Pfizer Reviews

Pros

Reasonable compensation and great benefits (although they are taking things away every year)
International exposure
Is a good name for your resume

Cons

Too political
Very bearucratic and slow to make decisions
Ineffective integration of Wyeth (2009) acquistion
Unwillingness to spend money on finance systems leads to mundane and boring work
Overworked
Constant layoffs with no plan in place for transitioning work
Extremely low employee morale
No guidance from senior management
Uncollaborative team (possibly due to job security concerns)

Advice to Senior Management

M&A deals should be handled in a more effective and efficient manner - particularly the post-implementation period. Are the synergies in these deals truly realized? The finance organization should be given better tools to do their jobs so that they can be a true business partner. Management should be held accountable for their actions and feedback should be given/provided on a more frequent basis (instead of two times per year). For layoffs, a transition plan should be implemented – their work does not go away, it is merely absorbed by the already over-worked staff.

Pros

Great Benefits/pay
Excellent work/life balance
Plenty of opportunities to grow professionally for management
R&D seems to be heading in the right direction with the recent move to Boston to be closer to academia.
Very open environment both personally and professionally.

Cons

Not enough opportunities for growth for associates in the company
very politically driven when it comes to promotions
Less emphasis on R&D and more emphasis on Procurement. R&D is more of a show for investors than source for future products.
Seems that outsourcing is becoming their business model of choice

Advice to Senior Management

Be wary of those you outsource to, it may be cheap in the short term but those companies have their own agenda's that may prove costly in the long term. Invest in new college graduates. It may come at a cost, but they are the future.

Pros

World class company, good reputation, Outstanding training and mentorship, few good managers, young and dynamic sales team, Look forward to YBMs

Cons

Ridiculous targets, poor compensation, unbalanced product portfolio, poor maintenance of client list, poor market penetration in some regions, unreasonable demands, management has lost sight of their market goals

Pros

Stimulating business environment and high engagement
Flexibility in working arrangements
Salary and other compensation is good with great tools to assist in your work (i.e information sources, IT apps, ect)

Cons

Change is constant and highly disruptive. This makes for an environment that lacks structure with clear roles and responsibilities
Make sure you watch your back
You must be able to create "Cool" Power-point Slides

Advice to Senior Management

Define a strategy and stick to it the pharma business is a long-term view
Align TA Strategies by business unit to ensure a cohesive stewardship of the brands; regardless of patent status
Dissolve the business units it is not working the goals of each BU fundamentally conflict.

Pros

compensation and benefist are fair, nothing extraordinary but fair. Professional growth is generally available to most people, but you need to show initiative as well.

Cons

Too much change in the past 10 years with no end likely in site. Still somewhat top heavy with respect to management and career growth can be an issue.

Advice to Senior Management

Work on streamlining middle management. Think of investing a bit more into basic research and a bit less on development. Cut out some of the bureaucracy and let some of the smart scientist do their jobs.

Pros

Well-respected, company is moving in the right direction, compensation is very good, really smart people

Cons

Middle-management competency is variable, opportunities sometimes provided to a manager's inner circle, drive to hire external talent without always regarding experienced employees

Advice to Senior Management

Ian Read is definitely moving things in the right direction and Pfizer is a company for which I'm proud to work. Competency of middle management needs improvement and while paring down performance review bulkiness is good, I haven't been asked for feedback for my manager through end of year or MEI at all. The Wyeth leadership is typically very good. Those brought in from the outside, however, tend to feel like the inside talent is sub-par and often hire externally for senior positions. While I'm proud to work at Pfizer, have a go-forward position after ESI and am well-paid, I plan to have something lined up after the options and RSUs vest in February and leave the company after 13 years of service.

Pros

good benefits, excellent job training

Cons

not so great regadring respect for people

Advice to Senior Management

Show some more appreciation of your employees

Pros

Get to work and collaborate with very bright and talented scientists. Generally, most of the scientists in the lab are good people and easy to talk to.

Cons

Every 18 months (for the last 7-8 years) a new R&D reshuffling has taken place (accompanied by layoffs) and causes major disruptions to productivity. Pfizer definitely has the buddy system, so if you're not associated with the right people, then you'll probably be on the list of people that will be let go in the next round.

Advice to Senior Management

Please get out of the office more often and talk to the scientists in the trenches to get some insight as to what is really going on.

Pros

You can get the opportunity to work on lots of projects always something in development,
And if you align yourself with the right people you can learn a lot. Opportunities for professional development is varied. The culture in itself demands that you are proactive and like to take initiative. They like it also when you show problem solving capabilities.
Families life is valued works well if you're a working mother

Cons

Not much happening for you if you are not in sales. I sort of understood that if you weren't a rep/military certain jobs weren't open to you but I think it became pervasive for most of the positions.

Advice to Senior Management

Not everyone wants to be a sales rep but can contribute in other ways. Especially if you've been working there for a long time and completed your education.

Pros

I had a wonderful summer at Pfizer, managers are very helpful. Payment is excellent, wish I could come back for work.

Cons

Very relationship oriented company. Not very efficient. Probably one of the reasons is that the company is so huge to manage/

Advice to Senior Management

Generally I had a very good experience with Pfizer. I would only suggest management level could offer more opportunities to young people.