Live in the moment

Advice from crew, Diversity & inclusion all

VetsConnect celebrates Memorial Day

Reduce the effects of social distancing by reinforcing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Culture, Diversity & inclusion, In the community all

Navigating a complicated home life

Vanguard celebrates MLK and Black History Month through service

In the U.S., crew members celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, legacy, and commitment to volunteerism by participating in community projects and activities throughout the winter. As Black History Month comes to an end, we have asked crew in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Arizona to reflect and share their personal experiences attending Martin Luther King, Jr. Days of Service events. Here’s what they had to say:

For as long as I can remember, receiving quality education has been a priority in my household. I spent countless hours at my parents’ dining room table working on homework. Even now, my mom regularly tries to convince my 4-year-old son to work on spelling games at the same table. I feel very fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to work with the West Philadelphia Action for Early Learning (AFEL) to help instill this imperative into the children of that community. The organization has two main goals: kindergarten readiness and reading on grade level by the third grade. My colleagues and I were able to support these goals by preparing resource bags for use in classrooms and reading to some of the children from local schools. Beyond the crew that were able to attend, crew from across Vanguard donated over 250 books to help children build their home libraries.

The specific group that supported AFEL is the Vanguard Black Professional Network (VBPN), which is committed to increasing engagement of black crew members and supporting the increased representation of black crew in leadership positions. Having the opportunity to serve with aligned crew in a community that may produce the future of Vanguard leadership was truly a humbling experience.

— Josh C.

VBPN sponsored two MLK Days of Service events in North Carolina at Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and Classroom Central. Second Harvest is responsible for supplying food throughout a 19-county region of North and South Carolina through a network of over 700 emergency pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and programs for low-income children and seniors. Crew members took time out of their Saturday to help inspect and sort donated food items for distribution to those partner agencies. Classroom Central equips students in need by collecting and distributing free school supplies to their teachers. Eleven Vanguard crew members assisted the organization by die cutting shapes and organizing the overflow of school supplies in the warehouse.

— Ebony B. and Sabrina B.

As a North Caroline VBPN site lead, giving back is extremely important to me. It’s such a rewarding and humbling experience. I’ve been with Vanguard for 21 years and our commitment to our community has never wavered. It is an amazing differentiator, and providing Days of Service so crew can work together to help others is so empowering. As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month, this resonates with me even more. His commitment to service and helping others was powerful and a major driver in the movement. To be able to not only serve, but honor him and his sacrifice, is humbling. To me, this is what our purpose is about; loving and helping others, and extending your hand to pull others up. That is what service is really about.

— Kenya H.

I am a helper by nature and have enjoyed volunteering for many organizations and causes since childhood. I recently had the opportunity to coordinate an MLK Days of Service volunteer event on behalf of VBPN at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). FMSC is a non-profit organization that assists in providing rice, soy, dried vegetables, and vitamins and minerals to needy children locally and internationally. Through donations and the efforts of volunteers, FMSC is able to ensure the food is packaged and expedited to hungry kids. On the day of our volunteer event, I was immediately impressed with the FMSC staff. We were warmly greeted and provided with instructions to prepare us for the day.

I appreciated that the FMSC staff emphasized a hygienic environment to ensure the children were not exposed to germs, and we watched a video that included detailed instructions for each food prep station. The staff kept the event light by teaching us fun chants to say when each prep station was able to completely fill a box with food packages. The staff shared with the volunteers that it costs $88.00 to feed one needy child, ALL year! As a parent of two teenagers, that resonated with me. On average, it costs my family more than $88.00 per week in meals. During our volunteer session, we were able to fill 192 boxes with food packages, which will feed 113 children in Thailand and provide 41,472 meals!

When I volunteer, I feel that I benefit from the experience in so many ways. I get to share in the experience with fellow crew and members in our community that also volunteer their time. Volunteering helps me appreciate how fortunate we are and reminds me that by simply providing our time, we are making an impact. A thank you note I once received after donating my time included an impactful quote that sums up my volunteer journey:

“Help one another. There’s no time like the present
and no present like your time.” —James Durst

— Veronica A.

