Where do I begin? .... The organization as a whole seems to have a "self preservation, blame someone else attitude" issue. No one wants to take responsibility for anything, including career development. Unless you are in real estate, salaries are far below market and promotions are few and far between. The organization as a whole struggles with raising outside capital, except for certain strategies.
My specific group, the Middle Market Private Capital team, seemed to never to be able to raise outside capital and grow. They hired me with the promise that AUM would grow and that MetLife had incredible work-life balance. Instead, I was belittled on the job and I did not really develop my career any further as I was not challenged, mentored or supported. At the junior level, they typically want to hire an analyst or associate and then push them out after a few years or when they get too expensive. This pattern happened to several team members while I worked there. The funny thing is that it is difficult for them to hire NYC-based financial professionals, especially at the junior level, as the office is hard to get to in Whippany and far away from mass transit. Professional development at a firm wide level and investment in technology is limited. They talk about it but ban large swaths of employees from using new technologies such as Generative A.I. This ultimately puts employees at a disadvantage in a world which is increasingly using A.I. to enhance productivity. Lastly, while it was nice being able to leave at 430 pm if I was not working on something, there were plenty of nights that I had to work on deliverables late at night after getting an email in the evening. This is expected in financial services but they should not claim that they have "work-life balance" as a reason behind lower salaries if in fact, it is not entirely true.
Sorry for the rant but in short, I would NOT RECOMMEND working here! There are better roles where you can develop quicker and be in a more professional environment.
