Voyage to Vanguard Archives - Vanguard Careers

Charting my own course at Vanguard

I’ve always believed that in order to grow, you must first step outside of your comfort zone. So, in 2015 I decided to take a leap of faith. I had graduated from college in 2013 with an undergraduate degree in Marketing and was working in Media and Advertising Sales. Honestly, I loved it. But, I reached a critical point in my professional career where I felt ready to advance.

I had a decision to make. I could either stay put and hope a promotion opportunity arose in the next 2 years—Or I could take a step back and transition to another company with vast opportunities for advancement and growth.

Somehow, I moved from a career in Media and Advertising Sales to Financial Services. I started my Vanguard journey in Retail Services as a Client Relationship Associate in October 2015, where I spent time servicing our direct Retail investors and learning the ‘ins and outs’ of Vanguard and the financial services industry. Once I was comfortable with my role, I started branching out and seeking opportunities to network and explore career paths. I started saving job postings that interested me and taking note of hiring managers who I wanted to meet. I found this was a great way to demonstrate genuine interest and learn more about the various departments across the organization.

After 10 months as a Client Relationship Associate I moved over to Select Services where I piloted a 3-month internal internship program. The program was an opportunity for Client Relationship Associates to further develop their relationship management skills and expand their investment and business acumen. Furthermore, the internship program established a talent pipeline within Retail Services to facilitate career mobility. After successfully completing my internship, I was hired as a full-time Select Services Investment Professional. In this role I gained exposure to high-net-worth clients and deepened client relationships by pairing investors with Vanguard financial advisors and assisting with asset consolidation. Outside of my normal daily responsibilities, I had opportunities to represent the department and host several “sit-withs” and overviews with senior leaders from across Vanguard who were looking to gain insight into Select’s business model. This was a great opportunity to positively affect change and have an impact on future business decisions. I used these opportunities to showcase my skills and provide meaningful, real-time feedback on daily operations.

Upon joining Select Services, my team leader took a proactive approach in aligning my skill set and career aspirations with department initiatives, such as joining a communication council for our Retail Investor Group. The council’s goal is to maintain an open line of communication amongst client-facing crew, Marketing Managers, and User Experience Designers to ensure Vanguard is providing the best-in-class digital client experience. This was a fulfilling experience because I was viewed as a subject matter expert and I felt that my opinion mattered.

What’s next? At this point, I’ve been at Vanguard for about 2 years and already held two full-time positions and an internship, built a network, and had opportunities to provide value to the business.

Currently, I work as a Senior Relationship Analyst in Retirement Plan Client Services. In this capacity I am now supporting Relationship Managers and helping Vanguard to deepen relationships with our Institutional clients. Learning an entirely different business is challenging, but my Retail acumen and my skill set from my previous career allows me to add value in a unique way.

In short, that “leap” turned out to be a great investment.

-Glover C.

If you’re seeking an environment where you can make a difference and develop professionally, check out our career opportunities at www.vanguardjobs.com.

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Meeting Vanguard at the Grace Hopper conference

September 25, 2019/in Career opportunities, Voyage to Vanguard /by fdoerr

Meeting Vanguard at the Grace Hopper conference

It was a Monday evening, unbearably warm and sticky, as Philadelphia tends to be in September. I was at field hockey practice and, coincidently, received a call just as I was checking my phone during a water break. It was the call I had been waiting for: I GOT IT. I got the Vanguard College to Corporate (C2C) IT internship.

The C2C IT Internship checked all of my boxes: mentoring, cutting-edge tech, AND close to home. But it was only September; the summer had just ended, and next summer seemed so far away. The Grace Hopper Conference for Women in Computing was approaching and I had been instructed by faculty at my school, “don’t accept ANY internship offers until after the conference.”

