Career Series

BRG – JPMC – ABP Career Series Episode 06 – Transcript

[jazz music]

Soledad:

Hi, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien, I'm a journalist. I’m also a producer for Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien. I am a very proud advisory council member for Advancing Black Pathways. It's an initiative from JPMorgan Chase to drive economic growth in the Black community. So thank you for tuning in to the JPMorgan Chase Career series, which is brought to you by Advancing Black Pathways. So in our previous episodes, we have covered how you could explore a career in various fields within the financial services industry, including a career in technology, a career in treasury, as a financial advisor, and internal client advisor, and as a community manager. We've also talked about how you can apply to open jobs at JPMorgan Chase. So now we're going to share with you some tips to help you stand out from the job search competition and better position yourself to land that ideal role. Today, I'm here with Jessie Jackson, he's the Head of Learning for JPMorgan Chase. And Kim Gregorie, she's the Head of Talent Development and Total Rewards Program Office. They're going to give us some very tangible, specific advice to help you on your journey. So welcome, so nice to have you guys.

Jessie:

Pleasure to be here.

Soledad:

Thank you. Thank you.

Kim:

Thanks for having us.

Soledad:

Let's begin with your own careers. Tell me about your career path. Jesse, why don't you start for me? How did you get to where you are today?

Jessie:

While I'm fortunate to hold a doctorate in education from New York University, I've started my career as a teller in a branch bank for Chase Manhattan Bank. Then that eventually became JPMorgan Chase. And it really is a function of understanding the adaptability needed in one's career pathway, understanding the opportunities that present themselves, and how to navigate those opportunities effectively. And that's something that I think we will be double-clicking on shortly. So thank you for the question.

Soledad:

You bet, you bet. How about for you?

Kim:

Yeah, so I think that'll, very similar to Jesse in that I feel like I was in the right place at the right time, and able to articulate what I was good at. But when I think about my career, I started my first job working for the United States Congress and then navigated to go get my MBA after I decided that I couldn't be a lawyer, which is what I thought I wanted to be. And then I ended up at the bank. So my point is I think: be okay with moving around and doing different things because the skills that I learned made me what Jessie often calls me, which is a utility player. So someone who can show up, assess problems, and then move through to solutions.

Soledad:

I think there's a lot of contradictory advice, right? Like, "Just go out there and don't think too hard about your career, but be very specific about what you want to get to. Bring your whole self to work, but actually don't overshare about your personal," I mean, it's like literally contradictory. How do you think about basic advice for people who are looking for a career right now? Why don't you start for me, Kim?

Kim:

I have a 16 year old and I'm always telling him: if you start to hear the same thing over and over again, change it, because it's getting in your way. And I think that's the biggest piece of advice I wish I would have given myself. And the right feedback hurts.

Soledad:

Yeah.

Kim:

The right feedback is the feedback that makes you sting a little bit, the feedback that makes you feel good, move with the one that stings and then change it.

Jessie:

Soledad, I would keep it very simple, and simply frame it as get up, dress up, and show up. And in this age of acceleration that we live in, it means something materially different than it meant when my father gave me that same advice. So as we think about getting up in this age of acceleration, it really means being intentional with respect to where those customers are, how do we get up in a way that really makes it easy to interface with them and deliver more value that differentiates us as individuals. But it's also understanding that we all have uniforms, whether it's in a business, small business, a large business. As I think about Michael Jordan, he goes out, or did go out, in a uniform as I think about Ms. Biles. Again, she has a gymnastic uniform as well. We need to--

Soledad:

Has a little goat on it now.

Jessie:

That’s right, a little goat as she deserves, right? And these are the greatest, right? So we need to ensure we understand what are those uniforms for our industry, for our businesses, and really ensure that we're showing up in a way that cements our brand as professionals.

Soledad:

But if you're just coming out of college and you were scooping ice cream last summer, and maybe for the last six months you've been, I dunno, babysitting or nannying or something. I think it's hard to articulate how those are career builders.

