Wow. I can’t believe it. I’m almost 4 months old in Capital
One Years already. How has this much time passed so quickly? So easily? As I
reflect on the beginning of my career with Capital One, one thing truly stands
out to me: the culture. But let’s dive deeper-- culture, at its core, is all
about the people. The people you interact with every day, the people you pass
in the halls (or on powered scooters) and even the people you never meet.
So what’s so special about these folks anyway? We’re just a
bunch of boring bankers in suits, right? Nothing to could be further from the
truth! This place is truly unique and words really can’t describe it…but since
you asked, I will attempt to describe it with some dialect:
- Every day I am challenged to think differently, attack problems from an altered angle, see the world through a new lens and gain insights into a broader context of how to observe every day challenges.
- I work with people of all different majors from all kinds of schools. Philosophy majors to Chemical Engineers. Large Midwest State Schools to small private Ivy League Schools.
- My team mostly wears jeans, tennis shoes, golf polos and quarter zips; wait, that’s just my go-to outfit every day. But you get the idea!
- I even have a Snuggie® stashed in my drawer for days I want to
get extra cozy
- People work hard here! Our time isn’t measured. We don’t work the standard 9 to 5 so people learn to be extremely efficient with their time.
- I can’t even begin to describe how motivating this is for me. It’s great to be stimulated by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. The energy all around me gives me the strength to bring my best on a regular basis.
- Because sailing is so important to me, my manager and I came up with a flexible schedule to fit my needs.
- I used to leave at 3pm on Wednesdays to go sailing in Annapolis. I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old and was able to do this from day one without anyone batting an eye!
- My manager and I agree that I should use Monday through Thursday for meetings and collaboration. I found that working from home on Fridays allows me to be more productive when completing independent work or in-depth analytics. Now, I commonly spend my Fridays in the comfort of my apartment.
- Our Customers
- The customers are at the heart of everything we do
- Every meeting always has a discussion of: “how does this affect our customers?” “How does this improve things for our customers?” We are always trying to keep the customers’ best interest in mind.
- Our Employees
- I have never seen a place so compassionate about its employees. My Capital One gym membership is $15 a month and includes my personal training sessions and intramurals. Our lunches are offered at discounted prices, making it cheaper to buy at work than cook for myself. We have health clinics on all of our campuses, making it an easy and convenient primary physician.
Most importantly, have fun!
- We all recognized that work is a large part of our lives. So let’s have some fun too! Let’s have fun birthday celebrations, play pranks on each other and create ridiculous nicknames that make us smile every time.
- We have in-office socials every other Thursday. It’s a great time to network with other teams, collaborate, or get the creative juices flowing outside of normal work conversations!
- Last week I helped a team member with their MBA homework, and we accidentally came up with a cool concept for our work project along the way!
- We hang out beyond the boundaries of the office walls!
- I started my job with 250 people, providing plenty of instant friends when I moved to a new city.
- We love to hang out beyond work. Those boundaries are quickly torn down. We go to music festivals together, grab dinner, go white water rafting on the weekends, attend football games, etc.
- All of this beautifully synchronizes together to make this place of work feel like a home with family. I love it.
So how does all this sound? I am truly blessed to work at a
place where I learn an incredible amount every day. I’m challenged to be well
rounded and I look forward to the good times inside and out of the office. Who
says the fun has to stop after college?
Until next time,
Kyle