More career blogs you may have missed

#LifeAtVanguard

Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

Managing it all while working from home

Career opportunities, Culture, Day in the Life Specialized Leader

VetsConnect celebrates Memorial Day

Advice from crew, Culture

Three steps for breaking the mold

Advice from crew, Culture all

Expanding my network shrunk my world

Crew benefits, Culture all

Vanguard's ShipShape trainers help crew cope at home

A look at Internal Sales in the Financial Advisor Services division

Vanguard Orion Client Center seating area

Culture, Our mission all

How Vanguard prepares for the unexpected

Culture all

What people say when I tell them I work at Vanguard

Culture, Our mission, Voyage to Vanguard all

Diverse perspectives in Vanguard's Investment Management Group

Culture, Diversity & inclusion, In the community all

Vanguard celebrates MLK and Black History Month through service

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Culture, Training & education all

Make feedback expected, so it’s accepted

Accolades & Recognition, Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

Vanguard shines as a top employer

Vanguard crew share 2020 resolutions

Our most popular blog posts from 2019

It's always better to give than to receive

Vanguard crew share 2020 resolutions

January 9, 2020/in Culture, In the community all 2020, college, community outreach, community outreach team, crew, high school, learn, organization, outreach team, plan, present, relationships, resolution, students, team, technology, vanguard, women, work, working relationships /by ldoyle

Vanguard crew share 2020 resolutions

A brand new year is here and we asked Vanguard crew across the organization how they plan to make it count. Read as they share their 2020 aspirations:

Live in the moment

Carrie H.—My goal is to take less notes in meetings. I will aim to be more present, make better eye contact, and only jot down action items to ensure I never drop a ball. This idea came from some recent presentations by Mel Robbins, who encourages women to have a confident and present presence at any table at which we sit.

Kristin T.—My professional and personal resolution is to take more breaks, including breaks from screens. I am most thoughtful, creative, and innovative when I can clear my mind, get outside, and step away from my normal routine. Easier said than done when you work in social media (which is always on), but I hope to make it a priority in 2020.

Expand impact in local communities

Linda T.—I am a member of the Community Outreach Team for Vanguard’s Information Technology Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success (IT WILS), which has organized or sponsored 50 STEM events in the last five years that impacted over 10,000 students ranging from kindergarten to college. Our efforts include supporting, sponsoring and/or hosting Hour of Code in elementary schools, Girls Exploring Tomorrow’s Technology (GETT) for 1,000 middle and high school girls, Techies Day for high school students, as well as college hackathons.

In 2020, I will be representing the IT WILS Community Outreach Team by mentoring the Women in Computer Science club at a local college. Through this experience, I will work with the students to co-host a coding workshop with non-profit organization, TechGirlz. Additionally, I recently volunteered to support the Women in Tech Summit conference in Philadelphia for college and female IT professionals. We need to build the pipeline of future crew by encouraging them to pursue careers in technology. The children are our future!

Strengthen working relationships

Tara T.—My resolution is to go back to doing something I used to prioritize. I plan to set up regular check-ins with business partners to learn more about what their goals are for the year. We often meet only to move a project forward, but by sitting down to learn more about their passions, career goals, and personal lives, we establish meaningful working relationships. These relationships always tend to have the best business results for me, and more importantly, give me the opportunity to get to know my coworkers better.

Laura B.—This year I am going to make an effort to learn more about the individual skills of others on my team. Even if I do not become a technical expert in what they do, I will better understand how much time and effort is involved in their daily work, and I will be able to assist when needed.

If your resolution is to find a more fulfilling career, explore opportunities with Vanguard.

Inspired? Make your career count—search our opportunities.

Our most popular blog posts from 2019

December 18, 2019/in Accolades & Recognition, Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Client services, Crew benefits, Culture, Day in the Life, Diversity & inclusion, In the community, Our mission, Training & education, Voyage to Vanguard all 12, advisors, career, college, experienced, experienced professionals, family, finance, financial, financial advisors, interview, investment, life, new leader, personal, personal life, professionals, share, time, vanguard /by ldoyle

Our most popular blog posts from 2019

The end of the year is often a time to reflect on all that’s been accomplished in the last twelve months. We pulled together the top four career stories from 2019. Whether it’s your first read or you’re revisiting a favorite, we hope you enjoy!