The day that the conference finally came, I woke up very early. My solo journey included a flight delay, gate change, lengthy taxi ride, and an even lengthier trek, in not so comfy shoes, from the lobby of my hotel across the skywalk and through the Orange County Convention Center. I decided my first stop would be the Vanguard booth. After some wandering up and down the long aisles of the massive room, I found it. I spotted Lynn C., a Vanguard rep from my interview day, who greeted me with a big smile and a warm hug. Believe me, I really needed that hug. She asked me my t-shirt size and showed me all the new “swag” they had gotten for the conference. I stood around chatting with crew in Vanguard’s Technology Leadership Program about my flight and where I was staying. They invited me to dinner the following night before I went on my own to explore.

Many of the other companies at the conference had displays that were massive and showy. I waited in a few lines, padfolio in hand filled with fresh print outs of my resume. I fielded questions about Java classes and my previous internship, and along the way collected some rather over-the-top giveaways. By late afternoon, my mind was made up. I had already attended numerous talks by Vanguard representatives at my school, in addition to two Explore IT Days at their headquarters. I had spoken with multiple recruiters on the phone, and spent the day on campus interviewing. I knew the company’s core purpose, and I knew about their strong emphasis on crew. But hearing about it and feeling it are two completely different things. At many of the other companies I felt like a number holding a list of my accomplishments and capabilities. But Vanguard cared about me, a person. After only a few hours at the conference, I accepted my offer with Vanguard.

I spent my summer internship in Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Services. When I met my manager, Judy, she told me I would be a part of Team Unicorn. She assured me that I would come to understand the name after getting to know its members and seeing their work ethic. Lucky for me, I was included in their project and was able to participate in daily ideation, planning, and working sessions. Right away I found myself writing code that will soon go into production, and participated in a biweekly book club and in the teams monthly “game day” during lunch. A mantra of Team Unicorn is “work hard, play hard,” as each team member places high value on maintaining positive interactions with each other. Now that I had my internship, with work that was engaging and a friendly, supportive team, I feel so strongly that I made the right decision at the Grace Hopper Conference last year.

-Stephanie M.

If you enjoyed this post and want to learn more, visit us at this year’s Grace Hopper Conference! And if you’re ready for a more rewarding, engaging, meaningful career, search our opportunities at www.vanguardjobs.com.

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National Intern Day – Recognizing our 2019 summer Vanguard interns

July 25, 2019/in Culture, Day in the Life, Voyage to Vanguard Entry-Level Phones, Vanguard Specialty Programs business, c2c, c2c business, develop, development, experience, intern, internship, investment, management, mba internship, north carolina, opportunity to learn, projects, quantitative equity, summer, team, time, time at vanguard, vanguard /by kkilgarriff

National Intern Day – Recognizing our 2019 summer Vanguard interns

To celebrate National Intern Day, we wanted to recognize some of the interns who have been participating in our College to Corporate (C2C) and MBA Internship Programs. Students from across the country joined us in our Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona offices for an immersive 10 week program. During this time, they became part of a Vanguard team and supported projects and initiatives throughout the company. We asked interns from programs across the business to share what they’ve worked on and what they have taken away from this experience.

Arizona Intern Expo

C2C Advice – Allison F. (AZ)
My internship with Vanguard has been filled with research projects, financial advisor role plays, exploration of the company, hours of advisor shadowing, and asking about a million questions! As I’ve worked to use my time at Vanguard to the fullest, I’ve come to value curiosity more than I would have ever expected. My curiosity has driven me to connect with people and resources at Vanguard to learn more about opportunities to contribute as a fiduciary within the financial planning industry and to develop new skills such as client relationship management, market knowledge, and behavioral coaching. This connection to new knowledge and fresh perspectives has been energizing and extremely rewarding, and has opened my mind to lessons I won’t soon forget.

C2C Business – Brianna M. (AZ)
My experience in the C2C Business Internship has given me the incredible chance to develop myself personally and professionally, in an environment where I was able to take risks, challenge myself, and receive regular feedback.