Kim:

One of the things that really resonated after I talked to hundreds of people in the field was the inability to take something I've done and then talk about it so that people really understand how that would apply to what you're looking to do for them. And so we worked with people on, we're going to give you programming, but then we're going to help you with how do you write your resume and how do you sit down and talk about, I went and got a degree in project management, but I'm not a project manager. So, I don't know if I know how to do that. And I said to somebody, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You went and got a degree in project management, but then you came to help me on a committee for a project and you ran that project. And they said, "Oh, does that count?" Yes! It all counts. Figure out what you learned in that role that you can bring forward to the importance of that new opportunity.

Soledad:d

I think that's great advice. And I have found when people come in to talk about their past experience, that often they frame it about themselves and not about the work or what they accomplish for the person they work for.

Kim:

Or the team.

Soledad:

I mean, it really is that results thing, right? It's like, yes, I'm sure that you were great, but I want to hear how the team did.

Jessie:

And to pull the thread on Kim's comments on, that's one of the attractive things about this age of acceleration is 25 years ago when I started, it took you 10 years to become proficient in what it is you do. Now, because changes so rapidly, these young adults can become proficient in a fraction of that time, to the extent that they apply themselves as Kim has outlined.

Soledad:

Yeah. Any final words of advice for the people who are watching this who are thinking about, "Is this a step I should take to start exploring some of these careers?"

Jessie:

My final comments would be first to reinforce what I said earlier. And that's this notion of really getting up, dressing up, and showing up. But also bolting--

Soledad:

Kudos to your dad, by the way for that.

Jessie:

Yes, thank you. And also bolting onto that, this notion of saying yes. Finding more opportunities to say yes.

Soledad:

That's really, really excellent advice. Thank you. You can also visit JPMorganChase.com/ABPCareers, as in Advancing Black Pathways Careers, to catch the replay of this episode or any other episode in our series. A big thank you to you guys for great advice. I think really putting the cap on all that we've heard earlier in this series and giving people really good advice as they go and apply for these jobs. And thanks to all of you for tuning in to the JPMorgan Chase Career series, it's been brought to you by Advancing Black Pathways.

[jazz music]

END

BRG – JPMC – ABP Career Series Episode 05 – Transcript

[jazz music]

Soledad:

Hi everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien, I'm a journalist and I'm a producer for matter of fact with Soledad O'Brien. I am a proud advisory council member for Advancing Black Pathways. It's an initiative from JPMorgan Chase to drive economic growth in the Black community. So today, we take an inside look into the career of an Internal Client Advisor. I'm here with Adam Sucov, he's the Head of Internal Client Advisor Sales Team at J.P. Morgan. And Shabeen Rehman, she's an Internal Client Advisor at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. They're going to share what it's like to work in the field. Also, they'll tell you how you can access open Internal Client Advisor roles within J.P. Morgan, which means jobs, jobs, jobs. Nice to have you both with me.

Adam:

So glad to be here.

Soledad:

Thank you, thank you. Let's talk about what your jobs actually are because they're quite lengthy. Head of the Internal Client Advisor Sales Team.

Adam:

It’s a mouthful.

Soledad:

It really is! What does that mean?

Adam:

Sure. So I work with Internal Client Advisors just like Shabeen who are located either in New York, Chicago, or Columbus. And they spend their time working across the country with financial advisors at many of the big broker dealer firms, like a Merrill Lynch, a Morgan Stanley, an Edward Jones, or maybe some RIA firms. And they work with them to help them understand: how can they find the right solution for their client? Again, every client's different, every client's looking for something a little unique and special, and that's what our team does. And so I work with all of our teams across the country to make sure they've got all the tools, the resources, the training.

Shabeen:

Exactly, exactly right. So like Adam said, we talk to the financial advisors across the territories we support about market insights, we have J.P. Morgan solutions based on some of those insights, and we're able to help out with portfolio analytics for those advisors as well. So we wear a lot of hats as Internal Client Advisors, which makes the job a lot of fun.

Soledad:

Tell me how you got your start, because I think for a lot of people when it comes to banking, there's a sense that you're a math wizard in elementary school, you know, through high school where you're nailing calculus, and then you get your degree in finance and possibly mathematics, and then you go on to be in banking. And we've had to talk to a lot of people who talk more about relationships, necessarily, than a degree in finance. Talk a little bit about your pathway.

