Pros

Challenges you to learn very quickly and to deliver results. Fast paced, so you have to be a go-getter and capable of managing across many functions to be successful. Strong training program for interns.

Cons

Very process heavy and bureaucratic. Often, feedback is given after you have failed instead of providing feedback during the work development process. You will be told that you are 'doing fine' but this really translates to 'you should be doing more/something else'. Feedback is indirect and development limited for interns. You should be very aware of what each person is rewarded on in their interaction with you, and then ensure it is lined up with your objectives. Finally, the team you work with can (and will) be a big determinant of whether you get an offer. If you are working on a team that is stressed or very type A, make sure you make NO mistakes.

Advice to Senior Management

Interns should be given the same level of development during the internship that they would receive as a Full Time employee. By not actually developing the talent you spent money to recruit in, you can miss out on strong candidates (especially if they are career switchers) or have inconsistent talent assessments (given that some did receive development and others did not, it creates a skewed intern evaluation process).

Pros

Generous with compensation and providing opportunities for growth.

Cons

Expectation of being highly mobile, i.e. must be willing to uproot and relocate every 12-24 months.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to be more open-minded and supportive when employees express concern regarding their careers.

Pros

Well regarded in industry. Most employees live up to stated company purpose, values and principles. My experience is that most play fair, but play to win.

Cons

Disregard for "non exempt" employees as anonymous workhorses easily replaced. Constantly expected to deliver more (via "simplification" - lol), but compensation is not delivered proportionately. More experienced hourly employees will say that they have responsibilities now previously belonging to managers, but are not compensated at a commensurate level.

Advice to Senior Management

"Reorganization" must be more complete at micro level before being rolled out. Job expectations for administrative staff have been in complete disarray, with admins left to figure out how to provide support themselves during "microorganization" work.

Pros

Great training
Great hands on experience
Best In class systems and base marketing understanding
Transparent feedback
Lots of room for travel

Cons

Promotion time is a big questions - teh goal posts shift, are hidden and all transparency then goes out the window. Its up or out so every 2-3 years you wonder whether you have a place in teh company anymore.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to stay consistent and transparent on promotion criteria especially to AMD. The jumps often seem based solely on who you know, or the horse-trading behind teh scenes as to who gets it and who doesn't.

Pros

Good name to have on resume and decent pay
P&G is a good place to learn new skills in your chosen field
An opportunity to work with smart people
You will be exposed to product launches and actions you can observe in the field
This truly is a good place to learn (both the good and bad of corp life).

Cons

Up or out culture creates a very competitive and cut-throat atmosphere. Promotion is based on politics more so than merit as most people are very bright here
Outside work experience is not valued even if for another F500 company
Work life balance is poor. Plan on working hard and long hours.
It's all about fitting a mold. You have to conform. They don't call them Proctoids for nothing. If you don't conform but are smart and a good worker you will still be forced out.
You have to build a support network to survive as you will need to interview for a new job every two years unless you are top 10%. If you don't get one you are out.
New people are constantly being brought in from top schools and outside. Given there are a finite number of jobs someone has to go. It is the pyramid principle of up or out. At each level you go up expectations increase.
Ratings are done on a forced curve basis. This is usually not an issue but when everyone is bright it becomes one. Think of it as a very tough curve with mean set at C. Bottom 10-20% are gone.
Learning is by failure not by teaching. Big brother is watching as you fail.
You have to move often and when they tell you to. They don't care about spouse, family etc.
Their goal is to make you insecure so they get more work out of you.
Penny pincher company. Very stingy for expenses, office furniture. Plan on small cubes.
Everyone sits in a cube, even GMs and VPs.
If you come in through an acquisition you will be shown the door sooner or later. Only homegrown Proctoids are valued. I have seen this in several acquirred businesses.

Advice to Senior Management

The company spends too much time engaged in double talk. There is talk for example about work life balance yet people still get worked into the ground. Also there is a policy of no layoffs yet I have seen many people get laid off. Be honest with people instead of setting false expectations.

Pros

good brand in your resume
global opportunities (offices in almost every country in the world)
work-life balance is good enough

Cons

limited career growth opportunities
not a challenging workplace

Advice to Senior Management

Top talent is leaving because of poor organization design

Pros

Fantastic training and development on marketing/management fundamentals - the best in the business. Truly work with top talent. Relatively accessible decision-making/ownership (even at the Brand Manager level). Heritage and prestige of working there. Great coaching on communication, positioning, leadership.

Cons

Has become very insular. Given promote-from-within culture and today's economic/job environment, it has become much more political than ever; feels more like a shark tank than it ever used to. Morale dropping considerably. Just does not feel quite like the P&G we knew and signed up for many years ago. Length of time between promotions has expanded considerably. ALOT of contraction at the top levels (Associate MD and above) so that advancement is extremely difficult, even if you're a water-walker....much less if you're "just" a strong/very strong performer. Too much advocacy, networking, jockeying and positioning/politics required nowadays - particularly in Cincinnati area.

Advice to Senior Management

Modify the promote-from-within policy - when you go outside, you realize just how insular and process-driven P&G is because of it. Also, stop playing around with "destination roles' or "expert roles" - I have been hearing this for 9+ years and nothing has happened. Either do it or let it go and move on.

Pros

The brand name of the Company provides a great brand recognition. Additionally, the people that work there are very friendly and the working environment is relaxed

Cons

There is a lack of direction in terms of career progression and advancement, however, everything else is very positive, and I have nothing to complain about.

Advice to Senior Management

Provide a better structure for entry level candidates and employees. This will provide them with better understanding of the business.

Pros

It is a fast paced and high energy environment. I am always learning new things and it is very rewarding

Cons

Career path has slowed significantly. The time to promotion to the next level has increased substantially. So if you are looking to grow fast P&G is not the place anymore

Advice to Senior Management

They should start forcing attrition internally in order to be able to maintain their top talent. With the current landscape they are going to lose a lot of great people. The ones that stay will not neccesarily be the best

Pros

they talk a good talk. some of the people in HR have great experience in getting you to go along with their systems.
They have great benefits if they let you stay. A great place if you have never worked anywhere else.
They have a lot of knowledge of consumer insights and marketing research.
Looks good on your resume. If you can get in their folds it is possible to be relocated to other places around the world.

Cons

If you aren't 'raised' by them, they don't want you and will do everything they can do to get rid of you. Even if you get on board and start singing along. They will still push you out. They do not adhere to their own rules. You hear all this stuff about success drivers and Purpose Values & Principles that you are supposed to live by. But management does not live by their own rules.
It is very 1984 ish.
In meetings they talk about how as a manager you have to chose only one person to save in your boat and let the others drown.
There are management seminars on Strength Finders, Focus on your Strengths etc. But when you try to manage that way you are judged as a bad manager because you are not firing that person. But then you see other bad people around you getting promoted all the time because they are someone's friend or whatever.

Advice to Senior Management

Practice what you preach. If you are going to ask your teams to do - then you need to walk the walk and talk the talk and not do just whatever you want. Admit when you make wrong decisions.
When you say you are going to help an employee, then do it.
Listen to what your employees are saying. Don't ignore it. Don't talk bad about previous teams. It only makes you look bad.
Be aware of what your management teams are doing. There is a big problem where management doesn't look down through the levels and they do not see how some really bad people there are affecting teams. And they choose to sacrifice great people so that some really mediocre people stay on board at the detriment of the organization overall. It is as if management would rather stick by their bad decision rather than admit that they made a wrong choice and fix it.