12 Vanguard interview tips for experienced professionals

We sat down with five Vanguard recruiters to hear how they coach candidates through the interview process. In this blog, we share 12 ways that experienced professionals can prepare for a Vanguard interview—whether in person or over the phone.

When working in finance isn’t always for finance majors

Annsley opens up about her voyage to Vanguard after college. “To say I was hesitant to join the finance industry is an understatement. Much of my college education was focused on classes like organic chemistry and biomechanics. But my friend assured me that my passion to help people live a better life directly aligned with Vanguard’s mission. With his support along with my family, I took a giant leap of faith, and I couldn’t be happier that I did.”

What a career as a financial advisor looks like at Vanguard

Vanguard’s financial advisors are using time-proven investment methodology to offer investment solutions that lead our clients confidently toward their business or personal financial goals. In this series, our financial advisors share their personal experiences in pursuing a career in this field and the impact they’ve had in driving successful investment results for clients.

Family comes first

Kristen shares a personal story about how Vanguard allowed her to focus on family during a difficult time. “While my personal life was turned on its head, a new leader was assigned to my team. I was experiencing changes both at Vanguard and in my personal life. My first one-on-one was conducted through video conference from my parent’s house. It was during that conversation I finally said the words out loud…my mom had cancer. Not knowing how my new leader would respond, I waited. He took a moment and said, “Family comes first,” a concept I heard Vanguard was known for but never experienced firsthand.”

More career blogs you may have missed

#LifeAtVanguard

Career opportunities, Day in the Life

What a career on our Client Experience and Digital team looks like

Culture, Diversity & inclusion

Managing it all while working from home with small children

Career opportunities, Diversity & inclusion

Personal Advisor Services establishes essential partnerships with Vanguard’s Crew Resource Groups

Featured Image. Devon on her phone by the window.

Career opportunities, Day in the Life

Reflections of an Oversight and Manager Search Analyst

Culture, Diversity & inclusion

A voyage of discovery

Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

Managing it all while working from home

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Voyage to Vanguard all

VetsConnect celebrates Memorial Day

Advice from crew, Culture

Three steps for breaking the mold

Training & education all

Prioritizing professional development

Advice from crew, Culture all

Expanding my network shrunk my world

Crew benefits, Culture all

Vanguard's ShipShape trainers help crew cope at home

Onboarding into a new job in uncertain times

Advice from crew, Diversity & inclusion all

Reduce the effects of social distancing by reinforcing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Woman consults her phone after reading newspaper

Advice from crew, Career opportunities all

How to prepare for a virtual interview

Day in the Life all

A week in the life of a newly remote worker: Part two

It’s always better to give than to receive

In this blog, Amy G., a chief of staff, shares why the Giving Season is important to her. During Vanguard’s Giving Season, crew members around the world join together to help brighten the lives of children, seniors, and families through a variety of activities including raising funds and purchasing toys, books, clothing, and necessities. The Giving Season is one of Vanguard’s many Community Stewardship programs through which crew donate their time, talent, and treasure to help communities have the best chance for success.

Early roots

Ever since I could remember, my parents consistently instilled in my siblings and me the belief that “it’s always better to give than to receive.” One way my parents demonstrated this belief was to participate in a variety of community service events throughout the course of year. When I think back to those events, my mind is instantly flooded with positive memories, and many stemmed from our annual participation in a sponsor-a-child program. I vividly recall as a young child walking up to the Christmas tree at my family’s church to select a “wish kid,” typically a young girl close to my age, for whom I could help ensure her holiday was just as joyous as my own.

Branching out to Vanguard

In 2011, prior to receiving my undergraduate degree and launching into the professional world, I searched determinedly for an employer who was both well regarded in the financial services industry and also demonstrated a strong sense of commitment to community service—a trait central to my own personal values. Luckily, I did not have to look far from the Philadelphia region to find Vanguard, a company with many community stewardship programs that were positively impacting their local communities. One program in particular caught my eye, given the close significance to my childhood memories: Vanguard’s Giving Season.

