looking out for the greater good.

Cons

In order to further develop your career you have to be able to relocate, typically far. This is non-negotiable. As a result, the people being promoted are not always the most qualified, simply able to move. Direction is often confusing and overwhelming. There are so many initiatives as once, and can be difficult to manage.

Advice to Senior Management

Streamline direction and responsibility. Develop a system in which people can continue to develop their careers without having to move.

Pros

benefits include free vehicle, internet access and cell phone are company paid. Great vacation time and health benefits

Cons

no room for promotion opportunities if you don't want to move. constant business changes, with unrealistic expectations from management.

Advice to Senior Management

listen to your employees. more room for growth is greatly needed.

Pros

Great benefits,
Life & work balance
no micro-management

Cons

Declining industry-negative feedback from accounts all day

Pros

Benefits
Variety of Opportunities
Good Senior Management

Cons

Old fashioned
Conservative
International Opportunities limited

Advice to Senior Management

Open to new ideas

Pros

The salary and benefits package is practically unbeatable for an entry level employee right out of college. There are three training courses within the first 4 months on the job that do help employee growth and development to a certain extent.

Cons

The company asserts that it operates under several main values in business, some of which include "integrity, trust, respect," "investing in leadership," and "executing with quality." Unfortunately, in my experience, these values were not consistently demonstrated at the degree to which I expected.

Advice to Senior Management

Tobacco companies across the board have historically been much maligned for not being transparent in the health risks associated with their products. That is not the case in today's society, but my advice for upper level management would be to strive to operate and communicate with employees at all levels in the organization with more internal transparency and honesty.

Pros

Excellent benefits, technology is constantly improving, employee events are nice, first class, company car, good vacation and paid holiday benefits, good training model for entry level

Senior managment is very shrewd; stays ahead of the competiton; does whatever it takes to deliver returns to Wall Street

Received bonus every year I was there

Company contributes 15% to profit sharing every year

Cons

Spends well on technology but needs better training to take advantage of the resource (training for technology enhancements is usually a presentation/seminar/overview presentation with minimal demonstration by the employee back to the trainer)

Club mentality/Good Ole boy network for promotions (sales department) - some, not all employees from University Relations schools are fast tracked vs earning on merit because directors are measured on how many UR employees they advance

Company has a heavy focus on college recruiting without balancing experience hires. Most of the baby boomers have left the company so a lot experience has walked or is walking out the door. Very few people in the 15-20 year middle tenure left in the company. The company is not balancing youth with experience and this could lead to trouble down the road.

Advancement process has extremely heavy emphasis on creating a powerpoint presentation then delivering it in a story format. Advancement candidates literally stop doing their job or reduce job focus signifcantly to focus on their "check-in" presentation. The check-in is a good learning experience but the process is off point because it does not give nearly enough emphasis to a person's performance in their current job. A lot of the advancement decision is based on your check in presentation. When I ask other peers how they advanced in their companies, they say they did a good job and were recommended by their boss or saw an opening an posted for it. At Altria (sales department), advancing is a rite of passage.

Advice to Senior Management

Balance experienced hires with youth

In the advancement process, place greater emphasis on job performance and less on the check-in presentation. Get customer input. Some people are pulling the wool over your eyes because they present well and are good at powerpoint but not good at doing their job.

You do a good job of spending on technology. Improve the training so you fully realize the benefits of the technology you have purchased. Overviews/presentations are not effective training. Employees still have to go back and "figure out" the technology. Training means trainer demonstrates and trainee demonstrates back so trainer can evaluate trainee's compentency.

During meetings, don't plan down time every night. Leave one night for employees to decide what they's like to do. Give them a $$$ limit they can expense for dinner on that night.

Pros

- Great Benefits
- Lots of very good training
- Flexibility
- Company car
- Overall...fantastic compnay to work

Cons

- THE PROMOTION PROCESS
- So busy...but not a con really

Pros

Great pay, benefits, and management

Cons

You are expected to relocate with every advancement

Pros

I would be surprised if there were a better brand management internship in the nation.

- Assigned highly challenging projects that impact the business
- First week of training is excellent for getting your feet wet in brand management
- The employees, especially ABMs, are very willing to guide you if you ask for it
- Fast paced work environment
- Opportunity to collaborate with cross-functional partners and advertising agency
- Great workplace culture with highly competent and fun people
- Exposure to senior leadership several times during the summer
- Given access to nearly all the data that the Brand Managers have
- Multiple opportunities to travel as an intern
- Altria makes sure that you enjoy your summer in Richmond (Y Richmond, Chicago Trip, Intern Finale, etc)
- The Consumer Engagement intern below that said the Brand interns are treated like royalty is right in the fact that the company invests the most into the brand internship

Cons

- The projects you are assigned define your experience for the summer, luck of the draw
- Rarely given "day-to-day" tasks that give you a feel for what the Brand Analyst role is really like
- They give a housing stipend but it will not cover your total expenses and it is still difficult to find housing
- You will probably feel like a complete idiot at some point during the summer because you will make a mistake, but that comes with giving MBA-level projects to undergrads. Not a con as much as it is part of the learning process
- The most important factor in getting an offer is your manager. I was surprised by some the people who did (and did not) get offers.