From Working in Theater to Discovering Her Passion and Creativity at Equifax

“I love folks who have known since they were 5 what they wanted to be when they ‘grow up’ but that wasn’t me. I knew I wanted to do something creative, and something that connected with people, but other than that, I certainly didn’t know I was going to lead a function like Digital.” - Maria Hayes

With a background in theater, when Maria Hayes initially joined Equifax, she thought it would be just a temporary day job.  As she became further immersed in her journey at Equifax, she discovered she was passionate about helping customers solve their problems through her own unique creative lens. 

Maria’s job started in Operations which has led her to her position now in User Experience and Digital. She was able to explore multiple positions that allowed her to find out what she loved to do and has had supportive leadership along the way.

“I’ve always had managers that are really open to talking about what my next career move would be. 

I went from managing front line operations, to managing customer feedback on a product, to managing an entire product line, to managing our UX and CX teams to now managing our end to end Digital experience team. The thread throughout it all has been working with customers to develop great solutions, and I discovered that passion through working at Equifax.”

How has your non-traditional career path led you to your career now?

I think being open to new experiences and taking calculated risks has allowed me to grow. I think the great thing about Equifax is they encourage and support those risks, so people can experience new opportunities within the organization. 

How do you think Equifax invests in their employees? 

Equifax really thinks about the ways you can help employees grow and tries to make sure you get the right type of development, because it can’t all be training. 

As an example, when I first started talking to my first manager about being interested in technology and customer experience, they found ways to involve me in projects that touched that space. After I had that exposure to that type of work, I was given the opportunity to take some formal training to help develop and hone those skills. 

Additionally, I’ve had some great mentors within the company that have provided me with active coaching around my blindspots and weaknesses, which has helped me to round out my skills. 

Learn more about available opportunities at Equifax.