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How Vanguard helped me go back to school

I have always been the kid who loves school. I never balked at a summer reading list, and after about three weeks of summer break, I was ready to go back. Even while completing my undergraduate degree at James Madison University (Go Dukes!), I had a strong feeling that I would head back to school some day for an advanced degree. I wasn’t sure what my area of focus would be or when I would start, but I knew it would happen.

Before I could make these choices, I wanted real-world experience. I joined Vanguard in 2014 as a Client Relationship Associate in our Charlotte, North Carolina office, serving our personal investors. I supported a few teams within our Retail Investor Group, where I was responsible for helping new clients meet their investment needs and continuing to deepen current client relationships. From there, I transitioned to the social media team in the summer of 2017 to focus on community building and social care. If you’ve ever seen a post signed with “—Emily” on our Facebook page, that’s me!

It was a few months into my new position when I felt ready to continue my education journey. Work was going well for me and I was getting the hang of how marketing works outside of the classroom (I took a few marketing classes as an undergraduate, but everything is different in practice than in theory). I wanted to learn more about not only marketing, but business as a whole, and decided to begin looking for an MBA program.

Charlotte is a hub for many financial companies, so I had multiple programs available to me. I needed a program that would allow me to continue working full-time, since I would be paying for this on my own. I also wanted a program that was cost-effective (as a Vanguard crewmember, I think about costs more than the average person), and flexible in case I needed to take time off. The Professional MBA (PMBA) program through the University of South Carolina is what I ultimately chose, and two years in, I’m so glad I did.

Posing with Cocky, the University of South Carolina’s Gamecocks, at the Charlotte USC campus

Because I would be paying for school on my own, I was nervous about how I was going to make this work financially. I’m fortunate to not have any undergraduate debt (thanks Mom and Dad!), and did not want to be buried in debt as a result of obtaining a graduate degree. When discussing my education goals with my manager, he mentioned Vanguard’s Academic Assistance Plan. Once I researched this further, I became even more excited to start my studies.

The Vanguard Academic Assistance Plan offers a generous tuition reimbursement each calendar year for full-time crewmembers. There’s no minimum time-in-job requirement, so even as a relatively new employee, I could still take full advantage of this benefit. Based on the cost of my specific program, the plan covers the cost of tuition for four classes per calendar year. School is stressful enough, so not having to worry about how to pay for it is a huge weight off my shoulders. I’m able to focus more on my studies and build relationships with fellow students because I don’t have to fret about how I’m going to afford everything.

I plan to graduate from my MBA program in December 2020 and will genuinely miss working with the professors and other students. Having the opportunity to get the perspective of other professionals, both inside and outside of the financial services industry, has helped me provide more well-rounded input and insights in my current role and better understand Vanguard’s place in the business world at large. Vanguard’s Academic Assistance Plan is allowing me to accomplish one of my dreams (getting an advanced degree), while working at a great company.

—Emily A.

Please note: All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.

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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.”

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Vanguard invests in you

In this blog, we sit down with Kelly M. and Elisha V., two crew members who serve different areas of the Vanguard business and received a professional development opportunity through one of our employee resource groups. Kelly is a Senior Research Associate in our Fixed Income Group, where she analyzes municipal bonds and works with the trading and portfolio management teams. Elisha is an IT Delivery Manager within our 401(k) Institutional Systems division, where she leads IT teams across our Pennsylvania and North Carolina offices. This is their story:

When thinking about where you want to launch or continue your career, you can be assured that at Vanguard, an emphasis is placed on professional development. Combined, we have been at Vanguard for nearly twenty years. During our tenure, we have both received support in various ways to help further advance our skill set. There is one development opportunity that we pursued, however, that stands out from all the rest. Through the Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success (WILS), one of our five Crew Resource Groups, we applied and were selected to participate in an advanced leadership development program for women. In addition to collaborating with female talent from across the enterprise and having a dedicated leadership coach consultant, the program presented us with several frameworks and tools that prepared us to handle a number of scenarios that we could potentially face throughout our careers. Examples include shaping the way we make decisions, preparing and executing courageous conversations with crew, reframing the dialogue of our inner critic, and recognizing unconscious biases.

