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      in Career Hacks

      Why Choose Stifel?  It’s Simple – You and Your Ideas Are Welcome Here.   

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      Success is more than just an ideology here at Stifel.  It’s about taking the ideas of how to succeed and putting them into action.  These actions permeate throughout our organization, within every department, and at every Stifel branch across the nation.  And it all starts with you.  

      Stifel is a place where you can build a challenging, rewarding career with one of the industry’s most diverse, creative teams.  A place where new ideas are welcome and fresh thinking is encouraged.  The kind of thinking that helps us understand and use the forces of the market to be ready for whatever is next.

      To make this happen, our leadership makes the well-being of our associates a top priority.  We actively promote a new and different type of thinking, anchored by a commitment to helping you build strong relationships with your fellow associates across the organization. 

      So, how do we do that?  Entrepreneurial spirit.  Innovation.  And, of course, diversity and inclusivity.  These are all great ideas on the surface – but at Stifel, we put them into action from the top down.  Our leadership sets the tone with each and every associate, and our mentorship philosophy is where our culture really starts to thrive.  We encourage people in leadership positions to step back and ask themselves, “What did I need when I was coming up in the industry?  Who put a hand out for me?  Who gave me guidance?  How can I turn that around and help others that are entering our field”

      At Stifel, if you have an idea, our leadership will listen to it and truly consider it.  Your ideas can actually be put into place pretty quickly.  Our organization is structured like that.  Building on that sentiment, fostering collaboration is another key component to what makes Stifel great.  Our firm is built around supporting not only our clients, but also each other.  This is based on another simple, yet effective, guiding philosophy at Stifel – the “Golden Rule.”  Treat each other the way we would want to be treated and listen with empathy, respect, and with a heart toward understanding.     

      Stifel is often described as a large firm with a startup mentality.  Its metaphorical open-door policy means that a junior staff member can easily call a senior manager and speak with them, for example.  Additionally, the family-like relationship that the associates across departments and branches share is something very special and unique.  

      According to a study conducted by Coqual, organizations rated highly for diversity and inclusion have 57% better collaboration.  We’ve taken this to heart.  Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande, Director of Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion, has been an integral force in championing diversity and inclusion initiatives across the firm.

      “That’s essentially what Stifel has always done and continues to do so well – to help individuals, to help organizations, to help communities, to strengthen their capacity to be difference-makers. That’s why I’m so excited to be at Stifel – because I’m part of a team that believes in the wonderfulness of America and the ability to be able to make things better.”
      Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande More

    • 188 Shares129 Views

      in Career Hacks

      Day in the Life: Working at One of the Biggest Accounting Firms in the US

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      There is nothing that compares to an energetic, engaged, and sociable office environment. A place that feels like a second home, where you know everybody, where you can put your best foot forward, and where you can grow and thrive with a group of diverse minds who aren’t just your colleagues but your friends too.

      We’re happy to say that such an office exists in the heart of Minneapolis. KPMG Minneapolis has built a culture and community that goes far beyond an office space. In our conversations with employees from the KPMG Minneapolis office, both new and old, we discovered what makes their office perfect for those who want more than a run-of-the-mill office experience.

      Collective Problem-Solving

      A very common worry that a lot of entry-level employees or early career professionals come across is what to do when faced with obstacles. As is the case with any new job, challenges will arise, so this is very natural.

      When we spoke with Reece English, a former intern and current Tax Associate at KPMG, he mentioned that having a bunch of fellow colleagues in the same position as him was incredibly helpful. For example, one day Reece was having an issue with a platform he was using at his desk. After firing off a question to a fellow colleague, instead of replying in the chat, she stopped what she was doing and went over to Reece’s desk and walked him through it.

      Whether it’s asking a fellow intern for a ride to work or getting a managing partner to look over a review you did, everyone at KPMG seeks to support one another whenever possible.