Shabeen:

Absolutely. So my pathway to an Internal Client Advisor starts with me not even knowing the role existed, let alone the industry, really. So I started out studying in my undergraduate for international affairs, I was a political science major. Really focused on becoming a lawyer and probably working in international development. Fast-forward to post-graduation and post-sitting for an LSAT exam; I don't want to do it anymore. And I'm kind of stuck like a lot of 22-year-olds end up feeling. And so I have a friend who happens to be at Chase, I'm working on some side projects in the meantime in digital media. And he says, “Why don't you just go and try out for this banking job, what's there to lose?” Great. I go and I try for it, land the job, enter the world of financial services, which does allow me to get a few of my financial licenses--

Soledad:

What was that first job?

Shabeen:

It was a personal banker at Chase right here in Manhattan. That kind of really opened the door into an industry and a world I had really no knowledge about prior to. So, I start there as a personal banker, I do that for about a year and a half, a little shy of two years. And in that time, I actually meet another Internal Client Advisor. So again, I was in Manhattan and meeting a lot of internal J.P. Morgan employees. She tells me I'd be perfect for this role. Mind you, I have no idea what she's talking about. She says “You gotta meet my boss.” Sure. Kind of getting the itch to move on to the next challenge. And that's when my world really opened up to the internal client advising role and generally just to asset management and what that part of the bank really does. I think a unique pathway into the role, but not so different from so many other folks at 22 and 23 just trying to figure it out.

Soledad:

And how amazing that it really sometimes is about bumping into somebody or leveraging a relationship before you realize what actually might be a perfect fit. You just didn't know it at the time.

Shabeen:

Absolutely. And just being open to trying something new and having that mindset of “I'm open to at least learning about what this could be about and see if it might be for me.”

Soledad:

What was your pathway?

Adam:

So I was one of those people who had the accounting degree--

Soledad:

Elementary school accounting degree. Yup, yup.

Adam:

Right, right. No, but so look, I started the first 10 years of my career was heavy into commercial banking, investment banking, bond underwriting, the hard stuff. And I decided, look, I can do the stuff behind the computer and the spreadsheets, but I was much more interested in working with investments and really working with people.

Soledad:

There are not very many female financial advisors. I think one in five at the best [laughs] the best possible numbers. Talk to me a little bit about challenges. I mean, did you find any working in a heavily male dominated field?

Shabeen:

Yes, absolutely. So I think just some of the few challenges come from not being familiar with the industry. So right there, just trying to catch up on the capital markets and learn some of the jargon in an industry, again, that you've no experience in, it can be a little bit challenging. And second to that, being at a place as big as J.P. Morgan can feel really overwhelming sometimes. And then in terms of being maybe a minority on the team in a few ways, as a woman, as an Indian American as well, I think that presents challenges. And what I have realized over the last five years of being at J.P. Morgan is that I've been able to navigate those challenges all in the same way. And it was really through the support of my peers and my mentors.

Soledad:

For people who don't necessarily have a finance background or a banking background, are there ways that they can get kind of up to speed on the places in which they actually need to have a better grasp of financing?

Adam:

Yeah, it's a misconception. People do feel that they need to have that finance background to be successful. Now it doesn't hurt, but we can teach you and train you on the nuts and bolts of the job. But what is harder to do is teach the personal relationship skills. And if you have those types of skills, you can be really successful in here.

Soledad:

People talk about relationships a lot in banking. More than they talk about math, more than they talk about a finance background, frankly, relationships and the passion around people. Tell me a little bit about what you mean by that exactly.

Adam:

Sure, so the people that end clients and advisors want to work with, they don't want somebody to give them information that may not be truthful or accurate. People want to work with people that they like and people that they trust. And that's what we do and we do really, really well at J.P. Morgan. You need to be comfortable having conversations. People are also going to say like, “No thanks, I'm not interested.” So there's a little element of that, but that's the relationship or the nature of a sales job.

Soledad:

One of the things that I've liked about working with Advancing Black Pathways is this very tactical and strategic thinking about how to increase diversity. Why does diversity matter in what you guys do? Why does it even matter?

