Profitable business model, but dysfunctional work environment
Pros
Covidien offers the compensation and benefits package that you'd expect from a larger corporation. Everyone gets a PPO health plan - no high deductible nonsense. There is a progressive premium structure; make more, pay more. You can further reduce your rates by going for a physical and taking an on-line health assessment There is also a dental plan and a vision plan. All benefits start on day one. Even if you don't contribute to your 401k, Covidien will contribute 3% of your salary. If you do, they'll kick in up to 3% more. You can purchase Covidien stock at a discount. There is also an on campus gym (for a nominal fee), multiple cafeterias with subsidized meals, and discounts on cell phone plans and software. I had no problem getting the salary that I requested. Most of the people tend to be nice, and the facilities (save a couple of the buildings) are in great shape.
Cons
Covidien is too large to generalize the experience everyone will have, but be forewarned that the company's business model can lead to frustrating situations for some employees. The model essentially revolves around acquiring profitable companies and trying to integrate them into the large conglomerate. The problem is that resources aren't sufficiently allocated to improve and update the existing company infrastructure. Covidien is profiting from its acquisitions, so why bother spending the money to modernize internal functions? Namely, this means that the IS department is in the dark ages. Functions like advanced data extraction that would normally be handled by IS units fall upon business analysts and managers. If you work with data be prepared for a very cumbersome process unlike the business systems and data analysis tools you've used at previous roles.
