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A company for the Age of Information In the late 1980s, consultants Richard Fairbank and Nigel Morris met at Strategic Planning Associates (which became Mercer Management Consulting) and devised a new way to market and structure credit cards. They felt that most credit card issuers were too bland in the way they conceived of their products - that they didn't understand completely how individual customers require customized products. They shopped their idea from bank to bank, getting no takers until finally selling Virginia-based Signet Banking Corporation in Richmond on their scheme. Back then, the division had less than $1 billion in accounts receivables, and the bank was considering dumping its credit card business. Now, Fairbank and Morris's business is a separate company (having been spun off in 1995), and Signet has been swallowed up by First Union. With $17.4 billion in accounts receivables at the end of 1998, and 13.6 million customers as of September 1998, Capital One is one of the top 10 credit card issuers in the U.S. We know who you are, and what you want Capital One's phenomenal success derives from its pioneering efforts in data collection. The company collects and analyzes credit data on more than 100 million potential customers in order to determine which of its products might be the right one for each. It then tailors its offerings to fit a potential customer's unique financial background. The company has about 12,000 products at any given time. It's not just this intense information gathering that has made Capital One a success, though. The company was also the first to lure new customers by offering to let them transfer their balances at low introductory rates, a strategy that has quickly been copied by competitors. With its vast database and its extensive marketing operation, Capital One has seen its managed accounts grow at a rate of 20 to 30 percent during each of the last five years. We're not a credit card company Of course, credit cards aren't the only product that can be sold better by packaging them to suit customers' desires for direct marketing campaigns - they just happen to be the one on which Fairbank and Morris decided to work. As Fairbank told The American Banker, Capital One is "really a marketing company" that happens to market credit cards. With the success Capital One has had with credit cards, the company is looking to branch out. In July 1998, it announced that it would acquire auto financing company Summit Acceptance Corp for $55 million. And the company is making a big push into cellular phone services with a business called America One, which is the only direct marketer of cell phones in the U.S.
Capital One's employee base (the company actually calls them associates) has grown as quickly as its business. The company added 5,000 associates in 1998, 3,000 more than it expected. And job seekers are eager to join Capital One, which was ranked No. 41 on the 100 Best Companies to Work For rankings published by Fortune magazine in 1999. The company's career web site, located at www.capitalone.com/careers, describes career opportunities in both financial and technical fields. Capital One accepts resumes for entry-level positions in all of its departments by e-mail, fax, or regular mail; applicants should consult the Web page for the appropriate addresses. The company also lists immediate job openings on the web page, as well as a schedule of the numerous college campuses that it visits each year, and a description of training programs and positions. Capital One insiders remark that "interviews are mostly case-based." An interviewer will "set up a business problem and ask you to solve it for them." The problem is described as "very numbers-oriented" and is designed to test one's "thought process." Contacts claim that the interview process is long overall "between five and 10 interviews on average with final rounds including a Power Day of five interviews in one day." Luckily, interviewers are described as "laid-back" however. Interested applicants can consult the company web site for a sample interview case based question.
Dynamic environment Capital One's "fast-paced," "dynamic" environment reflects its rapid corporate growth. "Everyone in the company is very young except the people who started it," says one employee, neglecting to mention that the company's CEO is younger than 50. Explains one contact: "Cap One has a really unique culture. The culture here is much more entrepreneurial than traditional banks." Everyone praises the "brilliance" and "foresight" of Capital One's top executives, which is not just beauty to be admired from afar. As one contact explains: "The organizational structure is quite flat, so there is a lot of exposure to senior management." The "learn-as-you-go" atmosphere requires entry-level employees to respond to "immediate pressure," and Capital One employees "relish" the "thought of rising to a new challenge." Reports one contact: "The company is growing fast so there is plenty of room for advancement and the job assignments are interesting." Work hard, but in a relaxed environment Even though employees call their work "taxing," they say that Capital One's "manageable" work schedule "makes it easy to have a personal life." Says one insider: "The hours are reasonable, maybe 50 per week." While work hours may be on the long end, they aren't spent in an uptight environment. "The atmosphere is quite laid-back," says one insider, noting that "the dress code is business casual." Another describes the work environment as "open and informal." And insiders get to take time away from work, too. Full-time employees get three weeks vacation to start, and can take four of those days on 30 minutes notice. Part of the reason Capital One insiders are pleased with their employer is that they have a "sense of ownership" about their company. Employees are given many stock options, called associates. Managers are asked to voluntarily take stock options instead of traditional compensation - and virtually all of them do. Capital One associates also may receive a company contribution of up to 9 percent to their 401(k) plan: 3 percent is automatically kicked in by the company, 3 percent is a match of associate contributions, and 3 percent depends on company performance. Capital One associates also can receive tuition reimbursement (100 percent if they attend a public institution) and at some locations, can receive free checking. A detailed description of the benefits the company offers is available on Capital One's web site.
Dennis H. Liberson Human Resources
Auto financing;Cellular phone service;Credit cards
American Express;Bank One;Citigroup;MBNA;Chase Manhattan; More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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