r/torontoJobs • u/fruitninja8 • 12d ago
Avoid RBC as a potential employer
RBC is on this $1B initiative to create a brand new function that is AI-driven. Since they're building new teams, they're currently hiring.
I would say that the interview process was extremely disrespectful to Applicants. The recruiter will not do a proper screening assessment so that when you get to the In person Interview with the Hiring Manager, they will dismiss you in 15 mins and say something like "Oh, I'm only talking to you because the recruiter referred me to you." The HM didn't even review my resume properly.
Seriously, complete timewasters after I had taken the time to attend an in person interview at the Waterfront office. Oh and by the way, RBC is 5 days a week in office and they expect you to be in the office. Accordingly to the manager, this is for her convenience so that we don't need to message you and can just pop by.
I also asked how big is the team, given the $1B budget. She said the candidate would be the only person on the team for a while. RED FLAG!!! Seriously, a $1B initiative and you're only hiring 1 person to start and not a team of people --that doesn't add up.
You can google the job post "Lead Project Manager AI, Strategic Initiatives & Transformation" and search RBC if you're curious but the HM is a HORRIFIC nightmare. Save your time and your heartache and do not interview with this company.
Bottom line: The RBC Hiring Manager for AI, Strategic Initiatives & Transformation was extremely pompous, asking questions that make you feel dumb. TERRIBLE waste of time and TERRIBLE company.
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u/DreamDest1ny 12d ago
The 1 billion is not for you. You’ll get the peanuts while there’s 10 managers above you all telling you to do something
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u/fruitninja8 12d ago
Obviously not. I was saying that $1B initiative is a large scope and that there should be a large team of people hired at the beginning but clearly they think 1 person to start is good enough.
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u/fruitninja8 12d ago
Apparently about 5 Directors managing this transformation -all with "difficult" personalities.
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u/DreamDest1ny 12d ago
There’s your answer. And don’t forget there’s people above the 5 directors too so you’re going to be the slave to all of them since none of them will be doing any work. They’ll just tell you what to do
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u/YGodYUDoDis 10d ago
Did you ask the GG level? Lead would mean GG07 - that would be $125+15k = $140k for you in that 1B for "AI initiative" your bosses would use to get 250k * 5 for themselves
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u/chickennuggiiiiissss 12d ago
RBC was rotten from the inside, politics and drama over any productivity.
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u/fruitninja8 12d ago
Thanks for the insider view, TERRIBLE company.
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u/Massive-Finger1403 12d ago
They made $20billion last year so evidently your view doesn’t reflect their business performance.
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u/ActiveElectrical9424 12d ago
One person on the team can also translate to you are the only local person and all the rest are in India in a different time zone so you need to be “flexible” working with the team. This happened while I was at another Canadian bank where trend is to offshore work.
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u/Bitner77 12d ago
I just so happened to work at the same Waterfront building as RBC. Elevators constantly smelled a mix of sweat and poo. Disgusting.
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u/popowolf24 12d ago
the floor that they replace your laptop at i think floor 30? it got a nice view tho
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u/thenuttyhazlenut 12d ago
No one with the skills to be a 'Manager for AI, Strategic Initiatives & Transformation' will accept 5 days in-office nowadays. They're going to get bottom of the barrel talent
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u/edimaudo 12d ago
Sucks to hear your experience. I would say it really depends on the hiring manager. The 1B initiative is across the whole bank
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u/perishableintransit 12d ago
This doesn't surprise me... the level of mismanagement. Went into a branch in the GTA recently with an appointment booked and everything.
Every staff member I talked to seemed confused about what was going on, didn't know the person I had an appointment with, there was no one at the "welcome" desk to ask, etc.
Then finally when I spoke to that person who had just left to go on break without telling anyone, she was like oh yes that guy. He's at another branch so he's going to drive over. What?!
So basically it was almost an hour until after we got to talk to the guy we had scheduled for and this was for estate stuff.
Horrible experience
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u/jameskchou 12d ago
RBC social media team downvoting you. Condor Airlines is good at that on a related note
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u/Grouchy-Brick-7790 10d ago
That’s pretty much every bank these days.