The projects I worked on over the summer were focused on using Visual Management—digital, physical, and interactive—to create transparency for crew around what is taking place in the Senior Manager and Manager meetings. These projects challenged me to create visual content that aligns to Vanguard’s brand and understand what information is most important to crew. I was able to leverage my marketing background to add an outside perspective and successfully create a sustainable framework for the department. This experience gave me the chance to manage several projects, network effectively and create numerous relationships, and develop leadership skills.

I am extremely grateful to have been an intern at Vanguard. It was very easy to immerse myself into the culture here, largely because of the willingness of the many individuals I interacted with, to assist in giving me the best chance for success.

Pennsylvania Corporate Challenge

C2C Corporate Finance and Accounting – Sarah C. (PA)
I am thankful I had the opportunity to intern with the Global Investment Data Management (GIDM) team on the Equity Trading Floor this summer. I was tasked with designing a new role to combine some of the GIDM Index and Reference teams’ tasks to increase efficiency, broaden investment acumen, and free up time to improve the ways that GIDM provides security and index data to the Equity Index Group. Even in ten short weeks here, I have grown professionally and personally. I developed meaningful relationships, learned and implemented project management best practices, and deepened my knowledge of the systems that ensure accurate and timely data for stakeholders. I have made this summer count by remaining open-minded and self-reflective. The approachability of leaders and the focus on development is genuine at Vanguard, which has encouraged me to truly make the most of every experience this summer.

C2C Investment Management – Tom Z. (PA)
This summer I was placed within Vanguard’s Investment Risk team covering the Quantitative Equity Group. Working with my manager, we have managed to strike what I think is the perfect balance of learning new, intellectually challenging things while also helping solve real-world business problems. In this sense, I have made my time at Vanguard count for both my personal development and the betterment of my team. Going from minimal knowledge about quantitative equity risk management to completing and presenting projects that involve creating frameworks for advanced risk analytics (used in regular meetings, ad-hoc analysis, and presentations to the CIO) has been a truly rewarding experience. These projects have not only helped me develop my technical skills in finance, math, and programming, but have also refined my ability to effectively communicate my project concepts, challenges, and ideas. Overall, my experience at Vanguard has offered me an engaging workplace where I can form terrific professional relationships to help hone and apply the skills I learn.

MBA Internship – Nancy M. (PA)
I have spent my summer working with the International Americas team on developing a competitive intelligence framework for the region. I had the opportunity to learn about various North and South American markets and the complexities Vanguard faces in those countries. Coming from a non-finance background, I valued the opportunity to learn about the asset management industry and gain an international perspective of the company. The MBA Leadership Development Internship Program provided access to senior leadership to ask questions about Vanguard’s strategic priorities and crew member development. I’m happy to come out of my internship experience with a better understanding of how Vanguard is able to play a leading role in global finance and how much they value everyone’s voice.

North Carolina Classroom Central

C2C IT – Abby H. (NC)
This summer, I have been on the Mighty dUX team, which is part of the Enterprise Advice pillar. Our team is working to build a batch application that can check a client’s investment portfolio daily and rebalance them as necessary to best help clients meet their investment goals. I joined dUX right before its first major milestone in development, which meant that I had a very short learning period before I began working on issues vital to the team. This helped me develop my ability to think on my feet and be flexible and adaptable. I learned to take on big challenges and to collaborate with my teammates to quickly and efficiently find solutions to problems as they arose. I enjoyed my internship so much this summer that I applied for a full-time position and will join the 2019 TLP Cadre this fall, so I truly believe that I made it count!

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

Serving families who have served for us

I left the military three years ago, nine years after taking my first Oath of Office. Transitioning from serving in an organization that was so core to my identity turned out to be no small task. Over the next two years in business school, I often wondered if I would be able to find that sense of service in my future workplace. When I came to Vanguard after graduation, I quickly found my answer.

VetsConnect Joins Forces with ACP
Shortly after coming aboard, I was asked if I would be interested in working to stand up a new partnership with American Corporate Partners (ACP), a nonprofit aimed at pairing corporate leaders with veterans transitioning to the private sector. The goal of the partnership was to respond to the broader desire of the Vanguard community to more visibly support our nation’s veterans. The VetsConnect / ACP partnership would act as a gateway to connect Vanguard Crew with service members outside the organization.
I had familiarity with ACP, as I had taken part as a protégé (mentee) myself during my transition out of the military. This opportunity would now allow me the chance to give back on the corporate side of the relationship. Needless to say, I was ecstatic.

