Pros

Cargill has provided me with the best possible career opportunities that I could ask for right out of college. I was hired from a career fair -- I didn't think that actually happened! I was unfamiliar with the smaller business unit that I interviewed for, but of course, I knew Cargill had a great reputation. I decided to go for it, and I have not regretted it once in the past 5 years that I have been working here.

Besides working for an incredibly stable, well-respected global company, I think the best aspect of my career at Cargill is the opportunity to grow my career as my priorities change. Cargill makes it quite clear that the job that you first accept upon hire may not the the same job as the one that you want 5 or 10 years from now. Therefore, they work with us to acheive a sort of continuous improvement of ourselves! Of course, you need to take your career into your own hands, rather than waiting for your manager to do it for you, but as long as you are willing to take some risks and be honest with yourself and your manager, there are plenty of opportunities to develop both personnally and professionally. Not many companies are willing to invest that type of money in their employees. However, Cargill sees their employees as their most valuable asset, so they are willing to invest a little money to retain their assets! Nourishing Ideas. Nourishing People. That kind of says it all.

Because Cargill is such a large company, we have many opportunities for success sharing and diversity training that other employers cannot offer. 160,000 employees help provide food, ag, and risk-management services to 67 countries around the world. We don't take these opportunities for diversity for granted. In fact, there are several conferences and councils organized around these topics. They offer a chance to visit with employees from 6 continents, or even a nearby town! No matter how many miles away, we value the fact that everyone has something to contribute, and we believe that sence of collaboration is a key to success.

Another great aspect of working for Cargill is a strong sense of culture that has existed for generations of Cargill. The values and ethics of the company are firm, and Cargill holds their employees, customers, and suppliers to the same level of integrity. Cargill is constantly being challenged in this global economy, but I am very proud to work for a company that stands by their word and their handshake. This is how great companies are made and more importantly, how they are kept.

Cons

Cargill is the second largest privately-held company in the world, which is absolutely incredible to say you are a part of. All around the world, Cargill is known for treating their stakeholders ethically and fairly, including the way they compensate their employees. Cargill strategically decides not to pay their employees the highest or the lowest for their jobs... I believe the number is somewhere around the 70% median. This is not the highest, but it is very fair. However, something that not everyone thinks about is the "TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKAGE." There is salary, and then there is the rest of the package that you can take advantage of as a stakeholder. In a tough economy, we are proud and quite thankful to say that we work for a company that has a 401K and ESOP program that is growing exponentially each quarter! That alone sets Cargill apart from other employers. Other benefits include the fantastic insurance, retirement, and work-life solutions that they offer.

It may be a bit of a turn off for some people to work for such a large company. Yes, it is large, but I want to point out that there are several dozen business units that are much smaller that make up the larger Cargill family. I believe you can acheive the comfort of a smaller company with the benefits of the larger Cargill corporate business... the best of both worlds.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to offer young, fresh-out-of-college students the types of opportunities that I have received in the past 5 years. The fact that Cargill took a chance on me and all my inexperience has been the number one reason for me to ignore recruiters that call regularly. Our generation is also quite undecisive and expect flexibility from our employers, so offering the types of opportunities such as job sharing and business-specific training are important. Also, be sure that when hiring new employees that our strong sense of culture is shared. Our company is not for everyone, and the more clearly we can communicate that message of culture and ethics, the better the chance of a successfull hire.