Seeding more Santa helpers

Fast forward to 2019, I share with enthusiasm that I have participated in the Giving Season at Vanguard each of the last eight years, and that I have been joined by my members of my soccer team. Outside of Vanguard, you can find me on countless soccer fields as a female youth soccer coach for a local Philadelphia club. While I don’t have a specific number of games or tournaments I set out to win, I do have one very specific goal—positively impact as many young girls in the surrounding Philadelphia area, both on and off the field, as possible. I feel that it is my unspoken duty to use my personal experiences and leadership skills as a platform to help influence the lives of my players. I want to make my players better people, not just better athletes.

During each Giving Season, I volunteer my time by signing up to shop for 20 kids who have been sponsored by Vanguard crew, and each of my players has her own child to shop for. My team and I will venture to the local Target and begin a shopping frenzy. I’d describe it as organized chaos, but thankfully I have a group of soccer moms who assist in the process! Overall, my team has an absolute blast while learning the same lesson my parents taught me—“it’s always better to give than to receive.” The best part? When they begin asking if our team will be shopping for children in need again next year.

More career blogs you may have missed

#LifeAtVanguard

Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

Managing it all while working from home

Career opportunities, Culture, Day in the Life Specialized Leader

VetsConnect celebrates Memorial Day

Advice from crew, Culture

Three steps for breaking the mold

Advice from crew, Culture all

Expanding my network shrunk my world

Crew benefits, Culture all

Vanguard's ShipShape trainers help crew cope at home

A look at Internal Sales in the Financial Advisor Services division

Culture, Our mission all

How Vanguard prepares for the unexpected

Culture all

What people say when I tell them I work at Vanguard

Culture, Our mission, Voyage to Vanguard all

Diverse perspectives in Vanguard's Investment Management Group

Culture, Diversity & inclusion, In the community all

Vanguard celebrates MLK and Black History Month through service

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Culture, Training & education all

Make feedback expected, so it’s accepted

Accolades & Recognition, Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

Vanguard shines as a top employer

Vanguard crew share 2020 resolutions

Our most popular blog posts from 2019

Why you should raise your hand for that volunteer opportunity at work

It's always better to give than to receive

Making a difference across multiple regions

Vanguard believes that being a global leader also means being a local leader. Through volunteer Investment Committees, The Vanguard Group Foundation is making grants in the regions around the world that we call home. The Vanguard Gives Back Hometown Grants Program is charged with funding pressing, local human services needs and working with nonprofit partners that contribute to the vibrancy of the community. The program is fueled by crew volunteers who commit two years of service dedicated to learning about the nonprofit sector, philanthropy, and the local community landscape.

In this blog, we asked three Vanguard leaders to write about their experiences in serving as site leads for the Hometown Grants Program. The combined efforts of these leaders and their teams have placed $2.3 million into local organizations over their two-year commitment. Here is what Amanda M. from Arizona, Ed F. from North Carolina, and Steve H. from Pennsylvania, had to say:

Vanguard has long had a culture around community that you are no stranger to, what drew you into this particular opportunity with Hometown Grants?

Ed: Hometown Grants enabled me to take my passion for impacting our local community to a much deeper, grass-roots level. Having previously been involved in Vanguard Gives Back initiatives in Charlotte, including leading our workplace giving campaign and our volunteer efforts, Hometown Grants provided an opportunity to start-up a hyper-local focused program from scratch, which is pretty cool. While we were provided with some loose guardrails and guidelines, we were also given a significant amount of autonomy to figure out the best strategy that would have meaningful impact in the Charlotte community.

Steve: In 2012, I had the honor of serving as the lead for the crew fall charitable giving campaign. Not only did that experience tap into my longstanding passion for service, it opened my eyes to the incredible impact Vanguard can have in the community. I was very excited about the Hometown Grants program because it was yet another way to harness the energy and passion of Vanguard crew to make a meaningful difference in our communities, but I was also intrigued by the entrepreneurial nature of this new venture.

What skills have you developed through your participation in this initiative and how have you applied these skills both inside and outside of the office?

