Hey everyone, I was laid off earlier this year and haven't started looking for a job yet since I have some savings and took time off to travel. I've thought a lot about my time at Capital One and especially those last 4 months and it was so stressful it is making me reconsider working in tech.
Is Capital One's culture really that uniquely terrible? Are there other companies you have enjoyed working for? Thanks.
I worked at C1 in 2001-2013. It was a nice company in many ways - full of smart and friendly people. But we always had forced rankings, PIPs and terminations. 2002 was really bad. 2009 was even worse - and people were turning against each other to survive.
So, I guess, the founders designed C1 this way rather than "Amazon execs ruined it".
What org were you in before you were laid off?
BTW. @New Tech Worker. To Answer your questions. No this is not the normal everywhere. As another posted said this place beyond TOXIC now. Outside is not perfect but not this bad. Again as techie , don't goto Amazon from here as this culture came from there . This stacked ranking came from there when C1 hired ex-amazon tech execs.
Don't leave tech industry if you like tech stuff is my suggestion. I'm in my 50s ..still hand-on and I have a passion for it. C1 kind a companies cant ki-l the inner young techie inside me. Good Luck my friend.
@5dxg+1tRPEjMs. You are spot on. I heard that many people accepted as this is a new normal everywhere. I am sure every company has its own ugly politics. This stacked ranking, every 6 months trauma and people turning against each other to survive are not a new normal every where. Only C1 pretends this with their way of "High Standards" and "Raising Bar". This is a real cr-p and piece of s..... Agreed about benefits part. I am upto the point I would rather go for job ok benefits and deal with the expenses (like Medical) when it comes. This place will create mental health issues the longer we stay
I have PTSD reading these posts because I'm living it and it's a nightmare. The saving grace would be the regulators shutting them down over non-HR related issues. Hurry !!
I don't have words anymore for the environment. We are way past TOXIC here. It's detrimental to one's health and mental state. Scarey part is most people there are now conditioned to accept the culture as normal. Any times I've heard people say,"well its like this anywhere you work now." I refuse to believe this. Most of my friends outside C1 are stunned at some of the things I've told them. The benefits keep people there. I've heard several people suffer from PTSD after being there just a short time.
I’ve been with Cap One a few years and I just received a below strong for the first time. I will be on a coach plan with my people leader. I was so blind sighted by that one. I also noticed in another meeting there was an inbound recovery person which I believe might be gearing up for layoffs due to the discover deal. C1 don’t need 2 legal depts, 2 HR depts, finance, etc. I think I’ll start texting the job market waters
If tech is your passion keep pursuing it. I like another poster was with c1 20 years. I was laid off. I had been very stressed out with the toxic culture that has continued to worsen over the years. I was blessed to find a role within a few weeks of being laid-off. My new company is really good. I just do my job and don't mess up and everything is fine. No place us utopia but there are definitely jobs in tech that don't steal your peace.
I didn’t work in Tech, but I was a People Leader in Card. I walked away from a 20+ year career because of how toxic and awful the culture of Capital One became. What you read in here about the stack rankings, back stabbing, and toxic environment in the Tech side was just as prevalent in card. I watched the culture of what used to be an amazing company go south so quickly, and everything since Covid made it 10x worse.
I have read many people who were/are happy there. I loathed it.
I can honestly say it was the worst experience of my working career. Before I joined, I had read warnings that C1 was trigger happy. You look up and folks are gone within a blink of an eye. I was one of them.
The management was so... condescending and unprofessional.
I have since worked at other places afterwards and didn't find the people to be so robotic and cut throat.
I tell people be careful. I was warned before I joined, but I needed a job. They were right.