Crew Respond in a Big Way
Our first priority was to create a community of corporate mentors here at Vanguard. Initially, we were hoping to identify a total of fifty crew members who would like to take part. Within the first day of sign ups we had exceeded our initial goal, and by the end of the week we had more than 90 mentors involved. In fact, after benchmarking against other corporate sign up rates, Vanguard crew were 23x more likely to sign up to mentor a veteran. This tremendous response was an incredible testament to the authenticity of the culture, and I was able to witness firsthand something I had heard a lot about as a new hire: Vanguard’s commitment to mission and willingness to give back.

White House Military Spouses Summit
Several months later, ACP was invited to attend a Military Spouses Summit at the White House. Representing Vanguard, I traveled to Washington DC along with representatives from 45 other businesses to discuss the unique employment challenges that military spouses face. At present, there are more than 600,000 military spouses and 16% (4x the national average) are unemployed. They face a myriad of unique challenges, including a lack of license and certification transferability across state lines and fragmented resumes due to constant relocation and deployments. Our goal was to ask how corporations and non-profits could help. How can we do more? What opportunities exist? The chance to work with corporate partners to address (and continue addressing) these questions is an extremely rewarding experience. For me, it represents an evolution of my desire to serve, aided by the mission and crew of Vanguard. Although I no longer serve on active duty, I’m extremely proud to say that I work at Vanguard, where we serve families who have served for us.

– Bill F.

ACP: https://www.acp-usa.org/

Additional testimonials from ACP protégé’s and Vanguard mentors

“The program helps our organization as it helps veterans – win/win. The matching of protégé to mentor is quite good and the seamless accountability is a big plus!”

“I think the connection is great. I wish I had the same kind of opportunity when I departed active duty back in 2011 and could have skipped some of my early mistakes in my civilian career. You don’t know what you don’t know and it’s easy for veterans just to take the path of least resistance without being challenged by someone who is already there.”

If you’re seeking an environment where you can make a difference and develop professionally, check out our opportunities at www.vanguardjobs.com.

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A conversation with Chief Information Officer, John Marcante

June 26, 2019/in Advice from crew, Day in the Life, Our mission, Voyage to Vanguard career, information, vanguard /by manjunath

A conversation with Chief Information Officer, John Marcante

In this video feature, Vanguard Chief Information Officer, John Marcante, and IT Delivery Manager, Kelly Rumbaugh, sit down for a conversation to discuss their journeys to Vanguard, what excites them about innovative technologies as well as advice for individuals interested in pursuing a career in the industry.

Curious about our Information Technology career opportunities? We’ve got you covered.

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Why these leaders joined Vanguard

We asked 7 leaders from across Vanguard, “Why did you join Vanguard?”

Here’s what they had to say:

1. Christina Selby, Principal in Finance:

Our mission really resonated with me, and brings us all together to focus on what is best for our clients and crew. It’s also an exciting time to be part of the company as we continue to grow and look at how we can continue to improve ourselves to serve our clients better. There are lots of opportunities to continue to learn and many options for a long term career here.

2. Steve Holman, Principal in Institutional Sales:

I joined Vanguard because I loved the people, culture, and the values and integrity of the firm; I felt I was going to get the support I needed to grow and develop as a professional; and I wanted to be part of an organization that was truly doing good for others.

3. Joe Davis, Global Chief Economist and Principal:

The mission, the culture and the humility of the senior leaders I’ve met, struck me as unique versus the other investment firms I had interviewed with.

4. Lisha Davis, Head of the Innovation Studio:

To work for the good guys in a challenging industry, to develop strong leadership skills, to be challenged and stretched in lots of areas and roles.