The experience couldn’t have come at a better time in our professions. Elisha had just started a new managerial position and Kelly, who had always been an individual contributor, aspired to obtain a formal leadership role. Although we support different business areas in unique fields, we are both women within male-dominated industries. We were both successful within our careers at this point and were excited to learn ways in which we could enhance our skills and achieve professional goals going forward. We also quickly realized during the program that what got us here would not get us there, with there being where we envisioned our careers going and how we saw ourselves reaching our full potential. This specific program changed our perspectives on what that means and gave us the resources to clearly define who we are and what we stand for.

Identifying the direction we wanted to steer our careers, in addition to using learnings centered on how to plan and execute courageous conversations, continue to stand out as key takeaways from the program. We had the chance to practice these exchanges, and the more we practiced, the more we realized how impactful it was when developing others. Moreover, taking on courageous conversations is so imperative to improving a challenging situation, and we are now better equipped to handle them. Lastly, we received helpful reminders that something as simple as making the invisible, visible, can be a powerful mind shift that will lead you to a more successful outcome.

The advanced leadership development program for women has provided us with more than either of us expected. We are more prepared and confident in navigating our careers for having taken part in this initiative. Again, this is just one example of the many development opportunities offered at Vanguard.

More about the authors:

Kelly joined Vanguard directly out of college in 2007 and has been working in the Investment Management Group for the past three years. Kelly graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Elisha has been at Vanguard since 2012. She launched her career as a developer and shortly after moved into a technical lead role. Following these experiences, she transitioned to a project management position that gave her the opportunity to be a technical relationship manager for a large 401(k) client and now as a delivery manager, supporting cross-divisional capabilities and relationships for Vanguard Advice for Institutional. Prior to joining Vanguard, Elisha worked at various startups and financial companies also within the engineering and technology capacity for four years.

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You got the job, now make a smooth transition

April 24, 2019/in Advice from crew, Training & education career, ends, help, job, know, leader, note, peer, plan, position, projects, projects and tasks, role, step, tasks, wait, wrap /by manjunath

You got the job, now make a smooth transition

Congrats, you got the job! After weeks of interviewing, prepping, and anticipating, the long wait is finally over. You’ve given notice at your current job, you’ve accepted your new job offer, and set a start date.

Now what?

Wrap up. Whether you disliked your old job or are just moving to a new opportunity, make sure to leave on good terms and help to wrap up loose ends. Make a plan with your leader on what you should tackle before you go and what needs to be deferred for your successor. A good task to complete before you go? Collect procedures, resources, projects, and tasks that can help new hires get a handle on their new position. A few examples: What meetings should they attend? What are all the projects and tasks they’re responsible for? How will they be measured?

Communicate. Let your direct manager take the lead on the plan, just make sure the right stakeholders are aware that you are exiting your role and when. Let everyone know your goals for your remaining time in job and indicate any contingency plans.

Manage expectations. On that note, accept that you simply cannot get to everything in two weeks. Some projects and tasks will not be completed and will have to wait for the next person to fill your role or a current peer to take them on. Do your best, but don’t overexert yourself. There’s a new challenge on the horizon!

Address the administrative stuff. Don’t forget the odds and ends like turning in keys, cleaning out your desk, returning your laptop, or filling out paperwork. Contact your HR department to see if they have a checklist for those vacating a position or leaving the company.

Say goodbye. This is a little different from the communication piece because this step is less about setting timelines and more about saying farewell to your beloved co-workers. Want to take it a step further? Send an email or handwritten note to those who have influenced your career or made a difference in your life. Add them on LinkedIn to stay in touch.

As a final caution, avoid taking your last two weeks as a vacation. Chances are, you’ll just be hurting a valued peer or damaging your own reputation. And you never know when you’ll encounter a former colleague or leader in the future.

Stay tuned for our blog on Kicking off your new role.

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When working in finance isn’t only for finance majors

Whenever people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my response was always, “I want to help people live a better life.” I had grown up as a competitive dancer, and was very accident prone, which meant I spent a lot of time in physical therapy. I would watch the therapists make such strides in people’s ability to move and began to think that is what I want to be–and ultimately led to obtaining my degree in kinesiology. So how in the world did I end up in finance?

My road to Vanguard began right after college graduation, when I was having an internal battle on what I wanted to do now that I was in the “real world.” I had told myself for some time that the only way I could help people live a better life was by becoming a professional in the medical field. But a friend proved that notion wrong when they introduced me to Vanguard. 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.

