To me, Autism Awareness Month is about recognizing the unique perspectives and abilities that various people are able to contribute that are not always recognized. Autism Awareness Month also serves as a time to reflect and consider ways to make both our workplace and world a more inclusive environment for those with Autism and related differences.

The Information Technology (IT) Inclusion Council is an internal volunteer group focused on making the IT environment at Vanguard more welcoming and inclusive of different backgrounds and perspectives. It often holds events to celebrate, recognize, and support different forms of diversity.

On April 1st, the IT Inclusion Council held an Autism Awareness panel featuring crew members from across Vanguard and an external speaker. The event provided a great opportunity for the panelists to draw upon their unique experiences to answer questions from the audience and share their stories.

During the event, some common characteristics and diagnoses with regards to Autism were shared. Chris L., the event panel moderator, summarizes the educational aspect of the event with the following quote, “It’s important for all of us to create an environment that is inclusive of people with autism, and that can start with autism education.” Also, when asked about how to respond to a new autism diagnosis based on her personal experience, panelist Julia S. responded, “Usually, people say they’re sorry. But this is a good thing. You know more [now]. Stuff is going to make sense now. You may have a sense of community now.”

I look forward to being involved with future IT Inclusion Council events focused on promoting the awareness of and celebrating various communities!

-Chris L.

More about the panelists:

Tom N. has been the headmaster at Hill Top Preparatory School for 14 years. Located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Hill Top serves bright, neurodiverse students in grades 5-12. Throughout students’ high school years, the school focuses on college preparation and experience in the world of employment.

Michel B. has worked for Vanguard for 16 years and is an IT assurance advisor in Global Resource Strategy and Controls (GRSC). He lives in Pennsylvania, with his wife, daughter, and adult son, who is diagnosed with moderate autism. He enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar, and educating his friends and colleagues on autism.

April D. is a senior project manager on the Sourcing Governance Team in GRSC. She came to Vanguard in 2016 through the MBA Development Program. Before joining Vanguard, April earned an M.B.A. from Indiana University, a J.D. from Ohio State, and practiced law for ten years. April lives in North Carolina, with her husband and two children, both of whom are on the autism spectrum.

Tracie L. has been at Vanguard since 1998 and has worked in many different technology roles. She currently works in Global Investment & Financial Systems, supporting Corporate Finance on the Oracle Cloud Transformation Program. Tracie grew up and lives in Pennsylvania, with her three sons. Her middle son is autistic.

Julia S. is an infrastructure engineer within Workplace Services in Global Technology Operations. She’s been with Vanguard since 2018 and is passionate about data and automation. She lives in a 145-year-old rowhouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, three blocks from her fiancée. Julia is an autistic mom of an autistic teenager. Their all-autistic household has strong feelings about autistic representation in media and autistic self-advocacy (“don’t talk about us without us”).

Vanguard supports the long-term career growth of our crew through an internal mobility process, as well as mentorships and upskilling resources. I have the privilege of leading a Talent Acquisition team of internal recruiters in Human Resources who are dedicated to delivering a transparent and equitable hiring process for our crew. In this blog, I’ll be sharing insights into our offerings, as well as feedback from key stakeholders.

A look at internal recruiting
Internal roles are posted to our enterprise career site, and recruiters facilitate the process by ensuring all applicants are reviewed and calibrated, and that candidates interviewed receive feedback. Further, recruiters consult interview teams on the importance of diversity, awareness of unconscious bias, and why strong interview feedback is critical for career mobility. Our Talent Acquisition team fills more than 2,500 job opportunities a year through crew mobility and advancement.

“In my role as an internal recruiter, I am fortunate to experience firsthand the myriad of career opportunities available to Vanguard crew. Playing a part of the career development process is such a gratifying and meaningful aspect of my job. Vanguard truly encourages and supports career mobility and I am proud to contribute to that effort.” – Kris C., Recruiter

“The managers whom I’ve interviewed with have been very receptive to follow up conversations about my interviews and how and where I can improve. These conversations are the best way for me to fully understand and learn where my opportunities for growth are. Interview feedback has been incredibly helpful and has allowed me to land the job I’m applying for.” – Sam R., Internal candidate

Development opportunities through Crew Resource Groups
My team has a front row seat to observe crew investing in their professional development through enterprise resources and supports them in taking actions that will enable them to advance in their careers. Crew participate in our Crew Resource Groups (CRGs), such as Leadership and Engagement for Asian Professionals (LEAP), Open Professional Engagement Network (OPEN), Hispanic/Latinx Organization for Leadership and Advancement (HOLA), Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success (WILS), and Vanguard Black Professional Network (VBPN), as well as our Vets Connect group, to receive 1-on-1 mentoring, coaching, and business training. Crew leverage CRG opportunities to support their Vanguard and local communities and grow professionally.

