How I found a new role within Fannie Mae

Featuring
Melanie F., Lead Associate, Enterprise Planning – Portfolio Management

Newton’s Law of Inertia states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. When it comes to advancing your career, that motion can take many forms. Moving between divisions or departments can be a great way to find your true passion while adding skills, gaining expertise, and building a supportive network of colleagues, managers, and leaders.

At Fannie Mae, there are many exciting and effective ways you can apply Newton’s law to taking charge of your own career path. If you want to move to a new area, and/or a new position, you’ll find plenty of encouragement and mentorship — and a whole system of education and training opportunities set up to help you grow and move within the company.

Melanie explains how she took advantage of these resources to change jobs as her interests, skills, and experience grew. “I started as a Communications Strategy Senior Associate in the Marketing & Communications department in 2019. After applying my experience, and learning more about strategy, consulting, and portfolio management, I am now a Portfolio Management Lead in the Strategy department within Finance,” Melanie says.

Taking advantage of employee benefits

One impactful learning program she participated in was the Fannie Mae University “Lean into Your Learning” challenge in 2021. The program challenged participants to create a “spark journal,” note what piqued their curiosity, and lean into learning more about it. 

That really hit home for Melanie. “I wanted to continue my education, and this led me to pursue my master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology. I used the Assistance for Collegiate Education benefit, which provides eligible employees up to $10,000 a year for educational expenses.” With the support of her team, she also pursued a Project Management Professional certification, which requires ongoing education.

Using online training for continuous learning

Moving forward, Melanie says she tries to engage in continuous learning through resources like LinkedIn Learning, email newsletters on best practices and emerging trends, industry conferences, books from the Libby app, and networking at divisional or firm-wide events.

“Continuous learning inspired me to take on more responsibilities and projects while making deeper connections with members from different teams.”

Getting support from your manager

Fannie Mae’s work culture is grounded in creating a safe environment where we can have open discussions with our managers about our goals. During performance discussions, Melanie says she shared her interest in career advancement and mobility. She recalls, “My manager was very supportive and provided advice to help me take steps toward that goal.”

At Fannie Mae, we aren’t just working for a department — we are working toward a mission that connects us all: enabling access to long-term homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing across America. We all play a part in this mission no matter what department we join.

Keep leveraging opportunities for growth

Newton may have contributed to some of the most complex theories of our time, but his Law of Inertia is quite simple: If you move, you’ll keep moving. By leveraging opportunities like career mobility and embracing a mindset of continuous learning, you might discover your next step for growth at the company where you already work. 

Melanie advises:

“Don’t get comfortable — I encourage everyone to take a leap, invest in your development, and stay in motion.”

Inspired to make a career move and be able to keep growing once you do? We’d love to meet you. Check out Fannie Mae’s open roles today.