Incredible Meat Operations Company, but a Laughable Consumer Packaged Goods Company
Pros
Although Smithfield trains “by fire” and embraces the “sink or swim” mentality, those who do stay and overcome learning curves, have opportunities to gain an up-close perspective of the company. Your smartest approach, HOWEVER, is to leverage this company to gain basic business knowledge and use that experience elsewhere for a TRUE career path.
Cons
After some time with the company, most of the skills you acquire are not transferable to other industries. You’re at risk of being locked into the meat business, or at least perishables, because the skill sets necessary to do well are incredibly specific to the industry. If you love inefficiencies, high-stress levels, inept senior management and the constant reminder that you’re “replaceable”, this may be the company for you.