After my first week, I began to feel a sense of calmness and knew that a life-long career with Vanguard was in my future—and then came the licensing program. I had done a bit of studying prior to starting but I had no idea how big of a milestone obtaining my Series 7 and 63 securities licenses was. The nerves quickly came back as I began rereading the 600+ page book, where many of the terms seemed like another language. While there were many moments where I questioned if I could do it, I was always met with support from my leader, coaches, trainers, and peers. I couldn’t believe that I had only been a part of Vanguard for a few weeks, and so many people were invested in my success.

Fast forward 5 years later, I am now responsible for onboarding new hires into the Retail division of Vanguard, which you could say has brought my experience full circle. As an onboarding leader I get the opportunity to be the face of Vanguard for so many new crew–helping them acclimate to our culture and supporting them through licensing and training. I am their first point of contact, starting from the day they accept their offer and also act as a resource as they prepare for their first day at Vanguard. One of my favorite aspects of my job is getting to meet my crew at the end of their first day on campus. The buildup of excitement over the months finally becomes reality and I am able to spend some time answering questions and sharing insight that can help calm their nerves— something I can certainly relate to. I then get to spend the next few months guiding them through the licensing program where I meet with my crew daily to check in on their progress, recommend study strategies, and celebrate their successes. I always tell my crew that we will be going on a journey together, and while everyone is different, they can rest easy knowing that I will do everything in my power to support them through it. I appreciate that I can use my own experiences to relate to what my crew are going through and can be their cheerleader during the ups and a shoulder to lean on for any downs.

One of the most memorable experiences I have as an onboarding leader is when my first class had their final celebration to launch into their role. This means that their time with me in licensing and training is over and they get to officially begin supporting our clients. I had spent weeks preparing what I wanted to express to them and when I got up in front of the class (tears and all) all I could do was thank them for the journey they had taken me on It’s always a bittersweet day for me as I get to witness crew moving on to their next chapter within their careers, but I am always so thankful to be a part of it.

To say I love my job is an understatement… I get to be by my crew’s side as they face these exciting challenges, learn and grow in the industry, and eventually embark on a new path as they launch into their job.

-Annsley R.

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Christi C., Vanguard Senior Recruiter

Brian U., Vanguard Senior Recruiter

Tracy C., Vanguard Recruiter

Michael M., Vanguard Senior Recruiter

Susan S., Vanguard Senior Recruiter

Click to learn more about each recruiter and view their LinkedIn profile

1. What questions can applicants expect to get?

One of the most common questions you’ll hear is “tell me about yourself.” This one is tough to answer because it’s so open ended. We recommend keeping your answer to 3-5 minutes, share a couple of your strengths, what you’re working on, and what you’re learning. Practice it until you’ve got it down. It’s important to be able to demonstrate what has prompted your interest in this role. Why did you choose to apply at Vanguard? What attracted you to this position?

Teamwork is also huge at Vanguard, so expect questions around a time you worked well with a team, how you collaborate effectively, and how you motivate others and drive collaboration. Remember the key is what you did, not what the team did. If you answer every question with, “we did…” it’s tough to identify your individual impact.

2. What are the best ways for someone to prepare for those questions?

We have lots of websites and resources that will help you learn more about our company. You can check out about.vanguard.com or look at our pages on The Muse or LinkedIn. A really easy way is to watch our YouTube videos.

For teamwork-based questions, think about your specific strengths in group settings – do you offer insightful knowledge? Do you ask probing questions or challenge the team’s thinking? If you haven’t had team-based projects in the past, consider all the ways you interact with co-workers. Perhaps you encouraged someone’s idea in a team meeting. Maybe you created a tip sheet for peers when your office technology changed.

I always tell candidates to have a few situational examples ready. The most common being “Talk about a time when you had a problem/situation, what you did you do to identify and solve that problem/situation, and what was the outcome?” I think every hiring manager asks this question in some way, shape, or form. Make sure to carefully read through the job description and relate your answers to the responsibilities of the role you’re interviewing for.

Overall, consider–what are the positive results of your contributions?

3. We all know interviewing is tough, what are some insider tips you can share?

Sometimes when recruiters are quiet, the candidate may think they’re not doing well. Don’t mistake silence as disinterest and remember that your recruiter is taking notes and digesting what you’re saying.

If we ask you to give us an example of something to demonstrate your skills, know that your answers don’t have to be about a time you saved the day. It can be as simple as clearing up a miscommunication, coaching a colleague, or making a tough decision.