      Social Life

      In our conversations with employees from KPMG, we discovered that they cultivate a culture that values socializing and employee interaction. Pizza days, taco Tuesdays, morning coffee and donuts, and happy hours are incredibly common at the KPMG Minneapolis office. These events help build camaraderie and meaningful bonds between employees.

      The Minneapolis office even has a basketball team and kickball team. While the basketball team is company-wide, the kickball team is exclusively for interns and gives them the chance to compete in a tournament against the other Big Four accounting firms. KPMG won in 2021 but lost in 2022 so they are hoping for a big comeback next year.

      Lastly, the training at the KPMG Lakehouse in Orlando also underscores the firm’s dedication to building a well-connected community. Every year, all KPMG professionals from, intern to partner, head down to the training and innovation center to upskill, socialize, and get to know one another better. Fit with a gym, social venues, and tons of other amenities, the experiences at Lakehouse goes to show KPMG’s dedication to creating fun and lasting bonds between employees.

      Real Experience with Clients

      The KPMG Minneapolis office is particularly unique because of its close proximity to its clients, many of which are Fortune 500 companies. In fact, Minnesota is home to over fifteen Fortune 500 companies, most of which are audit, tax and/or advisory clients of the Minneapolis office. What this means is interns and associates get the chance to interact and work directly with clients on a regular basis.

      Whether it’s through coffee chats, boardroom meetings, or onsite engagements, employees get the chance to work directly with these clients as they help influence business decisions in real-time! For Lilli Denison, that meant no day was the same.

      This communal aspect, paired with the client engagement that even interns get to partake in, made Lilli realize that employees at the Minneapolis office would always be exposed to new, exciting, and meaningful work.

      A Supportive Network

      Another one of the most alluring aspects of the KPMG Minneapolis office is the bottomless support network provided by fellow colleagues and partners. In our conversation with James Powell, the office managing partner in Minneapolis, he spoke about the “pass it forward” mentality that exists throughout the organization.

      James emphasized how there is a “whole network of people who, yes, have a job to do, but at the same time also find it very important to make sure that the people around them are successful.” James went on to say how much of a proud culture the KPMG Minneapolis office has and how that pride reverberates off the behavior of employees helping one another. This pride stems from their devotion to helping fellow colleagues and lifting each other up whenever possible.

      At KPMG, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been with the company for a day or a decade, everyone is treated the same and given the same opportunities to grow and succeed.

      Make the Minneapolis Leap

      People choose to stay at KPMG for a variety of reasons. Some include the ones we mentioned earlier, but many of them are discovered by the employees themselves. Whether it’s the support system, the social life, or the paths to success that are paved for each and every employee, the KPMG Minneapolis office is the destination where early career professionals go to thrive.

      Learn more about the internships and open roles that KPMG is looking to fill at their Minneapolis office and locations across the country here and begin your road to success! More

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      in Career Hacks

      Five Job Application Tips from Full-Time Business Analysts

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      When you’re applying for a job, there are several questions that are likely to run through your head. Does my resume need to be updated? Am I portraying myself well? Have I prepared enough?

      Unfortunately, a lot of these job application questions don’t get answered until the process is over. However, we’ve been put in a unique position to give you the answers you’re looking for no matter what stage of the application process you’re in. We recently had the opportunity to get those behind-the-scenes answers firsthand.

      Recently, we sat down with two junior business analysts at Maximus, a consulting company tasked with protecting health, supporting families, and streamlining government services, to hear how they crushed the interview and application process. In our conversations with them, they revealed what it takes to stand out to recruiters both at Maximus and in the professional world.

      Format Your Resume for the Job You Want

      Odds are you’ve been hearing different kinds of resume advice over the years – keep it to one page, think beyond your job duties, highlight relevant skills, etc. While some advice is better than others, what Zain Baig, Business Analyst and former intern at Maximus, believes is most important is to format your resume for the job you want.

      Zain didn’t have experience in the industry or department that he was applying for. However, by reframing the past experiences on his resume in a way that was aligned with the internship he was applying for, he seemed more like a fit in the eyes of the recruiter.