Adam:

Maybe I can start in if you want to fill in that.

Soledad:

That'd be great. Yeah.

Adam:

So why it matters, I think there's two reasons. Number one is: we serve hundreds of thousands of advisors who serve millions of clients. And we all know that not everybody is the same. There are lots of different needs out there, lots of different perspectives, lots of different backgrounds. And the ability to network and leverage from all of those people makes our team better as a whole, right? It's really one of those situations where the combination or the sum of the parts is better than each individual unit on its own.

Shabeen:

Yeah. And just to add to that. So I think that's one of the reasons why we've talked a little about why you don't necessarily need a finance background or need to be a math wiz. It is because of that idea sharing, there's so much communication within the team. And so just really focusing on certainly a diversity in gender and sexual orientation, etc., that definitely matters for our clientele. But just in diversity of thought. You know, me having an international affairs background where I started this role, and in this job, thinking that PM meant prime minister, not portfolio manager. That, being able to overcome that--

Soledad:

Thought it meant evening. But carry on!

[laughter]

Shabeen:

That too. Just being able to overcome that is absolutely because of the diversity of thought.

Soledad:

Thank you so much, Adam and Shabeen. I really appreciate it. Great conversation. You can also go to JPMorganChase.com/ABPCareers if you want to catch the replay of this episode or any of the episodes that are in our premiere series. Thank you for tuning in to the Career series. It's brought to you by Advancing Black Pathways, and I’ll see you next time.

[jazz music]

END

BRG – JPMC – ABP Career Series Episode 04 – Transcript

[jazz music]

Soledad:

Hi, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien, I'm a journalist and a producer for Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien. I'm also founder and CEO of Soledad O'Brien Productions. And most importantly, a very proud advisory council member for Advancing Black Pathways. It's an initiative from JPMorgan Chase to drive economic growth in the Black community. So thank you for tuning in to the JPMorgan Chase Career series, which is brought to you by Advancing Black Pathways. So today Sam Philogene and Rachele Greene from JPMorgan Chase's Treasury Chief Investment Office are joining us for a discussion on how you can establish a career in treasury. They're also going to provide insights into exploring open positions at the firm. So specifically jobs, we're going to get to that in a moment. First welcome. Let's begin with, this might seem like a bit of a silly question, but what is treasury in relation to a bank? Like what do you do in treasury? What is the Treasury Chief Investment Office?

Sam:

So Treasury Chief Investment Office, we manage the balance sheet on behalf of the firm.

Soledad:

All the money.

[laughter]

Sam:

And with the liquidity, interest rate, and capital risk infrastructure as well. So what does that mean, right? We, basically we fund the bank, all the activities that the line of business are interacting with in terms of debt management and investment. We are part of that. We work with the line of business to make sure that the balance sheet is properly balanced and the risk is properly risk managed as well.

Soledad:

So you're the money guys in one of the biggest banks in the world?

Sam:

Absolutely. And I would, you know, what I like to say, right? Is corporate treasury itself as it functions, we are the heart of the bank, right? Because if you think about it, the bank itself, every line of business are out there, they have their own objective to work with clients and raise capitals and corporate treasury itself are the center to kind of look at things holistically across all line of businesses.

Soledad:

Does every line of business in the bank have its own treasury?

Sam:

Yes. Every line of business has its own treasury teams and own treasures and we are the center that brings all of them together.

Soledad:

So if someone were interested in being in treasury, it sounds like both of you had strong math and finance backgrounds. Is that what you would recommend or in some other fields, I think people often feel like, "Well, if I don't have math, if I don't have finance, maybe this is not for me."

Sam:

Absolutely not. So I think, we, she has a math background, I have a finance background. But we do have many different people within our organization that does not have those types of degrees as well. So we encourage people within all diverse background and majors to join corporate treasury. Because if we think about it, we, what the skill set that we're looking for is for people to come in and want to make change and bring themselves to the workplace and being able to learn. So with J.P. Morgan itself, we heavily invested in continuous education. So we train people when they come in into the role, as opposed to someone coming in, they already have all the tangible as well.

Soledad:

What's your day like? I mean, are you up at five, are you up at seven?

