Pros
The 5 stars is for the rotational programs for those fresh in their career, to reflect from a pure career standpoint the benefits of joining KHC. However, the company itself, other job functions, and the long-term outlooks aren't as standout. - Amazing Corporate Management Trainee / Sales Trainee / Ops Trainee programs, where you basically get paid to learn a lot, own millions / billions of dollars of real impact, and fast track your career growth. No where else do you get the same level of responsibility, and real exposure and relationships with senior management and even the C-suite, as a fresh-out-of-college kid. - Job flexibility & career growth - adding to the above, there is VERY rapid vertical and horizontal opportunities for you within the company. Due to the company culture (young, lean, meritocratic) and to the rotational component of the Corporate Trainee program, you get exposure to almost every part of the business, and work in two completely different job functions, within the first 6 months alone. Movement between Finance and Marketing especially is quite common. Finally, most trainees see movement every ~3-9 months, and most of the time that movement is a promotion. This velocity of movement is unmatched at any firm of competing size & prestige, and feels more like a startup. However, unlike a startup, you get the resources and good name of a big company to back your risk-taking, learning, growth, and ownership. - Open access to amazing people - each individual is driven and ambitious - we've all bought into this culture of quantified meritocracy. But collectively, the people at KHC are eager to help each other out, especially thanks to the open office culture (no cubicles! no specified hours! free reign & flexibility with where & how you spend your office time) and the constant movement of people to new functions and teams. Somehow, KHC manages to be the best of both worlds - provides a very collaborative and supportive community of peers, while also rewarding extreme individual ambition. - ZBB - exposure to ZBB looks great on your business resume, and it is an important efficiency mindset to apply to any business and to your life. - Ownership and meritocracy. Your career growth here is (mostly) up to you*
Cons
- Job flexibility also means job insecurity -- those who get the most out of KHC and move up the fastest are willing and eager to take every opportunity, but that often means common job & team changes, which isn't for everyone. Layoffs and pressure to perform can also be stressful. - Poor work-life balance for finance functions - ZBB takes a toll on company morale - it's great that we save money from going to waste and see it pay out as higher bonuses, but paying for plastic forks during lunch and not having many company bonding events really sucks - Minority representation in the company as a whole, but especially as you move up, is subpar, much like at many peer companies. - Career growth is best for Brazilians, then males, then Caucasians, with everyone else still able to grow quickly but clearly limited by their minority status... - The company is more focused on cost-cutting (which is a temporary way to improve returns) than innovation (which is the long-term vision needed to improve our viability in the market vs. competitors). Lack of real innovation is pretty standard at such large companies, though. - The above mentioned short-term focus manifests because of the very young teams and high turnover -- there's no incentive for the long term, when your bonuses and performance are measured by monthly & quarterly & 1-year goals, and when you leave your current project / team / company in mere months / very few years. - The company seems pretty hit or miss. Those who are young, flexible, hungry, and willing to tough it out really come across amazing opportunities and unparalleled career growth vs. anywhere else you can kick start your career. But that's more due to the youth, inexperience, and lack of structure in the company, than it is due to actual development efforts or actual company growth. I would highly recommend any young person to come to KHC, but would not recommend to anyone to stay too long, for two reasons. One, the entire industry and this company too will probably struggle to keep up with changing food trends. Two, because of the stress on meritocracy, high turnover and young managers makes development and real leadership lacking.