      Make Use of Networking Opportunities

      Recruiters and employers also want to see prospective students attend networking opportunities available to them.

      While it isn’t likely to land a job on the spot at a career fair, that’s not necessarily the point. Making this first point of contact sets you up for your second, third, and fourth moves. Now you have established familiarity with the recruiter or employer, which will make you stand out in the application process. However, that’s not the only benefit.

      Benefits of attending a career fair/networking event:

      Gain more knowledge about a company

      Establish familiarity with recruiters

      Practice interacting in a professional setting

      Find out what you do and don’t like

      Whether it shows you something you never thought you’d like or just helps you stretch those networking muscles, there really isn’t a reason not to take advantage of these events.

      Know the Basics About a Company

      This next piece of advice might seem obvious but is often overlooked by so many students and young professionals looking for a job. When you’re applying for a job, a major red flag in the eyes of recruiters is a candidate who doesn’t know anything about the company.

      What Edda did to prepare for the interview process was simple. She went to the Maximus website, clicked through various pages, read about the company’s offerings, and caught up on the most recent articles they published. This gave her just enough information to speak with interest and familiarity for the company, something always stands out to recruiters. 

      Be Prepared for Tough Questions

      One of the harder parts about applying and interviewing for jobs is answering questions on the spot. This is because there is only so much you can do to prepare for them. Chances are, you’ll be getting asked a question you didn’t expect or have a planned answer for.

      What’s most important about crossing this bridge is approaching the question genuinely. If you need a second to think about an answer, politely ask for a moment to reflect. Recruiters will appreciate that much more than you rushing to a conclusion or pretending to know something you don’t.

      Additionally, recruiters suggest not to over-prepare for questions with copy-and-paste answers. Recruiters can tell when you’ve put together responses in advance, especially when you’re reading them on your screen. Again, approach the question genuinely and craft your response with care, precision, and grace.

      Express a Desire to Learn

      While all the tips on this list will help you shine brighter in the eyes of recruiters, the most important thing young professionals should do when looking for a job is express a desire to learn. 

      For those who are early in their professional careers, chances are you don’t have a whole lot of job experience. So, what you need to let the interviewer know more than anything else is that you want to learn. But you have to be direct about it! What is it you want to learn more about? What skills do you hope to learn? What position would you like to eventually see yourself in?

      By expressing this desire to grow and learn with a company, recruiters will always be more willing to give you a chance to prove yourself.

      While both Zain and Edda followed different paths to get to where they are now, they both relied on these core tips to secure jobs that launched their careers.

      Now that you know what it takes to crush the job application process, why not try your luck? Start browsing open positions today! More

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      in Career Hacks

      How Meritage Homes Is Diversifying the Home Building Space One Job at a Time

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      There are a lot of factors to consider when determining where you want to work. Location, salary, position, and culture are all crucial details that will impact your experience with a company and ultimately, the trajectory of your professional career.

      In addition to these crucial factors, one characteristic that everyone seems to be looking for in a company is an inclusive environment. As we’ve come to understand, fostering a culture that acknowledges and supports people from different backgrounds leads to incredible growth for the company, the employees, and oftentimes the industry as a whole.

      But what does an inclusive company look like? And how are you supposed to know if your particular background and individuality will thrive there?

      In order to find out, we spoke with Meritage Homes Vice President of Inclusion and Culture, Regina Rivera, and Assistant Construction Manager, Madison Martin, about what diversity means at their company. In our conversations, they spoke about the company’s interpretation of diversity, why it’s important, how the company supports it, and all the benefits gained from embracing inclusion.

      Diversity of Skills, Behavior, and Experience

      One of the most fascinating pieces of information that arose from our conversation with Regina is how Meritage Homes interprets diversity. Regina emphasized that they don’t singularly look at someone’s particular race or background; they also focus on their skills and experiences.

      Being that we think and behave based on our life experiences, this made perfect sense. While someone’s race or gender may have led them to particular experiences in life, Meritage Homes focuses on the results of those experiences. Regina described how they think about diversity “not just through the race and gender lens, but the diversity of behavior” as well.

