AVOID! AVOID! AVOID! - Anonymous employee Brand Institute Employee Review

1.0
28 Dec 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You get a Christmas bonus and a couple free lunches per month (assuming you hit sales goals). That's about it. This place is honestly 99.9% bad.

Cons

Where to begin? Read the reviews. They are all 5 stars or 1 star. Does that seem odd? The reason is because the CEO (Jim Dettore) is a crazy egomaniac and he needs the positive reviews to stroke his ego. He forces employees to write these obviously fake reviews. Here's the real story: Jim Dettore himself interviews you. He sells you on the job that seems too good to be true. But when you show up on your first day, the nightmare begins. He hires scientists and pharmacists just to use their titles to impress pharma execs then expects them to magically be salesmen. No sales training, no support. He just gives you an unrealistic sales goal and if you don't meet it, you get belittled and screamed at. This is not an exaggeration either. I saved several screenshots of emails and recordings of voicemails as proof. Jim fires people routinely and brags about it during morning meetings as if it's a badge of honor. You are expected to check your email regularly on nights, weekends, and holidays and are expected to never go anywhere without your company phone on you (even on vacation). During my tenure, I took a vacation one time (only 3 work days) and was contacted numerous times by management that I needed to work during my trip. Upon my return, I was chastised by Jim Dettore as lazy because vacations are for lazy people and he hates lazy people. This is just the tip of the iceberg, too. It was an absolutely unreal place to work. I would not recommend working at Brand Institute to my worst enemy. Many of the fake reviews (any of the positive ones are fake) try to claim the people that rightfully criticize BI are just lazy and couldn't hack it. Sorry. That's an absolute falsehood. The people saying that are either Jim's lap dogs or they are jealous that people got out of this nightmare company and found much better jobs elsewhere.

Explore other reviews about Brand Institute

5.0
6 Jul 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great work-from-home flexibility, supportive team, and interesting pharmaceutical naming projects. I also appreciate working with global teams and learning from experienced professionals.

Cons

No major cons at this time.

5.0
6 Jul 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I have had the privilege of growing with Brand Institute & Drug Safety Institute for several years, and it has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my career. The leadership team genuinely invests in their people, and the collaborative culture across global teams is something truly unique in this industry. The work is challenging, fast-paced, and meaningful, no two projects are the same. I am proud to be part of a company that values professionalism, excellence, and the human side of business. Highly recommend to anyone looking to grow in a dynamic and supportive environment.

Cons

The workload can be demanding and fast-paced, but it has only made me better at what I do.

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