Washington Mutual Reviews in Los Angeles, CA Area

Pros

Co-workers are great to work with.

Cons

The customers can be demanding.

Pros

To employees, the company was 100% transparent (perhaps, if they treated shareholders the same, the bank might still be in business.)

Cons

As a whole staff lacked passion. Also, to avoid layoffs, employees were transferred to new teams whether they posses core competencies or not. This in turn, hurt the overall work produced. Very difficult for promotion outside of Seattle.

Advice to Senior Management

Nothing is going to bring back this place

Pros

if you were on a team with a good manager, you were able to promote

Cons

if you were stuck with a bad manager, you pretty much were stuck

Advice to Senior Management

feedback or suggestions boxes that REALLY were anonymous

Pros

My qualifications closely matched the job description, so the interview was easy. Though people who hired me moved to different jobs in the next 6 months, the job has proven very interesting and exectly matched the description

Cons

There is no WaMu any more. JP Morgan Chase did not want to use the WaMu talent, so we all were let go.

Advice to Senior Management

there was no leadership, otherwise the WaMu would not end up being destroyed. Hopefully it will be a good example for other companies.

Pros

great work-life balance and respect for employee morale. Also the benefits package and salary was pretty generous and above average.

Cons

not as equipped to handle major commercial banking like JP Morgan, B of A, Wells Fargo, and others. it tried to compete and ended up being a "wannabe".

Advice to Senior Management

don't overextend yourself on the mortgage loans and offer sub prime or zero down interest only loans because it came back to bite hard.

Pros

Given a lot of opportunities to grow and try other roles
Management was very understanding when time was needed off or personal reasons and many in my department worked flexible schedules or were allowed to work from home part time.

Cons

Upper management was clueless a lot of times
Continual lay offs during my entire 5 year span there
Raises were always minimal. 3% was "great"
Could have had better career paths so that employees had something to work towards

Advice to Senior Management

What to say.....I think they have learned their mistakes (hopefully)

Pros

It used to be because they seemed to be in touch with their customers with their funny "Stodgy Banker" ads and free checking. Then they lived a lie by telling everyone the bank was fine, all the time relying on the customers deposits as the reason they were in a "healthy position". Shame on you Kerry Killinger and others.

Cons

Management were totally distant..no recognition for a good job, just more work. I got a 50 cent pay increase in 4 years! Fishman, The CEO left after A MONTH with $20,000,000 dollars and most of the workers got between $5,000-$10,000. Disgusting.

Advice to Senior Management

Resign.

Pros

Your co-workers really keep you alive and kicking. Without them, the benefits are few and far between. The lower tier managers really seem to care for the subordinates but by the time you get to middle to higher management, you'll barely get to hear from them directly let alone witness their presence.

Cons

There is a very slow progression for your personal growth and advancement. The ratio between your effort / talent and your compensation is outrageously disporpotionate.

Advice to Senior Management

Acknowledge your talented employees. More praise, more money and quicker advancements.

Pros

No cap on comissions. Vast network of branches. Training is provided. Marketing department does a fine job of driving in business. Base is low compared to competition, however total compensation is higher than other banks.

Cons

The amount of office politics and favoritism is rampant. Too many incompetent persons are promoted bypassing more knowledgeable employees. Getting along with your regional manager seems to be key to advance in the company. Knowledge and hard-work on brings envy from co-workers.

Advice to Senior Management

the amount of cronyism must end. too many good employees are leaving the company due to hopelessness that can occurr.

Pros

Great benefits, flexible hours, and a great work environment make Washington Mutual a nice place to work for. Depending on your branch, the management can work around your outside schedule, whether it is for school or extra curriculars. Health insurance is given to part time employees and before the economic downturn bonus pools were decent.

Cons

Depending on location, promotions might be hard to come by. Promotions and raises are dictated by the regional managers. At this location, manager was rarely present and there was a lot of employee turnover. The region was very adamant about reaching goals, but not so much in rewarding branches that exceeded them.

Advice to Senior Management

Get it together.