      She went on to talk about how professionals from outside the industry “can speak and share different perspectives and comment on the work from a different angle.” At Meritage Homes, this is what they believe will help drive innovation.

      Why Diversity And Inclusion Is Important

      At Meritage Homes, the end goal isn’t to meet some quota or percentage. While they do care about increasing representation in their company, Meritage Homes doesn’t base their success solely on numbers. They base it on how well the values of their company are being embraced and demonstrated by their employees’ values that are enhanced by collaboration and a supportive network.

      Regina spoke about one of Meritage Homes’ behavior anchor statements regarding “playing to win” and “collaborating as a team.” She stated, “To live out the concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion is to live our [Meritage Homes’] values.” The whole idea of collaboration is to create with people who can provide different perspectives and insight than you. What better way to do that than by creating a workforce filled with people who had different experiences and come from a variety of backgrounds?

      While diversity is important in its contributions to the growth and profitability of the company, one of the most important differences it makes is to the employee experience at Meritage—their level of comfort, belonging, and connection in the workplace.

      How They’re Supporting Diversity and Inclusion

      So it’s clear that Meritage Homes knows what diversity and inclusivity look like and why it’s important, but how do they support and empower it? Meritage is committed to weaving diversity, equity, and inclusion into the company fabric. They emphasize to their team members and leaders that DE&I isn’t something extra that they must do but is a part of strategy and operations every day.

      Raising awareness has definitely been a starting point. The willingness to have conversations, acknowledge one’s bias (both conscious and unconscious), and actively take steps to pause and consider alternative ways of doing things is essential.

      Through regular communication, training, micro-learning, modeling, linking and labeling behavior, Meritage is sharpening an inclusive leadership mindset and building DE&I skills throughout the organization. 

      Today, Meritage Homes continues to lead this inclusive revolution by not only diversifying their employee base but training them to lead in a way that reflects Meritage’s core values as well.

      The Benefits of Diversity

      While the benefits of Meritage Homes’ actions and initiatives towards diversity are felt in the workforce, marketplace, and workplace, we’d like to concentrate on the workplace as it has the most immediate influence on what the day-to-day will be like as an employee.

      Madison Martin, an Assistant Construction Manager, is a perfect example of how Meritage Homes’ inclusive ideals were beneficial. When Madison first came across the job listing, she wasn’t sure if homebuilding was right for her as she had preconceptions about the construction industry.

      However, during the interview process, Madison realized that Meritage Homes doesn’t believe in one particular background for any of its roles. 

      Madison said this discussion about the value of people with different backgrounds and areas of expertise ultimately helped her make the decision to join the Meritage team.

      Madison shared that she immediately felt welcomed and was treated like a member of the team. She has felt both challenged and supported as she has learned her new role. 

      Madison joined Meritage Homes as an intern and after a few months, she was offered a full-time position as an Assistant Construction Manager. 

      By redefining what diversity means and reshaping what an inclusive environment feels like, Meritage Homes has created a revolutionary culture that is bound to send waves across the industry.

      Their lens is a unique one and their mission is a brave one. Will you join Meritage Homes as they seek to enhance the home building industry one job at a time?

      Start browsing open positions and internships today. More

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      In Three Words: Dow Jones Interns Break Down Their Summers

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      Landing an internship at Dow Jones is an opportunity to work for a company that makes a worldwide impact. As a global company with over 5,500 employees, our mission is to provide the world’s most trusted journalism, data, and analysis to help people make decisions.

      Whether it’s helping our readers make decisions through our flagship publications, The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s Group, or helping companies make decisions with our world-class data and analytics services, we educate and inform people to make choices and form opinions everywhere.

      At Dow Jones, it doesn’t matter what area of business your internship is in, you can be certain it will be an immersive experience with meaningful and impactful work. During your internship, you will be working hands-on with real projects and business objectives. Additionally, you will learn how to grow and harness your skills through professional development sessions and networking events with executives and our CEO, Almar Latour.

