MARK VANDENBERG: My name is Mark Vandenberg. I’m a Voyager financial advisor here, and I came to work at Vanguard because of its reputation in the industry, its commitment to higher education, and always putting the investor first and foremost.
As an advisor I really see the greatest skill that you need to succeed is being a relationship manager. Being relatable to people, being able to talk to them and engage with them in conversation, really gaining their trust. Mine is I would really say isn’t even technical related, it’s really just about your interpersonal skills, and being really being relatable and being able for a person to confide in you, and trust you.
My favorite perk or tradition here at Vanguard is probably our paid volunteer day off that the company gives us every year. And what this allows you to do is go out in the community and volunteer at an organization of your choice. Last year I got to volunteer for the SPCA. I’m a huge animal lover. So I got to go out and spend a day walking dogs, and everything like that, and just really going out and helping the community.
So how you go about advancing your career is, your supervisor is really your quarterback. You partner with them, talk with them about what you’re hoping to accomplish here, and then they’ll help you get in front of those individuals and network with people already in that role. So that way you get your face out there, you get the new leaders in the department, and ultimately learn more in hopes of one day getting to that, reaching that goal.