I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Vanguard (Malvern, PA) in Feb 2015
Interview
I was contacted by a recruiter on a Friday to set up a time for a phone interview. We had agreed to set up the interview for the Tuesday afternoon. The recruiter was extremely nice and easy to talk to. We had spoke on the phone for about an hour going over basic behavioral questions and why I wanted to work about Vanguard. Once she was finished with her questions for me she had asked if I had any for her. I had asked about the opportunities at Vanguard and how they would help me advance and move throughout my career. She had launched into a lengthy but highly informative speech about all of the opportunities, departments and resources that Vanguard had to offer to its employees, or crew members as they call them. I wasn't sold on the company before that, I was after that speech. She had then invited me into the office at Malvern for an in-person interview that Friday afternoon.
The interview process at the Malvern office was a four hour long process. The first hour was bringing myself and three other candidates into a room and giving us a presentation about how the company was set up, how they conduct business, all of the different departments there are and so on. The next two hours were the actual interview. The interviews took place in the Galley, or the cafeteria, which I felt was a nice touch and helped us relax so that the interview could flow more like a conversation and less like an interview. The first part of the interview was asking basic behavioral type of questions as well as questions pertaining to current events in the finance world. I would suggest doing a little reading on the Wall Street Journal or Bloomberg so that you are not blindsided by this. Once that was over they gave you a 5-10 minute break to use the restroom or regroup and then there was a case study. The first part of the case study was giving you a summary of a customer with a problem and discussion questions on the back that you are going to go over with the interviewer after reading over the information for about 10 minutes. This part is meant to get a better understanding on how you would deal with a customer who was having basic customer service problems. Be empathetic!! They are all about serving the customer first and foremost!! The second part they gave you financial information where you are supposed to advise the customer on how they are supposed to handle their accounts. Just have a basic knowledge of finance information and make sure when you are advising the customer (interviewer) that you are showing that they come first. After those interviews were over they brought us back into the room we were first in an gave us another presentation on benefits packages and basically all of the perks of working at Vanguard, which are A LOT!!
I must have done really well on the interview because by Monday morning they had called me and offered me the job. I said I needed a day to review the offer letter materials but I already knew that I was going to accept because Vanguard is an extremely great company to work for and I am looking forward to starting.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Where do you typically find news pertaining to the finance industry?
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