      For insight into the “real” Dow Jones internship experience, read what former interns who have since transitioned into full-time employees have to say. Here’s how they described their internship experience in three words. More

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      How An Assistant Vice President Launched His Career with WayUp

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      There is no one set path to your dream job. As you move through life, college, and your early professional career, new avenues will appear and opportunities will begin to show themselves.

      While there are several places to look for these new avenues and opportunities, one place that a lot of early career candidates are using to find jobs is WayUp. One individual who used WayUp to find his dream job is Louis Smith, an assistant vice president at multinational universal bank, Barclays.

      Recently, we got the chance to chat with Louis to hear all about how he went from intern, to analyst, to assistant vice president in just three years. In our conversation, Louis mentioned some career tips and insights into the job-hunting process, what his internship was like, and why he loves working at Barclays so much.

      The Job Search

      In late 2018, Louis knew he wanted to explore finance, work in New York, and thought that it would be cool to work at a bank. He knew what he wanted, but he didn’t necessarily know where to find it. What he ended up doing, and now recommends to current job seekers, is find out everything he wanted out of a job – industry, location, position, etc. – and narrow down the search as much as possible.

      Luckily, WayUp provided him with the perfect place to do that.

      As a lot of college students, early career professionals, and job seekers will find, it can be hard to figure out what kind of job you want. What made things easier for Louis was scanning the market with WayUp, finding out what he did and didn’t like from job applications and filters, and shooting his shot from there. Eventually, he came across Barclays and their summer analyst internship.

      An Internship of a Lifetime

      While Louis had past job experience, his summer banking internship at Barclays in 2019 was his first major job in an office setting. Besides the fact that he was working in Manhattan, just a few blocks away from Time Square, and doing what he had always wanted to do, Louis didn’t really know what to expect during his summer at Barclays.

      As it turned out, Barclays’ summer analyst internship was the perfect combination of exploration and support. Louis was able to explore new territory, learn new concepts, and make significant contributions to the business all at the same time. 

      Whether it was financial analysis and modeling or valuation and client due diligence, Louis’ time during Barclays’ summer internship program exposed him to the world of corporate banking and all the opportunities that existed within it. Something that made his time at Barclays even better, however, is the culture, environment, and people at Barclays.

      What Makes Barclays Different

      The finance and banking industry is massive. That means that there is no shortage of places to work and grow your career. However, each of these institutions has something that sets them apart. For Barclays, it’s the culture and people that make their company stand out so much.

      For Louis, going to work meant he would be surrounded by people who don’t just care about performing their jobs, but uplifting and helping one another grow as well. In turn, this helped him appreciate his own role at the company and stay motivated to contribute to the company’s goals as well as his own.

      A Community Perspective

      While this people-forward mindset is certainly prioritized at Barclays, it goes a step further with employee resource groups. These employee-led organizations, whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the organizations they serve, have proved to have enormous benefits for employees.

      As is the case with the employee resource groups at Barclays, Louis has certainly gained a lot with his involvement in the Black Professionals ERG. Specifically, as it pertains to his interactions with people he didn’t normally get to interact with.

      Additionally, Louis’ involvement in the Black Professionals Group has also allowed him to take on new roles and responsibilities. From leading panels and hosting discussions, Louis has been able to grow his skills in massive ways all while demonstrating his capabilities and competence in front of senior stakeholders. Once an intern but now an assistant vice president, Louis attributes part of his success to experiences like this.

      What Will Your Path Be?

      Although Louis Smith’s path to success was ideal, there are several different routes young professionals can take to achieve their goals. What every ambitious individual should take from his story is to make the most of the opportunities available to you.

      If you’re looking for new opportunities that could very well be the jumping-off point for a lucrative career, create your WayUp profile today and check out some of Barclays’ open roles. More

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      Why Are Undergraduates So Excited About Oxford’s Summer Internship?

