Unlike many other big banks in America, this Fortune 500 company has only been around since the mid-90s.
What started out as a spin-off of another bank to promote the credit card division quickly grew to become the 5th largest issuer of credit cards in the country.
Capital One didn’t stop with credit cards, though.
They also do banking, savings, and even auto loans.
In fact, Capital One just so happens to be the second-largest financier of automobiles.
To be convenient, in addition to the plethora of locations, the company stands out for its 30 cafe-style spots.
So, does Capital One really deserve to be ranked 15th on the Best Companies to Work list?
Stay tuned as we go through all the pros and cons of taking a job here.
Table of Contents
Pros of Working for Capital One
1. Competitive Pay
When it comes to the pay scale, generally speaking, employees are happy with their compensation.
Most departments get paid more than the same departments at competing companies.
This type of higher pay creates long-term loyalty to the brand and often causes a lot of internal promotions.
Perhaps the best part of all is that the pay doesn’t end with a salary.
If you’re interested in using financial know-how to invest in Capital One stocks, they will match your contribution by 15%.
Got a 401k?
Capital One will also match those contributions at 7.5%.
2. Benefits
In addition to the health, vision, and dental benefits, Capital One has added extra perks to sweeten the employment package.
First, speaking of healthcare, there are health centers on-site for those in need of a number of treatments.
Not only is this convenient, but it can keep employees from having to use a sick day to get seen by a doctor.
Ready to start a family?
There are a few ways the company works to help make this happen, including fertility treatments and adoption assistance.
Looking to improve your health?
Capital One has partnered with health education that provides employees with access to nutrition, cooking, and fitness classes.
3. Work-Life Balance
Depending on the department, it’s possible that you’ll have access to flexible schedules.
These types of schedules can make a world of difference for those who have outside obligations and need that extra space in their day.
A lot of the work done here can also be done remotely, so taking a day to work from home is something that is acceptable and happens.
Capital One puts resources into letting your job revolve around the family as opposed to squeezing in home time in between shifts.
4. Company Culture
One view that almost everyone who works here has is that they work with great people.
When you feel like other people you work with have your back, the atmosphere becomes quite encouraging.
An encouraged worker is a productive one.
For a majority of workers, this is a career and not a stop on the way elsewhere.
So, you’ll rarely find anyone who isn’t pulling their weight.
5. Career Management
Despite the leaders not being super stellar, more on that later, one thing they do have is career management.
Once you’re a member of staff, the powers that be take a keen interest in your plans at the company.
Early on, depending on which department you spend your time, managers have a sit down with you in preparation for feeling out your ambition.
At this time, a few trajectories are laid out so they can get a feel for what you’d like to see yourself doing in the future.
Not only do they set up this course of action, but they also make sure to do evaluations every six months.
This way, neither you nor the higher-ups lose sight of what you’re trying to accomplish during your tenure at Capital One.
6. Education
Even if you graduate from college with a degree in finance, every company runs things a little differently.
At Capital One, they want to make sure that you not only get into the work grove but that you also have resources at your fingertips that can help you do what you do even better.
Training courses are available online, with instructors, so you can not only engage in a wide range of related subjects, but you can get answers from a human.
That also means you can learn something new that could help a move to a new department.
Aside from financial education, Capital One is also invested in your interests outside the training courses.
They help with tuition and other education-related expenses.
That includes college coaching for your dependents.
7. Updated Technology
A lot of big companies still use outdated technology.
Capital One, however, would rather invest in advanced technology to make work more efficient than save a few bucks.
Having access to fast-acting software is a smart way to stay on top, as the company has done for many years.
Cons of Working for Capital One
1. Forced Hybrid Schedule
Like many companies that rely mostly on computers for work, Capital One went remote during COVID.
For years, employees got to take advantage of this benefit by moving to less expensive areas and saving money.
Not to mention the amount of time that no longer was getting wasted on commutes and meetings that could be emails.
Suddenly, like sadly many other big companies have done, an announcement was made that employees needed to come into the office again.
So many were hired or had transitioned into remote work that coming into the office seems like a demotion and extremely unfair.
2. Poor Leadership
The first problem with leadership is many of the positions are external hires.
Essentially, people with no knowledge of the inner workings of Capital One come in and usually want to change things.
Changing things wouldn’t be so terrible if they had any idea what they were doing and what is most efficient for those who work under them.
Often, employees can just wait out the unnecessary moves until the next person comes in because that happens a lot.
The regular new blood management that comes in never spends enough time with those who have been at the company for a long while.
This makes for poor transitions and misunderstandings.
3. Layoffs
Nothing brings down morale like an onslaught of layoffs.
In the past few years, these have become more and more frequent.
There’s no way to anticipate when one is coming and it leaves many high and dry.
Not to mention, the employees left behind are instantly drowning in work.
Cutting people sounds great in a financial institution to the bottom line, but it leads to the rest of the company being short-staffed.
4. Office Politics
If you’ve ever worked in an office, you know exactly how petty some of the employees can be, especially the ones who have been around the longest.
Some locations have so much gossiping and unnecessary rules being enforced that it causes good employees to quit.
Dealing with work is stressful enough, why talk behind someone’s back?
5. Slashing Benefits
The benefits listed in the pros column sound wonderful.
Unfortunately, something that happens when new management is brought in from the outside is a lot of changes are made.
One such change of late is about benefits.
The ones listed above have been long-standing perks of the job.
Depending on who happens to be in charge, though, might have an impact on what benefits employees can actually take advantage of.
6. Excessive Red Tape
With poor leadership often comes an excessive amount of red tape.
Getting anything done or making any sort of change from a more entry-level position can be like asking for a miracle.
No matter how good or important an idea is, it has to go through several layers before it’s in front of someone who can do anything about it.
The process is long and arduous, often leaving employees feeling like what’s the point?
7. Growth Ceiling
You’d think, with all the available training and career management, that it’s all leading you up the ladder.
While it definitely seems that way, actual promotions aren’t easy to come by.
Even though a plan is set out and reviews continue happening, it might feel like no meaningful action is being taken for employees to advance.
Maybe that’s why they’re so involved in giving you a route, so you feel like the car is going somewhere.
14 Pros and Cons of Working for Capital One – Summary Table
| Pros of Working for Capital One | Cons of Working for Capital One |
|---|---|
| 1. Competitive Pay | 1. Forced Hybrid Schedule |
| 2. Benefits | 2. Poor Leadership |
| 3. Work-Life Balance | 3. Layoffs |
| 4. Company Culture | 4. Office Politics |
| 5. Career Management | 5. Slashing Benefits |
| 6. Education | 6. Excessive Red Tape |
| 7. Updated Technology | 7. Growth Ceiling |
Should You Work for Capital One?
On one hand, there’s a lot of career potential at Capital One.
Not only can your knowledge of personal and business finance be beneficial, but it can be a great addition to any resume.
Of course, that means you’d need to learn when it’s best to pick your battles in the workplace.
It’s hard to deal with management when you know they are not great, but you also never know when you’ll find the perfect in to show your worth.
With that being said, it would probably be wise to at least get your foot in the door with a company that has such a widespread reputation.
You never know where that kind of experience will lead.