Rachele:

No. No. I think the day's usually somewhere around like a nine to 6:30-ish kind of day. So nine and a half hours to get quite a bit of stuff done. To be completely honest, I think a normal day for me, a normal day in your quotes, right?

Soledad:

Of which there are no normal days.

Rachele:

Yeah, there aren’t any normal days right?

Soledad:

But carry on.

Rachele:

So essentially our team is global as Sam mentioned. So a lot of times our days will start out mainly in like Bangalore and Poland, so India and/or Saul respectively. So they will actually get a first look at the data for us and kind of pinpoint anything that might look a little bit strange, right? Because essentially numbers are numbers, but you can easily tell when something does not look right. So then our job will be in North America as the day kind of continues. And like it starts to become evening in their time locations. We use our time and our rest of the day to find a root cause of the issue and saying, "How do we rectify the situation? Like what do we do as a team to make sure that our reporting is complete and accurate as humanly possible before that 6:00 PM like deadline that we hit every single day?" So it is very fast paced. It's a lot of looking through data, problem solving, and then working with other individuals to fully fix the situation as a whole.

Soledad:

If someone wanted to start a career where you're working, what would you advise them to do? I think for a lot of people, right? If your mom or your dad didn't work in finance or didn't necessarily work at a big bank, you might feel like you're a little bit lost in terms of next steps.

Sam:

The first thing I would tell them is to apply, right? I think people, especially within our community, we shy away from the banking industry because of the unknown. And I think, so statistics says that especially people of color that we sometimes we don't go for with the banking degree, therefore we don't apply for a role, right? So I, the first thing I would say is like put yourself into the pool because what we look for is someone that's definitely gonna come in and that wants to learn our process. And then if they have the right attitude, we can teach them what we do on a daily basis.

Soledad:

Were their big obstacles? I mean, did you feel like you were able to be taught every step of the way what you needed to know for your job?

Rachele:

Yeah, absolutely. I think for me, a lot of times, the hardest part of starting within this industry is to know that you won't know everything. I think as an inner perfectionist, you want to come into a job and say, "I'm helpful. Like I'm here to be a resource to you."

Soledad:

How would you describe the culture for people who are thinking about, "Hmm, is banking for me?"

Rachele:

There's always something to learn. And I feel like every team member within TCIO is really, really interested in actually learning it. Like if you have something that like, Sam knows I don't, I want to know. Like I want to be involved. I want to actually have the opportunity to expand my horizons. And I think there's so much information at your fingertips, in the liquidity reporting space especially, that there's always something new to learn. I think all the team members are very big into collaboration and teaching and just kind of like expelling all the information that they have into everyone else so that we can all kind of thrive and make sure that we do hit our deadlines and that we do do the best work humanly possible.

Soledad:

Are there jobs right now in corporate treasury?

Sam:

Absolutely. Absolutely. There are jobs across different regions in our, especially in our Delaware office where we are, the majority of our liquidity reporting and an instructional interest rate reporting aspect has being done where I am one of the recruiters for our group where they’re jobs there. And then we do have, like Rachel was saying in Wausau in Bangalore and different part of the states as well.

Soledad:

Somebody who wants to check out the careers that exist, where should they go?

Rachele:

They should check out the careers website at jpmorganchase.com. I think a lot of them are under corporate treasury at this point in time. Definitely take a look there.

Soledad:

Thank you, Rachel and Sam, I appreciate all that advice. And also reminder you can go to JPMorganChase.com/ABP (Advancing Black Pathways) Careers to catch a replay of this episode. And of course all the others in our series as well. A big thank you to you guys for your advice.

Sam:

Thank you.

Soledad:

Great advice. And also for all of you for tuning in to watch our JPMorgan Chase Career series, it's brought to you by Advancing Black Pathways. I'm Soledad O'Brien, I'll see you next time.

[jazz music]

END

BRG – JPMC – ABP Career Series Episode 03 – Transcript 

Soledad:

Hi, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien. I'm a journalist, I’m a producer, and I am a very proud advisory council member for Advancing Black Pathways. It's a new initiative from JPMorgan Chase to drive economic growth in the Black community. So today I'm here with Toacca Rutherford. She's a product owner in digital self-service at JPMorgan Chase. And she's going to chat with us about the role that technology plays at JPMorgan Chase.