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      When you’re contemplating what kind of internship is best for you, there are a lot of questions you might ask yourself. Is this going to look good on my resume? Will I partake in meaningful work? Will it be enjoyable?

      Your time is precious. Especially those summers during college when you’re setting yourself up for future success. This being the case, it’s natural to have questions like these and wonder if a company is truly able to give you what you want out of an internship.

      Recently, we dove deep for answers. In our conversations with a few current interns at Oxford, one of the leading staffing and consulting companies across North America and Europe, we learned why they chose to work at Oxford and how the company has supported their careers.

      What we learned is that meaningful work, mentoring, the encouragement of future growth, and Oxford’s work-hard-play-hard attitude are all factors that contribute to the appeal of Oxford and its internship program.

      Doing Real Work With Substance

      Lyla Krol, a current intern with Oxford and student at the University of South Carolina, originally thought “interns would do mundane tasks, like printing stuff and going to get copies.” However, this preconception was quickly flipped on its head when Lyla found herself doing work that directly contributed to Oxford’s bottom line like assessing job openings and resumes in order to find matches or assisting account managers in securing sales.

      For Chloee Swartz, who is also a current intern with Oxford and an undergraduate student, working with coworkers, consultants, and cold call recipients who she had never met before helped her grow her skills as a communicator which will benefit her in any and all future opportunities she might embark on.

      While there are plenty of work-related interactions between interns and employees, there were also training and advisory interactions in which interns got the chance to shadow full-time employees to learn a little more about what their jobs are like.

      Shadowing & Mentorship

      The opportunity to follow an experienced professional along in their daily role to find out how to perform a role right and wrong is an invaluable experience. So the fact that Oxford allowed their interns to shadow full-time employees meant a lot.

      For Evan Johnson, a current sales and recruiting intern at Oxford and student at the University of Wisconsin, shadowing full-time employees gave him a better scope of what the company was all about and how all the departments worked together.

      When we spoke with Chloee about what shadowing was like, she explained how they would listen in on recruiting phone calls, and afterward, the recruiter would walk her through the call and how it went, if it was good or bad, and what they could have done better.

      Being able to see what these recruiters’ jobs were like firsthand gave Chloee knowledge that she uses today in her current role. In fact, the knowledge she gained may have even contributed to her receiving the role she is in now.

      Setting You Up For Future Growth

      You may have noticed that Chloee, Evan, and Lyla are all still current interns with Oxford. That’s because they were all given job extensions following their summer internship, an offering that is reserved for the most exceptional candidates but also given out to several of those who participate in the internship.

      Currently, all three of them are working from campus, earning money, and working flexible hours while gaining real experience that they can take with them into their future careers.

      What’s unique about Oxford is that they want you to succeed no matter what, whether that’s with them or somewhere else. When we were chatting with Evan, he mentioned that some employees he interacted with said they would connect him with people in other industries or write a reference letter if he needed it for another job. While it sounds unusual for someone within a company to offer help getting a different job, this just goes to show that Oxford employees truly look out for the interests of one another.

      Work Hard, Play Hard

      Yes, internships and jobs are meant to be something you put a lot of effort and hard work into, but they should also be enjoyable experiences. At least that’s what Oxford thinks.

      In our conversation with Lyla Krol, she spoke about how the community aspect and social integration at Oxford’s Beverly, Massachusetts office made her experience that much better.

      For Evan, those lunches were valuable to him because he got to interact with people he normally wouldn’t be able to interact with. Evan stated that “a lot of the time you wouldn’t really talk to anybody else on other teams because you’re focused on your task at hand. But with those lunch opportunities, we got to network with more of the office which was really beneficial for me.”

      It’s clear that Oxford creates an environment where people can grow not just as professionals, but as people too. They are a company that understands if the place you work is fun and enjoyable, then employees will show up and reciprocate that positivity in their work and daily interactions.

      If this is a company that you could see yourself working for, one that grows and supports your success every step of the way, then check out some of Oxford’s open roles. More