Genentech reviews

4.0

74% would recommend to a friend

(3,710 total reviews)
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Ashley Magargee

83% approve of CEO

55% positive business outlook

Genentech has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 3,710 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Genentech employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews
3.0
Mar 1, 2010

Beware of Genentech IT!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Delivering medicine to society, casual attire, corporate buses for commuting, onsite gym.

Cons

Promotions are very political. The result is poor management, often making decisions individually rather than taking their direct reports' opinions into account. There are middle managers management who are malicious, assigning blame on direct reports rather than taking accountability.

2.0
Feb 27, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Good benefits - Working for a good cause - Reasonable work hours (almost too reasonable--often witnessed management leaving for "offsites" on the golf course or in a bar before 3PM)

Cons

In IT, there was often the case of the "blind leading the blind" going all the way to the VP level. More time was spent thinking about which "motivational speaker" (interpret this as you will) to bring in next and re-classify/re-orient the staff instead of improving the accountability (which is SORELY lacking despite what some might have you think), and rewarding the top achievers. Generally, the support departments appeared to suffer from: - Unfair playing fields - Hypocritical management policies - Inflated sense of entitlement by middle and upper management - Lack of respect for people who actually get the work done

5.0
Feb 25, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

People here are very intelligent, motivated and hard working. You might think you are smart, but there is someone smarter in every room all the time here. But everyone is very humble and curious and really enjoys learning and solving problems. It is like a college campus, very warm and friendly.

Cons

It has become quite a large company, so feeling like you personally make a difference can be difficult. It is also a place where who you know can be important - networking is a key to your career, so be prepared.

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Glassdoor has 5,060 Genentech reviews submitted anonymously by Genentech employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Genentech is right for you.