Toacca:

Great to meet you as well.

Soledad:

What does that mean? Your title is a little long and complicated, right?

Toacca:

Yes.

Soledad:

Owner, product owner in digital self service. What does that even mean?

Toacca:

Right. So product ownership, let's take a step back and think about how we build products for Chase. And when I say products, I mean the application, the chase.com site, the mobile app, and what it takes to deliver those features to customers. And so in digital self-service, we build capabilities like: "Hmm, I've changed my address. How do I go in and do that easily on the app? Or, "Oh goodness, I've lost my credit card, my debit card," right? How do I go in and replace it easily? And so we build those kinds of capabilities for customers.

Soledad:

All those things that you will lose your mind--

Toacca:

Yes!

Soledad:

--if they don't operate smoothly. You really get very frustrated because of said digital version of customer service.

Toacca:

That's right.

Soledad:

That drives you crazy. Were you always interested in technology?

Toacca:

Always.

Soledad:

As a little kid?

Toacca:

As a little kid, yes. And I always loved science and math. And I was into STEM before it was called STEM. [chuckles] I'm kind of dating myself.

[both laugh]

And for me in school, I always loved like science fair, science projects. I don't even know if they do that anymore. But certainly enjoyed like experimenting, testing, and learning, and really exploring what it's like to problem solve. And so, when it was time for me to pursue my career or my, actually education at Rutgers University, I decided to pursue engineering. And in that I knew I wanted to solve problems. And how could I do that in a variety of ways?

And for me, industrial engineering was the way. And in that I learned how to focus on things like building things that are more efficient, optimizing processes so that things will go smoothly. You know, sort of how do we anticipate using mathematical information, what problems to solve for. And so it's really like, for me, a great way to start and think about how to then blossom into spaces like data. I had my first internship at U.S. Army Research Labs in Maryland. And at that time, I got a chance to work with engineers and got exposed to data. What that could be for building platforms or building solutions, I'll say, cause that platform's got a little techie for a moment.

Soledad:

No, no, I really get it. I mean, I love when I look at technology as problem solving because certainly as an end user, right, we all just need this issue solved for us.

Toacca:

Absolutely.

Soledad:

Wow. So what's your day like?

Toacca:

Wow.

Soledad:

I can't decide if you go into the office and you just start coding like a madwoman. Or are you overseeing, when you're thinking problem solving, are you thinking sort of in the macro? Like, "Here are some issues we're having and now we need to sit down and think about problems."

Toacca:

Absolutely. So as a product owner, my responsibility for digital self service is really looking at our overall strategies. How do we, what kinds of initiatives we want to build for customers? So what are those friction points? What is, like, problematic or troublesome in that digital experience that we want to solve for customers? And so we do that by researching with actual customers, we spend time in focus groups, things like that, to understand the pain points better, understand what we call the customer's jobs to be done. What are they really trying to do? Let's step in the customer's shoes.

Soledad:

I was just about to ask you: how big is your team and what what's included in your team?

Toacca:

So in my team, I have a mixed, a wide range of skills from, and some of this is through partnerships as well, not just people that report into me. So there's a lot of collaboration in that regard. And so the skills range from user experience design and customer research, which I talked about, as well as data and analytics, so we need to understand the customer behaviors. And so what insights come from that in working with our data analytics partners. Of course, business analysis. So really understanding what problems to solve and how to interpret that into what we will code into software.

Soledad:

Accenture and Girls Who Code found that half of women abandon their tech careers by the time they're 35 years old. And that women leave tech careers at 45% higher rate than men do. 21% of women in the study said that they believed this is it. They believe the technology industry is a place where they can thrive. And that's not even, that's not women of color, that's all the women. And if you break that down to women of color, 8%. So 8% of women of color think technology is for me.

[Toacca sighs heavily]

That’s a giant sigh. Wow.

Toacca:

Yeah. It is really challenging. And in part, certainly for me when I started, you know, you look left and right, and then there's no one that looks like you. And certainly for me when I started my career, that it was that way. And in some cases still to this day, that's when I'm in the room, sometimes I am the only one. Not always, we've made progress. But there's definitely a long way to go.