Amanda: Debating which organization to fund can be a sensitive and emotional topic. My peers and I all have preferences on which charitable cause is the most important and those often differ from the priorities of others. Plus, when you find so many organizations doing great work, it can be hard to reduce the list to a manageable few. Learning how to listen with empathy and understanding was critical to ensure each team member was heard and team health remained strong. Outside of work, it has given me a platform to talk to my kids about philanthropy. Now, when we debrief our day at the dinner table, I am talking to them about organizations I went to visit or work that is being done in the community. It’s been rewarding to talk to them about the importance of giving back and about some of the neat initiatives that are happening in our neighborhood.

Ed: Most importantly, I gained a deeper understanding of the Charlotte community and the critical issues our city is facing. Upward mobility remains a challenge even as Charlotte continues to have one of the highest rates of highly educated new residents moving to our city. I have met and learned from some very influential non-profit partners who provide critical services in our community often with few resources or limited budgets. I am looking forward to continuing my work post-Hometown Grants, whether it be through volunteerism or board involvement. Hometown Grants also enabled me to hone my leadership and finance skills as we have conducted research, reviewed non-profit financials and tax-filings, and conducted on-site visits to select the non-profit agencies we partner with.

What has been the biggest takeaway in serving as a site lead for the program?

Amanda: There is always a need for more work to be done in the community than there are hours in the day to support or dollars to fund. It is not hard to find an important cause that will improve our community. The hard part is prioritizing which organizations to focus on. It took a lot of time to research, really get to know these teams and the impact they are trying to make. Then ultimately determining where we could have the biggest impact. And there is no “right” answer. It is only part science, the rest is art.

Steve: In the past two years, the work of the Hometown Grants team exposed us to countless organizations that are making an incredible difference in communities. There are so many worthy, effective, innovative charitable organizations out there doing great work, we could have funded many more groups than we were able to. But I believe our team did a tremendous job of honing in on the key organizations that both had amazing impact and could best benefit from the dollars we had. The most rewarding parts of the job were when we heard the profound gratitude from these groups for our contributions, and the excitement they expressed about how they were going to put the money to work. You feel the very tangible benefit of all the hard work the committee put in.

More careers blogs about Vanguard in the community

Serving in both my day job and night job

It’s the season of giving at Vanguard

More career blogs you may have missed

#LifeAtVanguard

Advice from crew, Diversity & inclusion all

VetsConnect celebrates Memorial Day

Reduce the effects of social distancing by reinforcing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Culture, Our mission all

How Vanguard prepares for the unexpected

Culture, Our mission, Voyage to Vanguard all

Diverse perspectives in Vanguard's Investment Management Group

Culture, Diversity & inclusion, In the community all

Vanguard celebrates MLK and Black History Month through service

Accolades & Recognition, Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

Vanguard shines as a top employer

Advice from crew, Diversity & inclusion, Our mission all

The Future of Work

Vanguard crew share 2020 resolutions

Our most popular blog posts from 2019

Diversity & inclusion, Training & education Entry-Level Phones, executive, Financial Advisors, Investment Consultant, Mid-level specialist, Specialized Leader, Technology, Vanguard Specialty Programs

It's always better to give than to receive

Vanguard invests in you

Vanguard's mission statement featured on lobby wall

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Our mission

Transforming the world of advice

Diversity & inclusion, In the community, Our mission

Making a difference across multiple regions

Crew benefits, Diversity & inclusion

Vanguard’s support in my family’s adoption experience

Culture, Diversity & inclusion

Engaging, honest conversations foster positive results

Vanguard Strong Start for Kids Giving Program

From preschool teacher to program officer

June 19, 2019/in Day in the Life, In the community /by manjunath

From preschool teacher to program officer

“Vanguard?! You mean the company that manages my retirement savings?” This is the usual response I hear when I tell people where I work now. I have to admit, starting my career as a preschool teacher and social worker seems like a long way from being a crew member at Vanguard. However it’s exactly the base of knowledge and skills I need to serve in my current role as a Program Officer, co-leading the Vanguard Strong Start for Kids™ grant making portfolio.