“I am a member of the Vanguard Black Professional Network (VBPN), one of the many crew resource groups available that fosters inclusivity and career progression. Through VBPN, I was assigned a mentor, a senior leader who helped me increase my networking opportunities. Through her guidance, I was able to navigate interviews and land my current role. There are a lot of CRG collaborations across the different groups, which creates a broader network for crew mobility.” – Agnes E., CRG mentee

“I joined multiple CRGs soon after beginning my Vanguard career. I quickly discovered that the mentorship programs are a wonderful way for new employees to forge long-term bonds with more tenured employees. I was grateful to be partnered with a mentor in VBPN and a mentor in WILS. Both mentors have been instrumental in my career growth and have provided thoughtful guidance, support and friendship throughout my time at Vanguard.” – Tammarra W., CRG mentor

Our annual Career Expo
In addition to the opportunities mentioned above, the internal recruiting team recently partnered with our CRG community to host Vanguard’s third annual internal Career Expo, which went 100% virtual for the first time in 2020. The expo featured ways to fuel your career during a season of change with over 60 virtual booths. During the event, crew were invited to build business acumen, network virtually, and develop skills in relation to career mobility. Over 2,700 crew registered to attend the Vanguard Career Expo and enjoyed learning about job opportunities, as well as Vanguard upskilling resources.

“The Global Risk & Security (GR&S) division has gone through a transformation over the past two years in order to ensure that the risk management support we provide to our various business lines keeps up with the dynamic and evolving industry in which we operate, and that we continue to protect and steward client assets. The career expo provided a fantastic opportunity for me as a leader to share insights into the work happening every day in GR&S, the shifting risk landscape, and how our crew are partnering with the businesses to meet strategic goals. Crew were able to attend overview sessions to learn more about the division and identify potential career areas of interest. We are always looking to hire talented crew into GR&S!” – Marissa B., Business lead

Resources for enhancing your skills
As for upskilling resources, Vanguard recently introduced Degreed to crew. Degreed is Vanguard’s learning experience platform and is a “one stop learning shop” that fits into the flow of normal work. With Degreed, crew get smarter in skills aligned to their career path with seamless integration of articles, books, videos, and courses to build needed skills for professional growth and expertise. Degreed is one of many Vanguard tools used to support crew in achieve their personal and professional goals.

“I really like how Degreed integrates a lot of sources and platforms (Harvard publishing podcasts, articles from industry publications, etc.). I already had followed the Harvard Business Review (HBR) Women at Work podcast, so having it in the learning system to check off as a learning task was awesome. Additionally, it allows crew to consider the other learnings that they may already be doing outside the traditional learning platforms.” – Jasmine T., Crew user of Degreed

“Vanguard is dedicated to providing a variety of development opportunities for crew at all levels. From industry certifications and advanced degree programs, to training classes and job rotations, I have personally benefitted from the development offerings. As a business leader who recently transitioned to a new domain, Degreed provided a roadmap for me as I worked to quickly increase acumen in my new role through internal thought leadership, external podcasts and articles, and traditional training classes.” – Marissa B., Leader user of Degreed

Come launch a career at Vanguard and meet my team in your advancement journey!

– Chelsea M.

Want to learn more? Take a few moments and watch this video where five crew talk through their career progression at Vanguard.

I started my career at Vanguard as a software developer in Information Technology Systems supporting our Retail business just about ten years ago. Within the first few weeks, it was evident how authentically Vanguard holds to its mission, putting clients first in every aspect of the company. What has kept me at Vanguard for these ten years is the opportunity for growth. I am consistently learning new technologies to solve the latest challenges sharing what I have learned with crew members here, and I’ve even presented in various marquee conferences outside of Vanguard.

Within the past few years, Vanguard has started to transition most of our software development into the cloud. With that transition has come a wealth of fresh challenges and opportunities. My team was an early adopter of using data and analytics, speech to text, machine learning, and other cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) tools on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to pave the way for other programs here at Vanguard. Because our team was heavily involved with AWS, I was sent to their largest conference, re:Invent, in 2018 to learn from the brightest minds in the field. After a fully and busy week of panels, events, and discussions with new friends, I returned to my team eager to share my experience, but I had no idea what was in store in the years to come.

My colleague Jeff and I presenting at a conference.

Following re:Invent, my team found itself at the forefront of experimenting more of what AWS has to offer. We started to work directly with a Solutions Architect from AWS who helped us pilot two new services. Once we were successful, so, we shared our learnings with other teams, and strengthened our partnership with AWS. This led to my team being selected to present at re:Invent 2020 to showcase our journey and relationship with AWS.

Presenting at re:Invent was an invaluable experience. Our team planned, prepared, and practiced for several months leading up to the event with our AWS Solutions Architect. Ultimately, we were able to tell our story of how we were implementing new services from AWS to consistently meet the needs of our clients. It was a story that demonstrated the innovative efforts we strive to take while maintaining our client-centered focus.

Being able to represent Vanguard at one of the world’s largest conferences is an opportunity that I never imagined I would have in my career. It’s opportunities like these, and the partnerships I continue to develop, both inside and outside of Vanguard, that encourage me to bring my best and authentic self to work. The ability to innovate and explore ever evolving technology has made each day of my ten-year career as exciting as the first, and I look forward to the future challenges and opportunities that are in store over the next ten and beyond!

-Justin F.

