I agree with oiinkydoiinky there.

I joined BAT for a few months and then left before my confirmation as I didn't see my future there. Sure, it is a great place to work. Benefits are way up there, a notch above the average. Salary is also very good - they pay above the market rate.

Personally development however remains a big question mark.

Like every company, politics abound. Management consist of some good ones but also some very young ones who obviously have got the skills to hold the position, but not yet there in terms of emotional maturity.

I wanted to have a job that would keep me grounded in the country (my previous job had me travelling too much) but despite the good pay and the fantastic benefits, it is not a place I saw myself growing as a person. If I had stayed, I would be like one or two of the senior management team there - it is not that they don't want to leave the organisation, I'm sure. They just were promoted too fast, and do not have sufficient skills that the market out there wants so these few will end up working for the rest of their lives in BAT because they have no where else to go.

If you can tolerate all that, then BAT really isn't that bad a place. There are some great people there.

Incidentally, I heard they have very good bonus schemes - last year my ex colleagues there got 6 months, so there's something to consider about