Pros
Employment at Vanguard is best suited for students looking to gain experience and for a certain types of individuals with families. Students will gain insight on how large corporations work (good and bad), however should refrain from setting up expectations for long-term employment. Most recent grads are pleased initially to work for a large and well-respected employer, however this predictably changes over time. I worked for Vanguard for nearly 10 years and learned that while salaries company wide have gone up, they can substantially lag industry standards. After about 5 years of employment, due to the compensation structure and hiring policies, you will likely find that new hires I making similar or more than your tenured salary. For example a good friend with little industry experience acquired a job at the same level as me (5 levels up in the company – considered to be a good level of employment), however she started at 4k more than me. Once again, experience matters, but stay too long and you only hurt yourself. If you are not the primary breadwinner of your household and are looking for good benefits, some (depending on the role) flexibility, and are not necessarily interested in potential advancement Vanguard may be good for you. If you want to advance within the company I advise that you network aggressively and be prepared to “peacock”. Many of the individuals that have advanced at this company are well-connected self-promoters, it is difficult to do so as an outsider. You will not do well at this company if you feel uncomfortable with promoting your work, your compensation and advancement depends on it.
Cons
Vanguard is the Walmart of the investment world - A good place to shop, a bad place to work long-term for most. Most individuals that employees directly report to are taught “in house” and lack ability to balance corporate initiatives and fair employee practices. During the course of your career at Vanguard you will likely find yourself working duel positions for extended periods of time with little if any recognition, nor will you be compensated for your additional work. Salaried employees occasionally have flexibility in their schedule to attend a doctors appointment, however all in all over the course of nearly 10 years I likely worked on average 45 hours a week while being compensated for 37.5. Advancement is determined by individuals despite a process being in place, therefore you will likely encounter instances where the friend, child, or family member of a higher level are selected for a desirable position. Vanguard does support diversity and this is good thing for the work environment, however management attempts to diversify the staff can be sudden, inflexible, poorly prepared, and haphazardly facilitated. Advancement and hiring are determined by race and gender in many cases and it is true to state that if you are a minority woman you will garner more opportunities at Vanguard. I have personally been pulled from a promotional opportunity, despite starting the job, to satisfy diversity requirement. I willingly agreed to the retraction of the position because I was told another better-suited opportunity would soon be available, I was eventually promoted but it took nearly a year to do so. The mid-year and year-end process it daunting and does not yield fair results. Your year end raise and bonus (applicable over a certain level) will be decided during a group management meeting by members that may not even know you, unfortunately the due date for your documented accomplishments are often after this meeting takes place. The year-end process does not work. Vanguards “pay for performance” policy is boiled down to an average raise that nearly the entire workforce receives (1-3% depending on the economic climate). If you are lucky the person you directly report to will be in good favor and can speak comfortably to upper management. If you have a newer or “out of favor” direct report you will likely not be compensated for your achievements. Additional Problems: Job roles change constantly and are not communicated well by management, management programs are offered exclusively to recent college graduates only while overlooking talent in the employee pool, salary is below average, excessive changes in management personnel hurt the work environment (I had 6 different direct reports in my last year), work/life balance varies dramatically depending on position and direct report, and a “kool-aid” corporate culture discourages independent thought and feedback. The company was not always as bad as it is now, however the problems are becoming substantially worse.