5. Kevin Jestice, Principal in Information Technology & Security:

I knew Vanguard well from interactions through my prior employer and held the firm in incredibly high regard. Two months before my first employment conversation I visited Vanguard’s Malvern, PA, campus. When I returned home, I shared with my wife that if I ever wanted to look for a new job, Vanguard would be at the top of my list. I told her that Vanguard’s client first mindset was pervasive and that I really admired their approach to leadership. Two months later a recruiter called and I was all in. It was honestly one of the best decisions of my life (after, of course, marrying my wife and having our family!).

6. Manuel Calero, Principal in Retail:

A friend of mine worked at Vanguard and suggested I look into this company with a unique ownership structure. I did my research and learned about how Vanguard is owned by the Vanguard funds, and in turn, the funds are owned by shareholders of those funds. Though straight forward, it took me some time to realize the significance of that ownership structure on every action taken and decision made by the company—and it’s crew. When I finally understood that because of that ownership structure, Vanguard would never have to trade off doing the right thing for its shareholders, I knew I had to be a part of the Vanguard family.

7. Jodi Miller, Principal in Retail:

1) The mission – the dual focus on clients and crew 2) The culture and crew. I find the crew genuinely kind, caring, values-based, intelligent and hard-working! 3) Transformation – we are doing really exciting things internally, for example, in our Retail Investor Group, that will ultimately help us better serve our clients and crew!

Are you ready to make it count this year? Search our opportunities.

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Make a choice and take a chance

March 8, 2019/in Advice from crew, Culture, Diversity & inclusion, Voyage to Vanguard career, vanguard /by manjunath

Make a choice and take a chance

“The last two years have been intense. I had a baby, I started business school, I moved from New York City to Pennsylvania to start a new job at Vanguard. But when I think about it, I’m really happy. This has been the best career move and the way Vanguard supports its crew members to balance work and life has been amazing.”

Hear from Amrita T. as she shares her Vanguard story.

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I wasn’t just hired, I was welcomed

February 20, 2019/in Culture, Day in the Life, Voyage to Vanguard co-op, college, company, corporate, crew, crew members, entering, fit, found, interview, members, position, relationships, research, right, room, time, transition, vanguard, world /by fdoerr

I wasn’t just hired, I was welcomed

As a student, I always wondered what it’d be like to transition into the real-world. More specifically for me, into the corporate world.

To help bridge the gap from education to employment, my university offers 6-month co-ops – an opportunity to work full time and receive college credit alternating with periods of classroom study. Entering my junior year at college, I knew it was time to pick a company where I could learn new skills and how to make that big transition. But, which company should I choose? Was a small company or large corporation a better fit? Which industry was right for me? So many questions were running through my mind. After some research, I found Vanguard had a position I was interested in. I worked hard on my application and earned an interview. I vividly remember driving to my interview and wondering if I would fit in and what working at Vanguard would be like.

Interviewing & interning

From the moment I walked in the door, I was met with a warm reception. I remember my interview like it was yesterday–I told my interviewer that I was interested in personal growth, professional development, and purpose. We had a great conversation about my goals and Vanguard’s mission. To this day, we still keep in touch and discuss what’s going on in our lives – both professionally and personally. My relationship with her was instrumental in navigating through my co-op at Vanguard and one of the main reasons I chose to accept a position at Vanguard after graduation!

During my co-op, I worked in Institutional Marketing and Communications. My manager was excellent. He connected me with so many crew members, many of whom became trusted advisors who I still consult before big decisions. These mentors have helped me strategize ways to turn my weaknesses into strengths, challenged me to look through a long-term lens when making decisions, and ultimately pushed me to apply for one of Vanguard’s Leadership Development Programs.

Why it mattered

My 6 month co-op came to a close, and as I returned to Drexel for my senior year, I kept in contact with many crew members. The following summer, I returned to Vanguard as an intern with Vanguard Charitable to support a busy giving season. In such a close-knit environment, coupled with the holiday spirit, I developed friendships across the organization. Because of those close relationships, I agreed to return part-time to a role in Research & Strategy. I continue to catch-up with my old team whenever our schedules allow.

