Fidelity steps up hiring in NC, plans to add 1,700 jobs

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Fidelity Investments is expanding its North Carolina workforce, and plans to hire as many as 1,700 roles in the state.

That’s in addition to the nearly 2,000 employees the company added last year in the state, with the vast majority of those roles based from the company’s Research Triangle Park campus, said Leslie Lillard Walden, vice president of regional public affairs for Fidelity Investments, in an interview with WRAL TechWire.

“The majority of them will be based in Research Triangle Park,” said Walden, adding that there there are a few remote-based technology positions and some roles in Charlotte that the company plans to hire, as well. Last year, the company announced plans to hire 500 workers, then later in the year, committed to another 1,500 roles.

The privately-held firm announced in late April that it would hire 12,000 workers across the United States by the end of the third quarter of 2022. A company statement noted that 2022 is expected to be the third consecutive year of record-setting hiring. According to the company, it hired 16,600 new employees in 2021 and 7,200 in 2020.

“These are very aggressive hiring goals, even in a talent-rich environment like there is in RTP and in North Carolina,” said Walden. “We look forward to hiring.”

Fidelity Investments adding 1,500 entry-level jobs in North Carolina

Talent market and economic development

“The talent is here, the talent is strong, and it’s the number one reason that companies like Fidelity grow and thrive in North Carolina,” said Walden.

That includes companies that will be new to the region or the state, like Fidelity was prior to 2007, when the company announced its plans for an RTP campus.

“What’s interesting about this market, and going back to when we made our announcement in 2007, is that companies around the Triangle came together to help the economic development agencies and the Department of Commerce recruit us,” said Walden.

Now, Fidelity is among the companies who may play a role in discussing the state and the region to others considering relocating or establishing a facility.

“What they ask us about most often are around quality of life issues and the supply of talent, and I think those two are interrelated,” said Walden. “This is a very attractive region to ask employees to move to, and once companies get here, like Fidelity, the talent is very, very strong and accessible, and constantly being repopulated because of the great educational institutions, and the focus on workforce development.”

But the talent market in the region is competitive, with more than 60,000 current openings in the region posted on ZipRecruiter, according to the latest WRAL TechWire Jobs Report. And LinkedIn ranked the Triangle among the best three top markets for job opportunity in a recent analysis of LinkedIn data.

Fidelity expanding in RTP, adding 500 jobs – hiring already underway

No degree necessary

Fidelity’s Triangle campus has, since announced in 2007, been focused on customer service roles and technology roles, Walden said. “That is the kind of talent that is available and is being educated and trained out of the amazing universities, colleges, and community colleges in the area.”

Of course, Fidelity announced last year that it wasn’t seeking to recruit just college graduates or workers with a degree. Instead, Walden said, the company selects for talent, which she said could come from a variety of prior work experiences, including working in hospitality or leisure services, a sector of the economy hit hard by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re looking for something different,” said Walden. “A natural ability to engage with customers.”

“Some role that you’ve had, some experience that you’ve had, and you know you want to build a career in it,” Walden noted. “That does not necessarily mean you’d need a college degree.”

“We can train you,” she said. “And that can take you through an entire career.”

The Fidelity Investments careers website currently lists 821 open roles based from the RTP campus.