Vanguard Strong Start for Kids Giving Program

Where I Started

It was 1996, and I was entering the fall semester of my junior year in college. I’d spent the summer before as a camp counselor at a local child care center in my hometown, and I was just entering my major in early childhood education. I’d gotten a job as a preschool assistant teacher at a child care center not far from my college campus, and I LOVED it. I loved working with the lead teacher to plan lessons that used play as a learning tool, working with families to understand their child’s progress and development, and using what I was learning in my teacher training program to guide how I interacted with the children in my care. I didn’t know then, but those first days in that classroom would set the foundation for my professional career across multiple settings.

After graduating and teaching pre-kindergarten for a while, I moved into one-on-one case management helping low-income families’ access public dollars for child care. From there, I spent several years working at child advocacy organizations helping to shape public policies that benefitted young children and families at the state and federal level. While not exactly the same as a teacher-student relationship, these positions continued to build the foundation of understanding that’s needed to steward philanthropic dollars into the early learning sector.

Vanguard Strong Start for Kids Giving Program

Vanguard Strong Start for Kids Program

While it seems like my experiences might be far from the core business of Vanguard, they’re actually quite similar. Vanguard’s crew are charged with acting as stewards of our clients’ hopes and dreams through smart, sensible, and aligned investment management. And we also are encouraged to be stewards within our communities, so it made sense that the signature crew and corporate philanthropic program would employ Vanguard’s long-held strategy: investing early pays off later. The Strong Start for Kids mission is to boost kindergarten-readiness for low income young children, primarily within Philadelphia, PA, Charlotte, NC, and Phoenix, AZ (our biggest U.S. sites). Empirical evidence shows that investing in high-quality programs for young children and families in the 0-5 years is necessary for developing educated, healthy, productive citizens that thrive in a global economy.

Equally as important as a long-term societal benefit is the fact that high quality early learning opportunities change the trajectory of individual lives and families. I have seen the impact of high-quality opportunities as an early learning professional and I also see it every day as the parent of two young daughters. Children develop the foundation of their cognitive abilities and character during their first five years. Their brains are literally being built by all of the experiences happening in their lives – good or bad! Nurturing relationships that make children feel safe and loved, while enabling them to experience the world around them, builds stronger brains. By supporting organizations and projects that enhance parent/caregiver skills, improve learning opportunities outside of homes, and coordinate services so that families have easier access, the Strong Start for Kids program works to help young children build the foundation for learning they need to thrive.

Vanguard Strong Start for Kids Giving Program

I always knew that my life’s calling had to do with educating, empowering, and uplifting young children and their families. I didn’t know that calling would play out like it has and, ultimately, lead me to Vanguard. I’m lucky to work at an organization where my passion for building community aligns with company values.

-Rashanda P.

More career blogs you may have missed

#LifeAtVanguard

It's always better to give than to receive

Diversity & inclusion, In the community, Our mission

Making a difference across multiple regions

Day in the Life, In the community

From preschool teacher to program officer

Why you should raise your hand for that volunteer opportunity at work

Advice from crew, Culture, In the community

Serving in both my day job and night job

Crew benefits, Culture, In the community

It’s the season of giving at Vanguard

Vanguard careers support, Rod M portrait

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Crew benefits, Culture, In the community, Training & education

Finding the support I needed at Vanguard

What is a VTO day?

From Gardening to Taxes: My Volunteer Journey

3 things they said I’d never find in a company culture

National Girl Scout Day: Inspiring and empowering the next generation

The Power of Rice

In the community, Our mission

Roll up a sleeve, save a life

Meet a leader, be a leader: Inspiring and empowering the next generation

Culture, Day in the Life, In the community

Building financial literacy through My Classroom Economy

Why you should raise your hand for that volunteer opportunity at work

When I first started looking for internships during undergrad, candidly, I was not excited by anything out there. All the business opportunities looked painfully similar. Stay with me, this is a happy story. What caught my eye during research for job fairs were the firms that heavily demonstrated their commitment to community. While it is pretty common nowadays to champion community involvement, what is less common is sincere passion backing those snapshots of community events.

Nearly every time I spoke with a representative of a company, I heard the same message: ‘Community service is great! We have one event each year that we rally behind and blast on social media. Other than that, not much else goes on.’ Disappointing… that is until I stumbled upon Vanguard’s My Classroom Economy, which is a program that enables educators to teach children financial responsibility through experiential learning.

