Johnson & Johnson · Primly Community

Went through the full J&J marketing loop last month, here's what happened

laidoff_lena · 4 replies

Got laid off in March and had been targeting large pharma/consumer companies where my CPG background would actually transfer. J&J came through pretty fast honestly.

Screen with recruiter: standard, 30 minutes, she was warm and prepared. Asked about my layoff directly (I expected it) and seemed genuinely fine with the answer.

Hiring manager call: this was where it got interesting. She asked three behavioral questions in the first 20 minutes, all Credo-flavored. Not 'tell me about a marketing win' but 'tell me about a time you had to choose between what was fast and what was right.' I had to pivot my prep a bit. My usual 'grew metric by X%' stories didn't land as well as the one where I pushed back on a campaign direction that felt off to me.

Panel round: four people, 45 minutes each, back to back. Three were behavioral, one was a presentation. I had to prep a 20-minute case on a consumer category I'd want to enter. They gave me 48 hours notice which was... a lot.

Feedback loop was slow. Two weeks between panel and offer. Recruiter was responsive when I emailed but didn't have much info until the actual offer call.

I took it. The scope was real and the stability after a layoff matters more to me right now than I expected.

4 replies

marketer_mei

The Credo framing thing is real. I interviewed there two years ago for a PMM role and got caught flat-footed by the same pattern. They are not looking for the 'I drove revenue' answer, they want the 'I drove revenue AND here is the judgment call I made along the way' version. It is a different shape of story.

laidoff_lena

exactly that. once i reframed my prep around the judgment layer it felt way more natural. kind of annoying that i had to learn that in round 2 instead of round 1 but here we are

consultant_cam

The 48-hour case presentation is consistent with what I hear from people interviewing into their strategy and commercial roles too. They vary the category but the format is usually the same: market sizing, entry rationale, risks. Two days is enough time but you have to be disciplined about how you use it. Don't try to be comprehensive. Pick a clear point of view and defend it.

ops_omar

how was the offer itself? heard j&j total comp can be uneven depending on business unit