As I was entering my last semester at Drexel, I shared my excitement at my college graduation on LinkedIn and thanked those that helped me cross the finish line. Little did I know, the reach would be in the thousands. Hundreds of crew members liked and commented, welcoming me into the company. The fact that crew members who I never met before were so enthusiastic and accepting was humbling. It reassured me that I found a company with a sense of community and family.

The little things count

Another uplifting moment happened while I was struggling to find a conference room. It was the end of the day and most of the office had already headed home. I clearly looked lost, reading every sign to find the meeting location. A woman rushing to catch an elevator paused and asked, “Looking for a room?” I nodded, a little embarrassed, and told her the room number. Instead of just pointing me in the right direction, she took the time to personally walk me to the room. This may seem like a small thing, but to someone who is new, it can mean the world when someone shows a little kindness.

A few months later, I came aboard as a full-time employee. When I came back to the Malvern campus, previous co-workers and managers were excited to connect and hear my updates. That reassured me that our relationships were not static–they were active and lively. And since my start date, I’ve connected with so many people across divisions and in various positions.

Coming out of college, there is a sense of angst and wonder around the corporate environment. But my fears disappeared once I came to Vanguard. From my first face-to-face interaction with crew to launching my career here, I have cultivated and deepened so many valuable relationships.

-Cayla R.

If you enjoyed this post, check out more from our #LifeatVanguard Blog. And if you’re ready for a more rewarding, engaging, meaningful career, check out our opportunities at www.vanguardjobs.com.

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Boots to Suits: Transitioning to the corporate world as a veteran

November 11, 2018/in Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Diversity & inclusion, Voyage to Vanguard adoption experience, air force, care, career, corporate world, crew, experience, financial, financial advisor, financial services, know precisely, leader, mission, path to vanguard, people, retail services, served, services, vanguard, work /by fdoerr

Boots to Suits: Transitioning to the corporate world as a veteran

Recently, I was invited to be on a panel at Vanguard that focused on the experience of female veterans transitioning into the corporate world. Why did I receive this invitation, you ask? Because I’m a proud veteran of the United States Air Force, having served from 1990-1999. I left the USAF after serving in a variety of roles stateside as well as in the Middle East and Japan, and I consider those years to be my most formative as a professional.

What struck me about my fellow panelists at that event was that our respective transition experiences varied greatly. After I separated from service, I spent a short period of time as a stay-at-home parent before taking on part-time roles as an instructor of economics and later as a financial advisor. In 2011 I finally transitioned back into the workforce full-time at Vanguard. In contrast, one of the other women on the panel served as a reservist and the third went directly into the corporate world after leaving the military. Although how we all got to this company differed greatly, being a part of that event reminded me of why I feel so energized and happy to work at Vanguard.

Leadership

At Vanguard, as in the military, leaders are expected to prioritize their people. I learned very early on that if you take care of your people, they will take care of you. Vanguard does an exceptional job of prioritizing and committing resources to crew development—and the results of that focus are crystal clear to me each and every day. We push crew to embrace and take advantage of training, some of which is mandatory and a lot of which is voluntary and available on-demand. As a leader at Vanguard, I spend an enormous amount of time coaching crew, in one-on-one sessions with my direct reports, and meeting with crew in my line. Everyone has their own passions and career aspirations, but I have always believed that my first priority as a leader was to figure out how to best support each and every one of the people who report to me on a daily basis. When our crew feel supported and valued, they in turn dedicate themselves to providing our clients with a world-class experience.

Mission driven

As an Air Force officer, I came to deeply appreciate the importance of having a clear and unified mission. Vanguard stands out within the financial services industry not because we have a mission (lots of financial services companies have one), but because the mission at Vanguard is simple, clear, and applicable to each and every one of us. If you want to get a team to make progress towards a goal, every member has to know precisely where you’re going. Ideally, they also understand why you’re going there. How you get there can be different across the organization, but the final destination must be a clearly defined point on a map, whether literally or figuratively. I love working at this company because I know precisely where we’re going in the very confusing world of investments and what we are all collectively trying to do.