From the multiple interviews to the first day of my internship at Vanguard, everyone I asked about My Classroom Economy indicated it was an ongoing, substantial operation: a mini-business within the business. Comprised of project teams, ambassador roles, as well as leaders for the work streams, this organization was solving a problem known all too well among my generation: a lack of financial literacy. Throughout college, in casual conversations or classroom debate, I heard the common lamentation from my peers: Why were we taught about geometric shapes but never received any sort of training/instruction on critical financial concepts, such as budgeting? Even social media comically points out the irony in a lack of ‘parallelogram season’ and searing reality of tax season. My Classroom Economy is not only fighting for an admirable cause, but also offers many opportunities to build leadership, project management, and relationship-building skills. I wanted in!

Fast forward through my senior year of college, my first full year of employment with Vanguard, and to steadily increasing my involvement with My Classroom Economy. Today, I serve as Project Manager for two expansions of the program, My Home and My Group Economy. My role in My Classroom Economy has helped me just as much as it’s helped our community.

If at any point while reading this, you were reminded of a time your interest was sparked in your workplace by a non-direct-job experience (i.e. something you are not compensated for) and you’re wondering if it is worth pursuing, here are reasons to raise your hand for that activity:

Validation in impactful work

Sometimes the most rewarding jobs are the ones you do not because you are being compensated but because you care. When you care about something you feel good contributing your time and energy to it. And thankfully, your professional development has helped you build upon valuable skills, which in the end, feels validating when you’re tapping into them for an altruistic cause.

Skill-building for future compensatory experiences & safe space to fail

Flipping what I just said on its head, while you have a ton of valuable skills to offer, you may not always accurately assess your utility. We are biased creatures and while you may think a job is perfect for you, volunteerism is a way to test out your interests and skills before jumping into a long-term role. Volunteerism offers exposure to skills and situations that teach you what you can do versus what you can do well. Capitalize on the chance to try ideas and challenge yourself in a safe space.

Cross-functional teamwork

Working with individuals from various disciplines is critical to the workplace of today. In a volunteer network, you can work regularly with individuals in roles from client-facing to IT development. Building relationships through cross-functional teamwork is beneficial to build your network and a fun way to learn about what other people do. It’s a way to research other types of roles within your company and can offer a ton of insight you would not otherwise have access to.

Bottom line: If you find something you are passionate about, have fun while getting invaluable experience for your long-term career. Stop sitting on your hands – raise them instead.

#LifeAtVanguard

It's always better to give than to receive

Diversity & inclusion, In the community, Our mission

Making a difference across multiple regions

Day in the Life, In the community

From preschool teacher to program officer

Why you should raise your hand for that volunteer opportunity at work

Advice from crew, Culture, In the community

Serving in both my day job and night job

Crew benefits, Culture, In the community

It’s the season of giving at Vanguard

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Crew benefits, Culture, In the community, Training & education

Finding the support I needed at Vanguard

What is a VTO day?

From Gardening to Taxes: My Volunteer Journey

3 things they said I’d never find in a company culture

National Girl Scout Day: Inspiring and empowering the next generation

The Power of Rice

In the community, Our mission

Roll up a sleeve, save a life

Meet a leader, be a leader: Inspiring and empowering the next generation

Culture, Day in the Life, In the community

Building financial literacy through My Classroom Economy

Interested in our Advice career opportunities? Start your search here.

Serving in both my day job and night job

January 10, 2019/in Advice from crew, Culture, In the community career, career path, clients, college, family, financial, financial literacy, financial responsibility, job, job serving, lead a team, members, night, night job, night jobs, program, proud to represent, team, vanguard, working /by fdoerr

Serving in both my day job and night job

I come from a service-oriented family. From teachers and nurses to law enforcement and the military, my parents, grandparents, siblings, and even in-laws have all fields covered. So you can imagine how much of an oddball I was when I decided to pursue a career in finance after really enjoying my business classes in college. I had a personal dilemma of feeling like I needed to choose a career path that either put me or put others first. I graduated college in the midst of the global financial crisis, during which the reputation for most firms in the industry was at an all-time low. I pictured my future self sitting at a family dinner and talking about my day working with investments, and then hearing about family members saving lives or risking theirs for complete strangers. Talk about humbling.

