I applied through university. The process took 6 months. I interviewed at Vanguard (Scottsdale, AZ)
Interview
I was initially put into contact with one of their HR people through a career services reference at my university. They scheduled a phone interview that ends up taking 30 minutes to an hour depending on how conversational you are. There are a few of the basic questions about yourself/your resume, followed by a couple of easy behavioral questions "Tell me about a time you had to work in a team", etc. Then, they'll typically ask you to define some basic terms like stocks, bonds, ETFs, and FINRA. My advice is to just try and connect with the HR person as much as possible and show your personality through the phone. If you do well they'll offer you a real interview on their campus (it took them two weeks to get back to me, but I've heard of them offering it on the spot). The on-campus interview is four hours, split into four sections. The first/last hours are presentations mainly about the structure of the company and the benefits packages. The middle two hours is split into a one on one interview with someone, and then a separate role play with a different person. The interview is pretty standard, make sure you're up on your recent financial news and can talk about everything on your resume. The role play is rather awkward as you're pretending to have a telephone conversation with someone sitting two feet away from you. That being said, the key to the role play is to show empathy. Regardless of whether your customer is rude/upset, just be empathetic to their situation and you should be fine. After the on-campus interview they say they'll get back to you within two weeks, but in my case it took a month. OVERALL: VERY friendly HR people. Everyone involved was amicable and I never felt uncomfortable- extremely excited to be working here.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
"Tell me about a time when you had to think outside the box", "Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all of the relevant information; what did you do and what were the results?"
Interview was good, Interviewer provided alot of information containing to the job description and the benefits. They provided STAR example questions to get a better understanding of who I was and what I can possibly offer to the environment
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Vanguard (Charlotte, NC) in Aug 2021
Interview
The interview was a two step process, the phone screen was about 15 mins and they were mainly looking for clarity of your voice and if you are articulate. The virtual 1-on-1 interview was fairly easy, about 6 STAR-based questions regarding customer service, communication skills, and learning agility.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a recent time where you had to develop rapport and maintain a relationship with a client or customer?
Role playing situation. Simulated call between customer and you in the role. Asked about interest in role and background. What would make you succeed. Interviewer observed how you handle a phone call