Responsibility

A final similarity I’ll share between the military and Vanguard is that in both cases the people doing the job feel a strong sense of responsibility to those they are serving. Every day I overhear our crew working through very challenging client situations; without fail, what strikes me is the deep sense of ownership and accountability exhibited by those I work with. The best comes out of people when they are taking care of other people. At Vanguard, we take care of our clients, and we never stop trying.

On Veterans Day this year, I am grateful for the years I served and for those with whom I served. I am also extremely grateful for the chance to work at this company, because I can honestly say that I usually leave work feeling like I made a difference. More than anything, I’m grateful to spend my days, my energy, and my intellect at a place where smart, ethical people devote themselves to achieving the Vanguard mission of giving every investor the best chance for investment success.

-Anne-Marie G.

We’re hiring! Make your career count at Vanguard.

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From Airman to crew member: Presenting the best of myself

November 7, 2018/in Advice from crew, Career opportunities, Diversity & inclusion, Voyage to Vanguard /by fdoerr

From Airman to crew member: Presenting the best of myself

I began my working career as an Airman in the US Air Force. After serving 8 years, I recognized the strength of the core values I gained: Honesty, Integrity, and Service before Self. Those values, coupled with the foundation set during my childhood, created the woman I am today and help to drive every decision I make.

In 2003, I separated from the Air Force after determining that one of my goals of becoming an officer could not be realized due to a prerequisite change in the application process. Feeling a bit lost and unclear of the path ahead, I began the search for the next chapter of my career journey. I relocated to Charlotte, NC and was introduced to Vanguard. Shortly after, I was extended the opportunity to join the company–officially transitioning from Airman to crew member.

Joining a company with a variety of growth opportunities was an important factor for me. Fortunately at Vanguard, I’ve been afforded the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally in countless ways throughout the duration of my career. Often times it has been through a job assignment which required an expanded set of skills. However, I’ve also grown by being in tune with my abilities and knowing when I needed to enhance a competency. One of those competency’s I knew I wanted to gain more knowledge on—and be more effective at—was communication.

I always knew how critical it was to be an effective communicator, but also knew I wanted to become stronger in this area. To that end, last year I signed up for our internal Toastmasters club. While I was reluctant, I knew that only positive results could arise from the experience. Since becoming a member, I’ve become more comfortable with speaking in public settings, more confident in presenting ideas, more assured to share input. For example, I’ve agreed to take on key roles in events such as moderating a Fireside Chat (or Meeting with the North Carolina Leadership team and) with our Chief Human Resources Officer at Vanguard, and on a more personal front I recently served as the master of ceremonies and also a presenter during a women’s conference at church.

To shift gears to written communication, a few years ago I sought out a class on the topic of business communication. While I walked away with many tips, I regularly leverage a couple best practices for communication via email specifically.

Balance when to leverage email vs phone. For example: if the email will take more than three exchanges, make a phone call.
Keep information succinct to capture the reader’s attention. For example: if the reader has to scroll down the email to obtain all of the written content, chances are: the email is not succinct enough. Make it a goal to ‘eliminate the scroll’.

There are situations when a more thorough communication is relevant (perhaps in written form and/or planning for a presentation). In those instances, it’s important to find the right mix of information to share and I like to use the “5 W’s + How” as my template:

Who is my audience
What does my audience need to know
When is the decision needed, the change occurring etc.
Where is the impact if applicable
Why is the change or recommendation needed and
How will the plan be implemented

These steps have helped me to keep messaging as concise as possible while sharing what the audience really needs to know.

In closing, I share my complete gratitude to be part of an organization who truly cares about our Clients, our Crew, and our Communities. I feel honored that Vanguard cares enough about our crew to support and encourage continued development. I was proud to serve our country and I’m equally proud to serve our shareholders.

-Dru J.

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