Bridgewater Associates

The World's Largest Hedge Fund - Westport, CT

My Personal Experience

Ok so you may have read some of the reviews on Glassdoor or spoken with someone who knows someone who worked there but here I would like to provide you with the opportunity to hear it from someone who is not retaliating on a Glassdoor review or giving you secondhand interpretations of what they think it’s like.

I found my time spent working at Bridgewater to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.  I not only learned a lot about how to think differently, handle my weaknesses and achieve goals but I also made friendships there that will certainly last a lifetime.

To be completely honest, I was very nervous about starting work there as a Business Analyst in 2012.  I had read up on the company through the internet and heard all the stories about the place and the culture but I wanted to keep an open mind.  Plus there was something about the culture description on their website that resonated with me.  They talked about how they approached things differently, about how they foster innovation and independent thinking through transparency.  I was in, I had to work there.

Once I was fully engaged in my role there I noticed something – everyone I met was genuinely concerned about helping everyone else succeed.  People would go out of their way to provide feedback and point you in the direction of other people who have had struggles similar to the ones I was having so that I could improve.  I found this approach amazing helpful for my personal and professional growth.

A Highly Principled Culture

Imagine working in a place where the culture was clearly defined and you always knew what was expected of you?  Not cool with what is expected of you?  No problem!  Just have a conversation with your manager and get on the same page.  Being from super rank-and-file cultures prior to coming to Bridgewater I was not used to this concept at all and found it very uncomfortable at first.  I remember in a past job walking into a managing directors office and asking why so-and-so had been laid off and that it posed a risk to the operation of one of our products.  The nerve of me!  Wow did I get a corporate shellacking that day.  Well guess what?  At Bridgewater, not only is this behavior of questioning encouraged, it’s actually part of the job description.  This concept, though admittedly foreign at first, becomes second nature and is incredibly freeing once you put it into practice.

Transparency = Growth

So my day to day there was full of learning, building relationships and understanding how to effectively come to the best answer by applying the principles in the way that makes sense.  And how about this?  The truth and transparency virtually eliminates the crappy corporate politics.  You know what people are thinking all the time.  Thee’s none of this you walk out of the room and then there’s this whole separate and opposite discussion that happens about you.  There’s no talking behind other people’s backs and that’s such a powerful thing because you are always exposed to the feedback, right or wrong so you can at least agree or disagree with it.  And if it turns out to be true then you have just learned something about yourself that you have NEVER found out in another culture.

Interested in Growth and Continuous Improvement?

If any of this has resonated with you as it did with me a few years back then please, click the button and submit your resumé.  The place truly fosters an environment that will bring your thinking to the next level if you are willing to throw in and do the work.

The Principles

If you are interested, here is a link to the Principles from the Bridgewater website.  The Principles at the company provide a common framework by which to base decision making upon and help people talk about common issues and problems by using the same language.

Work for Bridgewater