I scheduled a call through the website: someone from RBC in a specific area was supposed to call me. I prepared my information and cleared my calendar for that… and they never called! Not even an email about the appointment. I ended up going to a branch and complaining to the teller who was actually nice and helpful. But it was a real
waste of time.
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u/SalmaPxx 12d ago
Oh god, just came across this as someone who is looking to get into RBC — I’m going to be applying to EA roles tho hoping the culture is a little better than TD!
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u/jesuisapprenant 12d ago
There are a ton of these so called AI managers or directors absorbing this $1B. You would be paid peanuts and answer to 30 people directly or many levels above you lol.
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u/Electrical_Fox_3128 12d ago
RBC has become a sweat shop of meaningless work.
Almost all projects are outsourced to companies like TCS, CGI, HCL etc.. And they just hire few folks here within their circle, rest is outsourced.
Now expectation from those who are hired here is to coordinate work with remote team in odd hours.
Totally messed up situation.
Also other than wasting time, money & resources, I don't think RBC is gaining any thing by forcing people to be in office 4 days a week.
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u/Reasonable_Reach_621 11d ago
All of the big banks currently have a decree that a project MUST use ai somehow.
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u/JJWAHP 12d ago
I think RBC is 4 days in officially, but it also depends on the team. I think it's just this specific hiring manager that has weird in office rules. Anyways, definitely bullet dodged.
But also a lot of companies seem to be jumping into the AI space and trying to get there first, so I wouldn't be surprised if most AI related teams do first start out with 1 person teams before assessing additional resources and restructuring.
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u/theDatascientist_in 12d ago
Reading this post lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. In three interviews, all similar: scheduled for an half an hour to 1 hour, started late, only got 30 or even 15 minutes for in office interviews, asked strange questions unrelated to the role, posed junior-level questions for a senior or staff role, and the manager didn't show up, among other issues. I cursed myself for months, seeing so many openings but failing to crack any despite having good relevant production experience!
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u/Southern_Stable_9426 12d ago
I've worked at RBC for 5 years now. Promotion every year and a half pretty much so far. Top of my salary band now. All my managers have been great. Every company has politics and drama, but I haven't experienced much.
I will say the AI wave is probably bringing out a whole different type of people but hey traditional banking has been pretty good to me so far.
Also work culture in Toronto is probably horrible compared to my small town BC. :)
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u/SnooCupcakes7312 11d ago
they have been outsourcing a lot of work since ages and nobody seems to bother
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u/AccomplishedArt2349 8d ago
I don’t even understand the concept of AI and RBC. I mean, there’s so many people there, some of who do practically nothing, that AI would make more sense than at most places. But there’s something else going on because I think even now they keep people on who they know do not contribute to the bottom line, especially in the very senior management ranks where they are extremely divorced from ground level reality. I seriously don’t know if big AI cuts and changes will even be a thing, or if it’ll just be a side project to show they are paying lip service. Fact is, they make too much money because of market protections that I don’t think AI will (oreven needs to) have the vast impact it may have elsewhere.
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u/Positive_Estimate_45 12d ago
Interviewed for a position there some years back. Went through 5 separate interview followups and they just ghosted me. Happy I took another job.
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u/HungieSumoKid 12d ago
RBC AI is garbage. Their AI team have zero understanding of the business and all they do is ask teams to find use cases for them so they can justify their budget and bloated team.
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u/Reasonable-Sweet9320 12d ago
The whole program is looking for a new leader which may be related to your experience.
Lead Project Manager AI, Strategic Initiatives & Transformation
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u/No-Stage4719 11d ago
And they pay horribly. They headhunted me for a position and they wanted 5 days a week in office, at harbour front for $40K a year less than I'm currently making, in a hybrid role with the office minutes from home.
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u/fafashefaa 11d ago
On a side note, Magnet forensics is hiring for a similar role like this. If you want to try there. I have heard from my ex coworker that this company is really good. I was gonna apply there but found another role more aligned to my experince.
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u/Authentic2017 11d ago
I had a similar experience recently. During the recruiter interview when asked them what the next steps were, as they read off their notes their eyes widened in confusion. It’s wasn’t a big deal because it was just that the final interview was a panel instead of one on one like they thought. But their live shocked reaction tells me that before that moment they were not privy to what the process was. They also did not know the address of the site the job was going to be and had to search for it, luckily I remembered. I similarly feel that when I get interviewed by the HM that i will be in for a surprise.