Soledad:

So what would you say to a woman of color who's watching who says, "Listen, I like to code and I like technology. But I'm tired of being the only one. I’m probably some of the only one in my classes, in my STEM classes.

Toacca:

Yeah. First I would say broaden your network, because then that helps to extend your community in a way that allows you to not feel alone. It can get incredibly lonely at times. But when you have a network that's outside your team, or your organization or your group, or just like your immediate community, connect with someone that you may have something in common with outside of like being, outside of gender or race. And those are ways that allow you to then explore what it's like for them and how they have been able to persevere. And sometimes you just need to vent. You need someone that is like-minded that you can vent with and express your frustrations, and really get underneath what's bothering you in the moments that you are navigating through.

Soledad:

Did you have challenges early on in your career?

Toacca:

Oh, for sure, yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I mean, I don't know how many times I was asked for directions, on the floor because they thought I was the assistant or things like that that happened. And I just, and it's no disrespect to assistants at all. It's just what people believe is possible of a Black woman. And I think that, certainly for me, I try to uphold the ideals of what, of a role model in technology for Black women. And really what that means is showing what's possible. Showing what it's like to persevere through challenges, to navigate and get promoted and work my way up through the company, things like that, mentor and sponsor and advocate for others, not just Black women, but for others that are seeking to pursue the career.

Soledad:

Why does diversity in technology matter? Some people might argue technology. I mean, you're not interfacing face-to-face with human beings, isn't it kind of irrelevant?

Toacca:

Ooh, it is very relevant.

Soledad:

That's a trick question.

Toacca:

In part because more and more, we want personalized experiences, right? If we think about what we expect of our phones or our devices, what we expect them to know about us, what we willingly share. And how does that now come together to create moments that matter. And I think for diversity in particular, if we don't have voices at the table to create those experiences, to code them, to design them, to create the algorithms or the rules that sit behind, or the models that sit behind it, then we miss out, we get overlooked.

Soledad:

What about different ways to kind of move up the path? For example, you obviously went to Rutgers. But are there opportunities for people who don't necessarily have their BS or that they might have certificate programs? Or how are you thinking about recruiting people? I mean, is it an opportunity to pick from kind of a different pool?

Toacca:

Absolutely. So what's great is we have an emerging talent program here at JPMorgan Chase that looks at non-traditional pathways. Meaning if you didn't go to a university for like computer science or engineering or kind of tech-related careers. And what that emerging talent program does is to first of all identify candidates, looking at experientially diverse, cognitively diverse, as well as sort of a traditional diverse lenses to figure out and widen the pool. So that when we think about who we can recruit in or should recruit in, we are more open-minded. And preparing those individuals through a bootcamp-style training so that they learn how to code right here at JPMorgan Chase. They may not have had any experience before. And there's a program in the emerging tech talent initiative called TechConnect. And we have that on our career site and people can apply, which is really, really cool. 

Soledad:

What advice would you give, let's talk young women at this moment who were interested in tech. What would you tick off for them to be really thinking about as they move forward?

Toacca:

Yes. So I would say listen to your heart, right? That's the first thing, because as certainly as women, we have that sense of intuition. What is my heart telling me about what I like, what I don't like? Because it is not for the faint of heart in that regard. And so I think, really important, and like I mentioned for me, I loved science and math. Before it was called STEM, I was really into it and that's okay to be an outlier, and to find people that may exemplify for you what it looks like.

Soledad:

Are there open opportunities right now on the career site? And how does someone get to the career site on JPMorgan Chase?

Toacca:

Yes. So careers.jpmorganchase.com is the site. And there, what you can do is there's actually a place for TechConnect. And so that's really exciting because anyone who is interested should apply. Just give it a chance and see what comes from it.

Soledad:

Toacca, thank you so much. Really amazing advice for everybody. And a reminder you can visit JPMorganChase.com/ABPCareers to catch a replay of this episode and others in our Career series. Big thank you for tuning in to the JPMorgan Chase Career series, brought to you by Advancing Black Pathways, and I'll see you next time.