It’s also helpful to know that the recruiting process is much more than just the interview—it takes time behind the scenes. We may have to interview a large number of people, then we’re having conversations with hiring managers, and perhaps doing a second round of interviews. Timelines aren’t the same for every position either – some take just a few weeks, while others may take a few months. So don’t worry too much if you don’t hear anything right away.

4. What are some common slip-ups that prevent candidates from moving on?

When you answer a question, don’t add clarifiers like, “I don’t think this is a great answer,” or “This probably isn’t what you’re looking for.” Confidence is important, so don’t play down your experience.

A real deal breaker is unprofessional behavior – cursing, being impolite to the receptionist, or complaining about our security measures. And remember that an interview is a professional interaction, so be careful of using heavy slang or sloppy body language.

Showcase your talent in humble language. Although it’s probably just nerves, sometimes candidates will interrupt a lot or talk over the recruiter. That can give the impression that you don’t communicate well or aren’t courteous.

5. Is it OK for candidates to apply to multiple roles?

If the roles make sense for your skills and background, absolutely. We understand people may feel they are qualified for multiple positions, and really want to work here. Just make sure to keep organized and aware of each job you applied to by making a list of the titles and a few notes about the roles. This will help you prepare to speak about any role when a recruiter calls you.

You can also log into your talent account if you need details of the jobs. We do find it a bit concerning when we call someone for a phone screen and they can’t remember which positions they’ve applied to. During the phone screen, disclose if you’re already speaking with a leader or recruiter at Vanguard.

6. Is it frowned upon for candidates to apply to both leadership and individual contributor roles?

Not necessarily, but the things that make you stand out for each of those roles will differ. In the leadership space, we’re looking for people who are passionate about coaching and developing others, supporting their team, and helping direct reports move up. Leadership at Vanguard is about serving others. Individual contributors are still collaborative team players, but they also prove that they can make an impact independently.

7. Why do you ask about salary?

It’s really just to ensure we’re on the same page and able to match your expectations. Don’t feel you have to share your salary history, just give us a range that would work for you.

8. What advice would you give to someone who thought they did well, but then received a decline letter?

It’s one of the toughest parts of our job to have to decline someone who is really smart and talented. Certainly it can mean that you don’t have the experience or skills we’re looking for, but there are occasions when we have to decline someone awesome for another reason. In those cases, there was someone just slightly more qualified.

Do some self-reflection: do you still feel Vanguard is the place for you? If you think you met the qualifications, we would encourage you to apply again for another similar role. But still take the time to practice the interview and consider how you can make an even better impression.

9. We hear a lot about cultural fit. What does that look like at Vanguard?

First and foremost, you should believe in doing what’s right for our clients. That’s our mission and it runs deep in our culture.

At Vanguard, you’ll fit right in if you are resilient and encouraging, you can demonstrate that you’re a team player and collaborate well, and you are open to feedback and like to learn. We also want people who have grit and can dig in when things get ambiguous. It’s key that you believe in–and contribute to–an inclusive environment.

10. What if the candidate realizes at some point during the process that they’re no longer interested in the role?

There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that the role’s not a fit during the phone screen. Just the other day I had someone share that after our conversation, the role sounded more senior and he didn’t feel prepared for that level. That’s OK to say – we appreciate the candor.

11. In most cases, there will be a phone screen and in-person interview. How should candidates prepare for each?

Remember that a phone interview is a conversation, so be aware of the volume of what you share to allow the interviewer to ask follow-up questions. Be open for coaching and constructive feedback. The phone screen is just the first level, so bring your “A” game during the entire process.

Before you get to the on-campus interview, ask the recruiter what to expect during the next round, specifically the kinds of questions you should be ready to answer. Come prepared to discuss examples of your work experience and be ready to answer behavior based, or STAR formatted, questions. Review your interviewers’ profiles on LinkedIn to learn more about their background and understand more about the role prior to coming on-campus. And it may seem obvious, but arrive on time or call if you’re going to be late, dress professionally, silence your phone, and bring a pen and paper.

Feel comfortable working with the recruiter on what you’ll need to prepare for the in-person interview. I think it’s one of the most important aspects of our job as recruiters.

12. Any final advice?

Write down questions that you would like to ask the interviewer. Keep in mind that the interview starts the moment you enter the building and doesn’t end until you leave. Recruiters want to set up candidates for a successful interview so embrace the relationship and ask questions!

Most of all, take a deep breath and try to relax. Be confident and be yourself. We want you to do well!

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