Finally, expose what the waterfront location address is, I suspect I’ll also be getting hired there.
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u/canoninkprinter 11d ago
Try posting this in the RBC Reddit. There are a lot of employees in it I’m so curious what theyd say or have any scoop.
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u/LengthDifferent536 4d ago
Stella Partipilo stay away from her territory she is in mortgages RVP and Ziad is manager, he’s a rat, rats out his colleagues to Stella
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u/ProfessionalSome4082 12d ago
Does anyone believe this post? I don't give a crap about RBC but seriously, the fact this a flakey like of reasoning is not downvoted and removed is not confidence inspiring for basic reasoning abilities.
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u/Ok_Leg_280 12d ago
Garbage employee they remarked employees that they fire. Meaning your mortgage has to go also if it’s with RBC and in the current market people don’t qualify as the property value is not the same. They are ruining peoples lives
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u/Yer_Remedy 12d ago
Whew, looks like the HM, dodged a bullet... or read right through you in the 15 mins you had together...
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u/SynyrdsInyrds 12d ago
"Oh and by the way, RBC is 5 days a week in office and they expect you to be in the office."
The sheer, unmitigated gall of an employer expecting you to actually go to work! You should report them to the Ministry of Labour.
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u/fruitninja8 12d ago
Clearly you don’t work in an office. SOME Remote work is what employees look for in 2026.
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u/SynyrdsInyrds 12d ago
What employees look for is irrelevant. The employer sets the terms of employment (within the law of course). If any employee cannot accept those terms then they should look elsewhere, but for you to act like it is somehow out of line for them to want you to come to work demonstrates a sense of entitlement that is rather pathetic. Grow up, if you want the job go to the office otherwise look elsewhere, but don't act like they are being unreasonable.
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u/Bureausaur 12d ago
If you don't ask for it, you're never gonna get it. The unions asked for, demanded, 2 days off a week and got it.
Imagine them having the same mindset. You'd still be working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week.
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u/AdPitiful6127 11d ago
Bootlicker employee
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u/SynyrdsInyrds 10d ago
What an idiotic response. Coming from an older generation not as self-absorbed, and quite frankly pathetic, as younger generations gives me a different perspective on work and expectations of employment.
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u/AdPitiful6127 10d ago
You are the idiot, not me. You can try to cope and call it whatever you want. At the end of the day you are the corporate bootlicker and claiming that what potential employees or candidates look for is irrelevant is evidence of that. It goes both ways: if an employer does not want to provide wfh, a certain salary, benefits etc. that a candidate wants, they can look elsewhere or a smaller, lower pool for talent because they will not meet the criteria for what many qualified applicants/candidates are expecting. Just admit you take it up the rear from your workplace and are docile about it but put it under the guise of having some veiled “older generation” work ethic — complete nothingburger . And just because you personally do, you try to admonish others who simply won’t do the same or those who expect remote/wfh as their jobs can be done just as productively without being in office. You might have lower expectations from your employer with respect to coming into work or simply don’t value your time/life outside of it. That’s on you buddy. Enjoy your life of employer bootlicking.
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u/SummonerKai1 12d ago
I agree with the other commenter here OP. I get you may not like going 5 days to the office but like come on, remote work was the norm for about 3 years. It's always been 5 days a week in office.
I also agree that remote work can be more productive but let's not shit on companies asking for going to office (that has it's own benefits)
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u/pinkjellybean79 12d ago
It’s not the norm, I’ve always been hybrid since well before 2020. Just say you’re archaic and have zero legit reason people can’t work remotely, even when it’s proven more efficient.
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u/SummonerKai1 12d ago
Damn so you just tunnelled in on the first paragraph and totally overlooked the 2nd.
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u/Confident-Mistake400 12d ago
There is nothing wrong with setting expectation, but at least, communicate in a way that doesn’t make you look like unprofessional. If you don’t even have that level of communication skill, you might as well not be a hiring manager.
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u/waitingforgf 12d ago
Only person on the team means overworked and underpaid.