Pros
This is a great company for someone graduating from college that wants to work for 1 employer forever. You will most likely need to work in a call center and pass the financial license exams, but you really can advance your career rapidly. Even though your starting salary will be low, you will move up quickly and within 5 years you can make a lot of money and have a job for life. Most importantly, if you come into Vanguard out of college or early in your career, you will be taught to how to think and behave to fit the culture. You won’t know any other way, and therefore you will be successful.
Cons
Vanguard does very little external hiring at the mid and sr. level. We hire thousands of entry-level workers out of college and rotate them all throughout the company - across divisions and functions. We have a general leadership philosophy / rotational culture and believe that anyone can do any job. While this sounds great, it comes at a price that is not appreciated There is little technical and functional expertise ..... and it is a significant enterprise risk This is a homogeneous, inbred culture. Most outsiders aren't supported. If you didn't grow up here, it is going to be very hard to be successful. This is most pronounced in functional areas like Marketing, HR, IT, Digital, Sales and Finance. The track record of success isn't good. Do your research. It is not a high-performing culture. Status quo is rewarded Talent management is not transparent Benefits are not great, and it is funny to read all of the positive reviews about them. For example, there is zero company match on the 401k plan for one year, and vesting is 6 years. Low compensation Tactical leadership New ways of doing things and outside perspectives not valued. It is not an inclusive culture - and you should not be naive about this. The culture frequently crushes outsiders. The higher your job level, the greater the likelihood you will not be successful. Starting here as a M4 or above is a high-risk career move.