BlackRock reviews

3.8

68% would recommend to a friend

(6,543 total reviews)
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Laurence D. Fink

82% approve of CEO

69% positive business outlook

BlackRock has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 6,543 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The BlackRock employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Finanzas industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

7K reviews
3.0
Oct 28, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Chances are, lots of smart people in your entering class, and (on the surface), CEO seems decent enough but whether or not you enjoy the "call-center" division is pretty much up to luck. "Solutions" is the division that produces portfolio risk tools/metrics for Blackrock the "Asset Manager" and also outsources the platform to third party money managers. It is split in to two groups: the Financial Modelling Group who are really the brains behind the risk analytics are a bunch of PhDs. And then there is the Portfolio Analytics Group (PAG) which is basically a glorified call center. If you luck out and join a sub-division within PAG that has a responsible third year associate, you'll learn quite a bit and will probably land a nice job elsewhere after a year or two. Otherwise, be prepared spend your days plugging leaks and to take the shaft when things go wrong. Chances of moving into portfolio management or financial modelling are slim based on past promotions. Most people in PAG end up leaving if they are looking for more than a tech support role.

Cons

6 work days (Sunday through Friday). Certain middle management in Solutions (MD) are careerists and certain third-years are brown nosers with little concern for your development. Expect to get little feedback or guidance. Due to business growth, expect to be spread thin and work hours. Depending on which sub-group you end up in, you might get unlucky and work under a self-serving third-year analyst. (and during evaluations, done twice a year with nary any feedback in between, the third year has the last word on you). You are expected to take on most of the responsibility from the beginning. Because of the complexity of the software (which some have likened to a big rube golberg machine), it's sometimes difficult to exactly pinpoint where a problem started. As a result, most of the "management" that goes on is more of "arse-covering", and if you're not a prolific enough of a blame-deflector, you'll end up with a "strike". So be smart, and watch your own arse first. Be proactive and complain to your hiring manager about third-years if need be before it's too late.

2.0
Oct 9, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Job safety, learning opportunities. One has to monumentally screw up to get fired. Also, the firm en large is very skilled and competent There are reasons BLK became the largest asset manager in the US, and the uppermost management really knows what they are doing. Depending on the group, BLK can reward dedication and hard work very well. If you choose the right team and work hard, you will make a good career and learn things you would not learn pretty much anywhere else. In addition to upper management, BLK has a 'skeleton' team of very smart and competent professionals. If you can become one of them, you are set.

Cons

BLK is very team specific. While work experience on a number of teams (Portfolio management, Financial Modeling) is extremely rewarding and pleasant, other teams can be quagmires, filled with incompetents, for the lack of a better description. Keep in mind that the asset manager side and "Solutions" business are run very differently. Solutions is a software company with few of the glamor and opportunities found on the asset manager side. Watch out for your MD. He or she, more than anything else will make or break your career at BLK. While there is a number of very fair, objective and merit-focused MDs, you may run into a bureaucrat/careerist, who will think nothing of using you as a slave and trample your career to make a few extra bucks for him/herself. Granted, this kind of person can be found in any company, but this is probably the biggest danger at BLK, as the upper management does have a clue and leads the company well.

3.0
Oct 1, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

BlackRock is a great place to tell people you work at. The pay is good and benefits are standard. It is the place to be in this difficult market time.

Cons

Longer hours, high stress at times, people are uptight. Office locations (outside of nyc) are not the best and offer little amenities. People think they are more important than they really are. Some managers belittle employees and blame you for things that were not your fault.

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