Countrywide Financial Reviews

Pros

Money and opportunity. When times were good, they took care of us. Lots of opportunity to transfer and learn. Great seminars given by industry insiders.

Cons

Company grew too fast. Not enough communication between groups and with senior management. Since times are tough now, they are going thru mass layoffs. Jobs are very unstable, but that's expected. Nepotism/favoritism is rampant.

Advice to Senior Management

Better communication with employees and public. Better ethics. Pay does not seem equitable. They ask employees to cut back, yet don't cut back themselves.

Pros

Good people, culture, work-life balance, very generous rewards.

Cons

Too much preference toward subject-matter-experts and not enough emphasis on good business management skills.

Advice to Senior Management

Look around... the ways you've been running your groups aren't necessarily the ways to run them in the future.

Pros

It's a place to work for a pay check.

Cons

Unable to advance based on performance and not who you know.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop hiring family members within the same division.

Pros

The merger with Bank of America should provide opportunity for those who won't be terminated. The survivors of the current financial crisis should be well positioned when things turn around. Bank of America will be one of them, and therefore should provide plenty of opportunity for everyone that sticks around. There should also be plenty of opportunity for career advancement within Bank of America after the merger. Also benefits seem to be better.

Cons

The merger with Bank of America has taken a toll on morale. Furthermore, its not the best of times to work for any Financial Services Company. Also, bigger is not always better.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat your customers and employees well, and you'll have nothing to worry about.

Pros

Pay, selection of jobs to choose from, various job sectors

Cons

Working environment, reputation, policies, management,

Advice to Senior Management

The attitude of this company seems to start with the top (Angel Mozilo), and they should (and I believe will) totally revamp and start over

Pros

Countrywide provides a solid benefits package and gives employees the opportunities to learn new skills and interact with a good group of coworkers in the Texas facilities. Countrywide is a good starting point for people out of college, with a somewhat lower than average compensation structure they give many younger employees good entry opportunities before moving on to hiring paying employers. Additionally, the company encourages employees to take on new opportunities and to learn new skills (granted this very rarely increases compensation). The opportunity to grow your skill set is very good here, but advancing your career in this top heavy company is unlikely.

Cons

While I have only been with the company a few years, the difference between the corporate culture and how upper management deal with lower employees now and when I started is vastly different. What used to be a good company to work for with a engaged staff has turned into a bitter environment plagued by finger pointing and indecision.

Advice to Senior Management

Remember where you came from. With such a large amount of senior management having started in low level, front line positions the unappreciative and condescending attitude of much of the senior management staff is puzzling to say the least. Also, the company should look at ways to even out the management breakdown between California and Texas. Departments keeping 75% of management in California, but having less than 40% of their total employees there seems to be the norm here.

Pros

The compensation (salary) tends to be very competitive compared with other companies in the same industry.

Cons

Extremely poor communication between senior to mid-level management and employees. Too many layers of upper management. All layoffs occur at the "worker" level and rarely at the inflated management levels. Failure to make the right, tough decisions when the secondary market collapsed to downsize the company have almost resulted in bankruptcy and a subsequent buyout by Bank of America.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop protecting your friends and family members (nepotism is rampant) and inflated upper managements structures (EMD's, SMD's, MD's, etc.). To late but what has been needed is LEADERSHIP and demonstrating a willingness to take tough steps to keep the company afloat.

Pros

They had layoffs, and then people started leaving, not wanting to wait for the axe. They then hire replacements for more then the pay of the loyal people who stayed.

Cons

Upper management could not care less about the lower tier workers. They are aloof and in a world of their own.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to what the little guys are saying. They tried to warn you about making loans to people who could not pay for them. But no, you guys had to make as many loans as possible to make your performance look good, no matter what happen down the road.

Pros

Health benefits are reasonably priced. Having the ability to carry over unused vacation year over year is a good option. Most of the bank holidays are honored with the exception of Veterans day and Columbus day. Career opportunities fall in line with how the business is performing rather than accomplishments and abilities. A promotion/ hiring freeze has been in place for almost a year now. This has stopped the career growth of many employees and we have lost some great people because of it.

Cons

Because of the unethical practices of the business it is almost embarrassing to tell people where you work. The pay is poor relative to other similar jobs at other companies. Time off and work-life balance is very average.

Advice to Senior Management

Better retention and development of human capital would go a long way.

Pros

Countrywide has very smart people and a lot can be learned from them. The numerous locations make driving to work fairly short. The monetary compensation is pretty good. There is some flexibility for standard working hours.

Cons

Sr. Management doesn't really know how to commnicate; however, there are a few exeptions. Telecomuting is frowned upon in spite of the cost of gas these days. Most promotions are performed via nepotism (the Dilbert Priciple) and not earned through capability. The decision making process is very slow and bureaucratic and often relies on time to make the decision. The company is extremely siloed by lines of business.

Advice to Senior Management

Try honest communication and less CYA.