We recently sat down with Vanguard recruiters and asked them to share tips and best practices for interviews. In this segment of the Recruiter Q&A Series, Melissa Whitaker provides insights and advice for candidates interested in pursuing an opportunity as a Financial Advisor in our Personal Advisor Services group.

Tell me about yourself. How long have you been at Vanguard? What has your career journey looked like and what business area do you recruit for?

I have been a full-time crew member with Vanguard since August 2017, when my family relocated from New York to Pennsylvania. I have supported external talent attraction and hiring for Personal Advisor Services (PAS) since joining. In fact, my whole career has been within talent acquisition. I truly pride myself on finding not only the right technical fit, but the right cultural addition to our firm as well. I am proud of Vanguard for prioritizing diverse search efforts to promote inclusivity and build a diversified team of professionals.

More recently, I had the opportunity to speak about talent attraction to the PAS division through our Women in Leadership Series – it energizes me to share my passion with others. Vanguard has been a home where I can confidently stand behind our mission to service our clients, have true alignment to our ethics and values, and feel the investment Vanguard provides our crew members internally.

How do you recommend candidates prepare for an interview at Vanguard and for the Financial Advisor role?

CFP designated experienced advisors can best prepare by asking themselves what their top three must haves are in a new organization and job opportunity. Similar to buying a house, you are essentially prioritizing your non-negotiable requirements. Examples can be anything from company culture, work-life balance, growth opportunities, mission alignment, believing in our advice offering and client focus and more. Being able to share this with your recruiter will allow them to ensure that not only do you have what we are looking for in a candidate, but that Vanguard has what you are looking for as well. Our hope is that Vanguard is a place you can call home through retirement.

The primary means of communication with our clients in PAS is over the phone, so building a relationship with the interview team will help us to understand how that rapport would translate to our clients.

Responding to our behavioral based interview questions with how you would generally handle a situation or task is great but follow up by using real life examples. This is critical to show your resourcefulness, strategic thinking, and prioritization. My biggest bit of advice would be to have a couple specific questions prepared in advance, even if it is asking the interviewer about themselves or asking if there is anything you can clarify about your candidacy.

Why PAS at Vanguard?

The major differentiator in our PAS offering for advisors is their ability to focus on truly developing their craft of planning, while helping clients reach their financial goals. Our consultative approach allows our advisors to develop meaningful rapport and trust with our clients. Vanguard also requires the CFP designation for our advisors as part of our advice offering. In general, candidates should certainly have an alignment to Vanguard, but CFP advisors specifically should also have a good understanding and belief in the PAS offer.

What advice do you have for experienced candidates who are interested in a career change?

I most often get messages from candidates interested in reentering the workforce. I am passionate about and have been involved with major diversity initiative programs throughout my career, the most memorable being Return to Work programs for women and veterans. In fact, PAS launched a Return to Work Internship with great success. Even during the pandemic, we are committed to diversifying our search efforts through inclusivity. With that said, my advice is to continuously invest in yourself and your career – we foster a learning environment, so having an interest in sinking your teeth into a new challenge and being able to express doing that within Vanguard is key.

What additional resources can candidates reference to learn more about careers in this field at vanguard?

Watch the Vanguard Advisors Career Overview video and read our crew testimonials. Take it a step further and connect with advisors on LinkedIn or request an exploratory call to learn more prior to submitting a formal application. Our crew members are our best resource to advocate for our firm. What are you waiting for?

– Melissa Whitaker,
Personal Advisor Services Recruiter

Connect with me on LinkedIn