Pros
- A lot of very smart people with lightening fast minds. It is stimulating to discuss ideas on a daily basis with people who think about everything they do - people who like to think their way out of boxes. - BlackRock is high energy, proactive, and has a strong desire to succeed as a firm in the face of changing markets. This is reflected in the senior leadership. - BlackRock strongly encourages a culture of innovation. And if your day to day job does not seem to have much room to innovate, there is always the Hackathon which is a brilliant way to showcase your talent and attract attention outside normal channels. - If you join straight out of college, work hard, play the game, and are willing to put in 10 years, you can have a brilliant career. Hard work is encouraged. - Great place to work if you are hands on and technologically savvy. Technological prowess is encouraged at all levels and is a vital part of the culture. - Not nearly as bureaucratic and monolithic as traditional banks like JP Morgan or Citi. - Be prepared to be repeatedly challenged in your reasoning. You will learn to build a strong business case and answer the question 'why' more often than you can count. Your business case and your proposal will get challenged by everyone from programmers to senior MDs. It makes for better decisions and better ROI on projects and is a key driver of the success of the firm. And it will make your thinking more precise. Sharp minds sharpen the minds of those around them.
Cons
- Not a good place for experienced hires. So many people want to work there that BlackRock regularly over hires for positions leading to disappointment and boredom. Add to that a very strong cultural preference for people who 'grow up' at BlackRock. No matter how much you drink the KoolAid, you might be included at times but you probably won't get a shot at the basket if you're a lateral hire. - Strong preference for the under 35 set. Employees over 35 are often viewed as not able to get it. Employees over 45 are regularly pushed aside and replaced with people under 35. You could have invented passive management or the internet, but if you're over 45, look elsewhere. This is not a place to join mid-career unless you have significant visible public street cred - like if you were in the President's Cabinet or a Fed Board member. - Like many firms, your experience will strongly correlate with how well the M.D. of your Department manages the group. And some of the M.D.s make up for their brilliance with an inability to deal with people. If he or she isn't strongly courting you to join, don't walk - run. - Decision making is strongly centralized in senior management - this is both a pro and a con.