Pros
Fun, bright, energetic, hardworking people. Especially in sales or account management. Great people on the analyst side as well, but they always play it safe and never really seem to take the opinion-based risks necessary to take the company's insights to the next level. Fun, yet hardworking environment. Beautiful new office in Chicago. Good benefits. If you over perform based on Mintel's metrics while in a sales or management role, you will be very generously compensated.
Kontras
Too sales focused, too much short term thinking at the top. Everything is being planned or thought of one quarter at a time, it seems. Acquisitions of struggling, middling companies aren't really the way to gain differentiation. Mintel needs to get creative and take more risks to really grow. Needs to acquire or adopt unique methodologies - rather than other published, syndicated data suppliers. That information exists elsewhere and doesn't make Mintel anymore of a "need to have". Low salaries - High bonus structure (seen as a lack of trust in my eyes, and contributes to turnover within the less "winning" territories or books of business) as compared to all of Mintel's competitors or industry neighbors. If you lose a big account or miss your quota for a quarter, it's easy to check out mentally if it means you won't be getting a bonus you feel you deserve which doesn't benefit Mintel OR the employee long term - which is why other companies in the industry do it that way. Politics/Favoritism (inevitable anywhere, but particularly impacts you if you work outside of the Chicago office)