New year, new career with Fidelity Investments

Mitchell Cash from Fidelity Investments talks skills, training and diversity

Trade

Mitchell Cash, Fidelity

In association with Fidelity Investments

Mitchell Cash, director, talent acquisition & people analytics at Fidelity Investments, discusses skills, training, and supporting women in technology.

Making a career change in the new year is a common resolution. What roles are Fidelity Investments looking to fill right now?

Our focus at the moment is on the search for senior software engineers. Cloud engineers, Dev Ops, front and back end and full stack engineers. Technology changes so often that it’s impossible to be expert in everything, which is why a growth mindset is what’s really the key for us. We look for individuals who are able to adapt quickly to new technologies, as well as those with a strong capacity for learning.

A lot of people who are successful at Fidelity are committed to being life-long learners. We really support and value career mobility and within our firm. It is not uncommon for folk to have two or three career stints over several years with us, across different specialities. Fidelity offers a variety of talent development, upskilling and re-training programs. Career mobility is never off the table if you come in with an agile mindset.

How does Fidelity Investments hope to attract new talent in an increasingly competitive employment landscape?

Fidelity ​​​​​​​is number 18 on Glassdoor’s 2023 ‘100 Best Places To Work’ list. We were recognised also as a Sunday Independent’s number one best employer in financial services in 2022. These awards were based on surveyed employees and anonymous reviews. As a firm Fidelity’s focus is on making sound judgements for the long term. Our approach to recruitment is the same as our approach to investment. Fidelity takes a responsible, cautious, and long-term position towards growth. This ensures we don’t lose sight of our existing workforce. By taking a considered approach to recruitment and how we reward and recognise associates, Fidelity offers our associates a level of consistency and reassurance in their career continuity and future opportunities.

Fidelity is an employee centric firm. Our focus is on ethics. We practice management styles that prioritise people and doing the right thing. We try to offer realistic benefits that actually matter. While you might not find taco Tuesday or bean bags at our offices, you will find a community of likeminded and passionate individuals who are constantly growing their skillsets whilst solving complex business problems. 

We try to ensure our benefits plans are adaptive and we review our offering regularly. During Covid-19, we offered a relief plan which gave all associates an extra five paid days off to use due to impacts from the pandemic. 

In 2022 we came together to honour 153 Ireland associates celebrating five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years at the company.  We believe that our associates are the foundation of Fidelity’s success and it’s important to take the time and celebrate these milestones.

Fidelity’s technologists explore everything from cryptocurrency to bitcoin mining to blockchain and Web3. What are some of the most highly sought-after skills in tech currently?

Technologists at Fidelity are re-imagining the customer experience and creating the next generation of global business and financial technologies. From delivering advanced IT systems and solutions to developing patented technology that drives our platforms, Fidelity associates are empowered to dream big and explore new ideas.

Our technologists are pioneers in the digital economy, exploring cryptocurrency, bitcoin mining, blockchain, and Web3 technology since 2014. We are looking for people who have a growth mindset. Who are digitally native, curious individuals interested in shaping the future of technology.

Does Fidelity give its employees opportunities to enhance their tech skills on the job?

Yes, absolutely. Continuous learning is core to our ethos. In 2022 Fidelity Ireland was awarded for Excellence in Talent Development at the IBEC Technology Ireland Awards. Talent development is strategically important to Fidelity as it provides an environment where our associates can grow, thrive, and realise their full potential. Constant learning and clear opportunities for career growth are ingrained in how we work.

Each week associates at Fidelity are provided with dedicated time to focus on building their skills and knowledge in the way that works best for them – depending on the team and the role this can be up to eight hours every week, just to learn. These ‘Learning Days’ are sometimes a full day and other times, the hours are distributed throughout the week. While each experience is associate-driven, Fidelity provides the learning through workshops, e-learning courses, career coaching sessions, shadowing opportunities, mentoring in meetings, or something else that fits associate’s needs. There are even opportunities to apply the skills acquired during each Learning Day, taking the learning one step further.

Last year, Forbes named Fidelity Investments one of the best employers of women. What efforts has Fidelity taken to support women in the workplace?

Fidelity Ireland is committed to cultivating a thriving community of women within technology. We do this with the support of our established Women’s Leadership Group (WLG) and Women in Technology Special Interest Group (WITSIG).  These communities have a global combined membership of over 14,500 female associates. The empowerment of employees through these employee resource groups has strengthened the voice of women in technology and our ability to execute change at a faster pace.

By accepting what we don’t know and seeking external perspectives, and by being open to partner with and learn from other organisations we have been able to establish best practices for female participation in technology careers. Simple learnings like understanding that bringing in guest speakers to reiterate a message and resonate more than driving the message internally and can help to re-energise and focus efforts.

Leadership at Fidelity has been very open to learning first-hand about the impact of key influencers, such as parents and career guidance teachers, in college course selection from our STEM education initiatives led to our decision to invite career guidance teachers into Fidelity to educate them on paths to careers in technology.

We found many female engineers reluctant to apply for principal engineering roles and by introducing mentoring circles we provided a safe place for them to seek advice. This achieved an increase in both female applicants for more senior roles and increased success rates for those who participated in mentoring.