Strong leadership is an underestimated variable.
Pros
- Flexibility- I don't need great work life balance, but this organization really encourages us to work smarter and not longer. Prioritize, think about the 5 Organization goals and push on forward. There are days you will have to work over 5:30 pm, but it's really rewarding when there are also days you can leave here at 5 on the dot. -Leadership- I was on the Consumer Marketing side at one point and I don't think I liked my job or the company-- but my Director at the time really worked hard to make sure his team was happy and he made working fun. Now that I am on the Merchant side, the culture my previous director carried in Consumer is really fostered in my new organization. It really is why AXP has been successful, its leadership- open communication, foster its employees at all levels, have the hard conversations, think about the future and the next steps, and be kind-- Ed Gilligan philosophy. - Opportunity for growth- There's always opportunity for growth, you just have to take the initiative to get to the next level/team.
Cons
- Pay isn't terrible but it is not comparable to "real" banks, but this isn't a real bank - The launch time for any initiative takes about 2 months to launch, in the tech and marketing industry, this is equal to 2 years - Not all organizations in AXP foster the same leadership/people mindset - I think it's hard for introverts here because this is a people company.-- Which means you have to own your own brand; coffee chats, meeting new people, and selling yourself. Not everyone can do this, so it hinders people's ability to move around. But I think if you secure an advocate, even if it's your own boss, that can be a solution. - They hire extremely talented external employees and put them in less-than-fitting roles. If your analyst takes the initiative to automate and essentially fire himself/herself from their job- maybe the role was not challenging enough and you should think to find a job to promote he or she within the company to retain the talent