- Your manager can matter more than your business unit
If you have a bad manager but like the business unit, try to move to another manager or business unit ASAP.
A bad manager can keep you stuck at the same level for years.
- Don't be intimidated by job titles
If you're on the phones, don't assume the analysts, squad leads, directors, etc are smarter than you.
Many of them are incredibly d-mb and incompetent while of the smartest people at Fidelity work the phones.
- Visibility Beats Invisible Excellence
Good work that nobody importabt sees can be worthless for your career.
I witnessed people get promoted for being highly visible while doing bad work -- they just dressed it up to look good.
Also for many managers, the theater of work matters more than the work itself: being online all day, being on Teams constantly, staying late, showing up at the right times, and looking busy.
- Fidelity is hard to get fired from and this distorts the internal job market
Fidelity seldom fires people for incompetence which means incompetent people can remain in their roles for years, sometimes with strong influence over key projects.
I was told by a highly respected Fidelity leader, someone with much more experience than I had with hiring across business units, that business units sometimes try to get rid of incompetent people by getting another business unit to hire them, since its hard to just terminate them.
You don't tell the other business unit, "This person is terrible."
You say:
"Actually, they're pretty great."
And the problem becomes somebody else's problem.
( On the flip side, some machivellian business unit leaders will bad mouth a good candidate when informally asked simply to keep that person at the same role rather than roll the dice)
- Ambitious and incompetent people are dangerous
A competent person can threaten their ego simply by existing. They may not even understand that this is what they're doing.
Don't make unnecessary enemies with people like this. If you identify one, keep your distance.
- Fidelity's 401(k) benefit is great
Fidelity's salary offers are often greedy and disappointing and they rarely negotiate. The retirement benefits so make up for that somewhat.
- A business unit's culture can change very quickly.
A good Fidelity business unit can become toxic when leadership changes.
Watch who leaves.
If several strong people leave around the same time, pay attention. Something may have changed before anyone officially admits it.
Start planning your exit before the situation becomes obvious.
- Be extremely skeptical of Fidelity's rotational programs
Never Bet Your Career on a Fidelity Promise!!
Most of them are terrible.
I knew of a Fidelity rotational program where existing employees were told that rotating through different parts of Fidelity would lead to permanent positions with higher prestige.
Then the cohort was told that the positions did not actually exist -- after they had joined the program, left their old roles and were close to graduating the program.
If they couldn't find another position through their own internal networking, they would be laid off.
These were existing Fidelity employees who had good performance in the original roles, recommendations, and had gone through a competitive selection process. My colleague who was part of it had a mortgage and kids in college.
- Don't expect Fidelity to train you.
Fidelity will put you through HR training.
That is not the same thing as developing you.
If you want serious technical or professional development, stay away.
FIDELITY ERGS SU-K AND ARE A WASTE OF TIME
Fidelity is not innovative
But Fidelity likes the appearance of innovation which often means chasing and dropping gimmicky ideas like agile.
Innovation produces something better. A gimmick produces a new presentation, initiative, acronym, or reorganization.
(Although I understsnd this was different when Abby's father was CEO)
- Fidelity is very conventional
It tends to hire conventional people with conventional backgrounds for conventional roles.
If you want an environment full of unusual thinkers, don't assume Fidelity will provide it.
- Many SVPs are incompetent and actively try to manipulate other senior leaders
I knew of an SVP - non-technical- who contracted out ( for a life-changing sum) work to develop an I.T application.
The contract went to someone they seemed to have an emotional connection to.
That person then hired Indian contractors to build the app, and then oversaw them while having no technical background themselves.
Disaster ensued but the SVP was crying before having to stop the contract -- because apparently firing an incompetent fool was too much to bear.
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Later, when I started seeing people going to Abby to give presentations, I noticed there was coaching done at all levels to prevent anyone from mentioning to the SLT anything that may undermine certain pet projects.
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- Don't assume Fidelity's technology organization is good
My experience was that Fidelity Technology had serious problems.
I also saw what looked to me like heavy dependence on H-1B labor, including technology work that did not appear unusually difficult or specialized.
Many of the engineers also felt there was little in the way of good projects to work on, while others distrusted the technology enough not to even keep their own money at Fidelity.
- Don't Overestimate Fidelity's Brand
Fidelity is not disrespected.
But don't assume having Fidelity on your résumé will make another employer say, "Wow."
Usually it won't.
- Apply for jobs you don't think you qualify for.
A lot of id--ts apply for and get great roles at Fidelity.
- Keep an external option
Spend some time every month applying elsewhere.
Fidelity often pays much less than the market for comparable work.
You probably should exit when a good opportunity presents.