Before beginning my technology career at Vanguard, I attended my first immersive conference that celebrated women in technology. The Grace Hopper Celebration is a tribute to Grace Hopper, the aptly named ‘Grandmother of Cobol’, for her pioneering work in the computer programming field. She was truly an inspiration to women and scientists for her innovations and contributions.

I was accustomed to attending lectures at the University of Wisconsin where the number of females in the room, even in a class of two-hundred-fifty, could often be counted on two hands. My university had over forty-five-thousand students and computer science was the largest major, of which women made up only 13% of the total. Women were even less represented in my computer engineering courses. I was excited to make valuable connections with women at the conference in Orlando, Florida.

Surprisingly, my first connection happened on my flight in. I sat next to a woman from Australia who was also attending the conference. After talking with her for a while I discovered she had been a software engineer for over ten years! It was a great start. When I arrived, I was surprised to see that the conference was the exact opposite of my college experience. I was in awe of the sheer number of women who filled up the seven-million square foot conference center. The conference had events for everyone including a three-day career fair, keynote speakers, and breakout sessions to learn about specific technologies. During the career fair portion, I met Vanguard and immediately felt the enthusiasm from the women at the table. This ultimately led to me accepting an offer to join the firm.

Here are my key takeaways from the conference:

1. Empowerment from women supporting women
Before attending this event, I couldn’t imagine the concept of more than twenty-thousand like-minded women coming together to celebrate technology. I hadn’t met such a strong support group since my undergraduate studies, when I joined a computer science club for women. I learned a lot from the women I met in those safe and supportive environments. It feels empowering to hear about both the positive and negative experiences of women navigating their own careers in the technology industry.

2. Taking chances can pay off
Talking to a new company can be daunting, especially when walking into a session where unfamiliar people are discussing foreign concepts. It can even be scary to try and get tickets for the Grace Hopper Celebration! Although it can be unnerving, it is important to take chances and learn as much as possible in those busy three days. I have found that some of the most uncomfortable moments I put myself in were rewarded through the people I met and the opportunities I received.

3. There is a lot of room to have fun in computer science
It’s called the Grace Hopper Celebration, after all! The three day event was truly festive and left me with a smile across my face the entire time. I was surrounded by friendly people, fun events and exclusive, company-hosted social gatherings. Some of my favorite parts worth noting include eating crepes under a Ferris wheel, testing out virtual reality games, and printing out my Snapchat bitmoji on a tote bag. There are many chances to connect with others and share experiences.

I am proud to work at a company that prioritizes diversity and inclusion in their recruitment strategy. Vanguard’s commitment to maintaining a diverse and competent team of engineers is apparent in the environment I’ve worked in since joining the staff one year ago. Not only are women accepted here, they are given an opportunity to excel and drive others to succeed as well. I have been fortunate to be led and challenged by two female technical managers during my tenure.

Being a visible female role model in the technology field is a very important aspect of my career. I find so much meaning in establishing relationships that empower other young women to pursue the field of their choice. I think it is invaluable to have someone to look up to who was once on the same path that you are paving. Vanguard has really motivated me by giving me the opportunity to serve as a role model to other women in the industry. I am very excited to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration again this year, to represent all the women in Vanguard technology and to meet other talented women, as well.

-Jessica T.

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.

Are you a college student ready to explore what the corporate world has to offer? Will you be attending a career fair this year and are unsure of what to expect? If you’ve answered yes to these questions, Vanguard’s University Recruiters have five tips to consider before leaving your dorm room and heading to the big event.

1. 1. Be your whole, unique self when speaking with recruiters. It’s undoubtedly scary visiting multiple booths and interacting with a number of individuals who could be influential in the decision-making process when it comes to your career. Remain true to yourself and you’ll end up exactly where you are meant to be. – Shea H.
   2. Before approaching a career fair booth, make sure you’ve completed research on that company. Incorporating this knowledge into your elevator pitch can go along way and help you stand out as a candidate. – Lucy W.
   3. When speaking with recruiters at career fairs, avoid jumping right into your elevator pitch. First pause and take a moment to ask them one or more of the following questions: “How are you today?” How are you enjoying our campus?” “Is this your first time visiting us?” This is a natural way to build rapport. As they then ask you questions about you and your interest in their company, provide your story. Stories connect people. For example, “Well, I originally hail from Massachusetts but I’ve been enjoying studying here in Philadelphia. I’ve always had a passion for math and money.  It all started when I was in junior high helping my parents with organizing their bills; now I’m the President of the Financial Planning Club on campus.  I am really interested in learning more about your College to Corporate Internship program.  From your website, I understand that it would position participants for success in this field.” – Ayana P.
   4. Don’t just look at the job you want, but look at a company’s culture to find the right fit for you. This could ultimately make or break your first full-time working experience. – Joe J.
   5. Body language speaks volumes, so make sure yours conveys your interest when speaking with a recruiter at a job fair. Use a firm handshake when introducing yourself and again when ending a conversation. Additionally, maintain eye contact and smile. These simple acts will exude confidence and leave a positive impression with everyone you meet with. – Erika F.

Interested in learning more about opportunities at Vanguard? Please visit our Events page to see if we will be at your campus career fair. Our recruiters look forward to meeting you!

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