Honest Advice for Career Growth with Equifax CTO

My goal as a leader is not just to make the company successful and to deliver on our targets. I actually get the most amount of pride in my seat from watching other people grow and develop and become the best version of themselves.

At Equifax, our teams are relentless in driving innovation for the greater good, which in turn creates endless opportunities for learning and career growth. Career pathing can take some unique twists and turns, whether it’s transitioning across different industries, acquiring new skills, or taking on unforeseen roles. This all proved true with Jamil Farshchi, who, during his time at Equifax, went from being Chief Information Security Officer to Chief Technology Officer.

We sat down with Jamil and had a candid conversation about what it takes to succeed in your career, why one should consider a career with Equifax, and more!

Starting with a quick icebreaker, we learned a bit about who Jamil is outside of his role at Equifax.

What motivates and energizes you? How do you set yourself up for the day? 

I get up early. And I do get coffee, but what really wakes me up and gets me going is working out. I work out every morning. Whether it’s a run, swim, or whatever, it helps. I think one of the keys to success is having meaningful discipline in your life, and pushing through the stuff that you don’t want to do. Not every morning do I think “Oh, I can’t wait to wake up early and go work out.” But once I’m finished, I feel fantastic. So that’s my routine.

What do you do for fun or to relax?

I play video games. I’m a gamer — I have been since I was little. In fact, gaming is what got me into computers in the first place. When I was in second grade, I got my first-ever computer and I put it all together. I taught myself how to code. In middle school, I coded up a game called Frogger, submitted it as my science fair project, and won! A lot has come from my admiration of games. I wanted to become a game developer when I got older. But then I got into Security and the hacking side, and it was a lot cooler. So I deviated in that direction. 

Following the icebreaker questions, we then dug deeper into a discussion around career growth and what it’s like working at Equifax.

What are your top career tips and advice for those who are looking to advance and grow?

1. Be intentional in your career.

You have to know what that North Star is and what you’re striving for. Every year, we have an intern cohort and a rotational development program cohort, and one of the questions I ask them is “Where do you see yourself in the next 3, 5, 10 years?” 

And the reason I ask is not because I’m expecting some phenomenal response, but because there are a ton of opportunities out there. To some degree you want to explore and find your fit, but at some point you want to determine what role you’re aiming for. And then you architect your career to try and follow that path. There are no shortcuts. 

2. The most tried and true way to succeed in your career is to grind it out, to have discipline, and to push yourself and execute with intentionality.

That’s the kind of dedication we look to match. At Equifax, we believe the grass is greener where you water it, which is why we’re committed to relentlessly upskilling our teams. We arm them with continuous training on emerging tech, plus opportunities for key certifications. And we develop leaders.

When it comes to your enablement strategy, how do you turn teams into a growth engine?

If you really want to push the envelope, and if you really want to drive change to be the best at what you do in any discipline, I think you’ve got to be willing to take risks. To take on challenges, you’ve got to be able to lean in and do something different. 

Our journey since 2018 exemplifies this. Our ~$3 billion Equifax Cloud global technology transformation has changed nearly every facet of our infrastructure — it’s one of the largest Cloud initiatives ever undertaken in the industry. 

That single bet on technology and data became the engine for our business. It unlocked growth, made us more agile, and tore down the old silos that stifled innovation.

How would you describe the culture and team dynamic at Equifax?

We’re highly collaborative. We are also not afraid to challenge norms and chart new paths to speed up innovation. And the results speak for themselves. We’ve collaborated with the Product team to launch over 100 new product innovations (NPIs) for the last five consecutive years. And more than 320 current and former employees have become inventors by submitting or receiving patents.

Learn more about Jamil’s career journey and what career pathing could look like at Equifax here.

Learn more about available opportunities at Equifax.