Doing well while doing good

In researching companies with whom I wanted to work, Vanguard rose to the top after I spoke with a few crew members through mutual college friends. The biggest thing that struck me was the way they spoke about helping investors, genuinely putting others first, and the client and community-centered culture. I had a flashback to interviewing for another financial services firm where I was asked how many wealthy people I knew so that I could begin selling them products (Answer: Not many, and no thank you). At Vanguard, there seemed to be an opportunity to mix both ‘doing well’ in building a great career and ‘doing good’ for others through service.

My ‘day job’: Serving our clients

Fast forward eight years and Vanguard has given me the opportunity to help serve in both my ‘day’ and ‘night’ jobs. In my ‘day job’, I lead a team of investment analysts in our Personal Advisor Services group, where my team is responsible for building out the methodology used to construct and manage our clients’ portfolios. Each day, we work to solve complex issues that will ultimately impact our clients’ ability to reach their financial goals. Knowing what is riding on our success is a terrific motivating factor and our entire team is focused on the collective goal of doing the right thing for our clients.

I also get to see Vanguard’s financial advisors helping clients that need it most: those that don’t have the time, willingness, or ability to manage their money. I get to hear real stories about our crew making a difference in people’s lives by helping them achieve a goal or giving them peace of mind in volatile markets.

My ‘night job’: Serving the community

In my ‘night job’, I am a member of the leadership team for My Classroom Economy, a completely free financial literacy program that enables educators to teach children financial responsibility. The program was developed by an incredible group of volunteers, many of whom were educators prior to working at Vanguard, and has reached over 800,000 students. I lead a team focused on building partnerships at the state and federal level, and pushing for district, county, and state-wide adoption of financial responsibility programs. Our ultimate goal is to ensure children receive the basic financial responsibility education they need, as having this skill has been proven to play such an important role in their lives.

Earlier this year, two peers and I went to Washington D.C. to meet with staff members in the Treasury Department, House, and Senate, in an effort to promote the importance of teaching financial literacy at an early age. We were frequently asked how much the program costs and, after saying it is 100% free, are asked “What’s in it for Vanguard, then?” The truth is that the program is powered completely by Vanguard volunteers, each and every one of us are driven to serve and make a positive difference in the community for no other reason than that it is the right thing to do.

If you’re currently seeking a job or choosing a career path, my advice would be don’t compromise on what is most important to you (your ‘non-negotiables’) and find a company you would be proud to represent. Doing this requires that you take the time to reflect on what you won’t compromise and do your due diligence to learn about the culture at prospective employers. My non-negotiables were working for an organization with a service mindset and for which there would be no conflict of interest between our success and our client’s success. I’m incredibly proud to represent Vanguard in both my ‘day’ and ‘night’ jobs, and I now have great stories to tell at the dinner table!

-Nick L.

More blogs you might enjoy

#LifeAtVanguard

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Our mission

Transforming the world of advice

Career opportunities, Voyage to Vanguard

Meeting Vanguard at the Grace Hopper conference

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Day in the Life

Kicking off my Vanguard career in Client Services

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Crew benefits, Culture, Day in the Life, Our mission

That company down the street that doesn’t give advice? Think again.

Advice from crew, Day in the Life

What a career as a financial advisor looks like at Vanguard

Advice from crew, Culture, In the community

Serving in both my day job and night job

Advice from crew, Career opportunities

Why I value Vanguard’s reputation and investment approach as an advisor

Advice from crew, Voyage to Vanguard

3 tips from my midlife start at Vanguard

CFP Personal Financial Advisor licensing study

Advice from crew, Training & education

Studying for the CFP® exam? Don’t run out of gas

Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Crew benefits, Culture

Redefining success at Vanguard

Career opportunities, Training & education, Voyage to Vanguard

From designing buildings to building financial plans

Career opportunities, Training & education, Voyage to Vanguard

The brain of an engineer, the heart of an advisor

Advice from crew, Career opportunities

One company, multiple careers

Culture, Our mission

My family motto brought me to Vanguard

Voyage to Vanguard

It’s the end of the day as I know it – and I feel fine