[jazz music]

END

BRG – JPMC – ABP Career Series Episode 02 – Transcript

[jazz music]

Soledad:

Hi, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien, I'm a journalist and I'm a producer for Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien, and I’m also a proud advisory council member for Advancing Black Pathways, which is an initiative from JPMorgan Chase to drive economic growth in the Black community. So thank you for tuning in to the JPMorgan Chase Career series, where we share real advice and real tips on how to build lasting and rewarding careers. Today, I'm here with JPMorgan Chase Community Manager Jared Evans, and Education and Counseling Market Manager Regina Broadnax, two people who are committed to helping their communities get back on track to financial resilience. They're also going to share with us some tools and resources to help you better understand your finances and help you thrive on your financial journey. It's so nice to talk to both of you.

Jared + Regina:

Thank you.

Soledad:

Oh, my pleasure. When we talk about financial resilience, what does that actually mean?

Jared:

Financial resilience really is being able to weather the storm of life. And we saw it even last year, where we had to have folks that were in a terrible light. But they came out of it, we've all come out of it because of the fact that we are resilient, because of the fact that we have things set aside, funds put away, "prepared for rainy days" if you will.

Regina:

Yeah. And for me, some of that resilience, the word that just comes to mind is always sustainability. So sustainability, and that's a lot of what we teach and we encourage, and really what is required to have made it through these turbulent times.

Soledad:

What can a community manager do on the day-to-day for people who are struggling? Explain to me what your role is.

Jared:

So my role really is to be proximate in the community, to bring the bank and the community together. I'm a bridge, because let's be honest: sometimes it's intimidating to see someone in a suit coming in from the neighborhood and telling them your business. And there's some trust, right? And so as a community manager, we were branch managers and doing all of the things that we have to do in the branch. But as a community manager, the branch side is taken out, I get to focus on the nonprofits, the churches, the people that are in the neighborhood. We provide financial education to people, and we will discuss with them the tools of savings and budgeting, how to keep your credit, maintain it. Or if it's not there, build it up. I bring them financial education, I bring them knowledge, knowledge is power.

Soledad:

A poll that was conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that 66% of Black households with children reported serious financial problems during the pandemic compared to 51% of white households. When you see data like that, how do you think about what kind of information and advice you have to give people about resilience and weathering these kinds of storms?

Jared:

We have to let them know they're not alone. No one predicted this. And so we have to be honest with them and say, your worries and your struggles technically are ours as well, but we will get through it.

Regina:

So, managing and monitoring and maintaining credit scores has been a challenge in this. We see that people were using more credit, leveraging their credit cards. And so their FICO scores are lowering. Credit is key. If you want to buy a home, if you want to buy a car, even your car insurance, the amount you pay is connected to your credit score. We have resources at Chase, one that I really am fond of, Credit Journey, which helps our customers as well as non-customers manage, monitor their credit scores. It also gives them the opportunity to put in scenarios to work on the credit scores.

Soledad:

One of the most common ways that people inherit and pass on generational wealth is through owning their home. And so you're well aware of this. TIME News reported that the gap in home ownership rates between Black Americans and white Americans, it grew. It grew by 30% last year, a higher gap than what it was when racial discrimination in housing was legal, right? It's illegal now and that that gap continues to grow. One of the reasons I joined the advisory team for Advancing Black Pathways was I love this idea of how do we jump in and very intentionally try to fix those gaps. Talk to me a little bit about the work that you guys are doing and the bank is doing in order to help on that front, specific details.

Regina:

We are working very hard at Chase to minimize the gap. We've got newly-created roles to address the gap. Roles like our community home lending advisors, community managers, community lending managers. We've hired people, the right people who mirror the communities that they serve and they are working with our partners.

Jared:

Yeah. So intentionality is one of the things that, one of the words that I use quite frequently when I have--

Regina:

Me too. [laughs]

Jared:

And it is a reason that I was lured from the institution I was working for before. I've never seen a firm take this stance.

Regina:

That’s true.

Jared:

And I'm very proud of it that you would create 150 community managers across the U.S. I'm one of five in Chicago and I always say, if we had 50, it wouldn't be enough.

Regina:

One of the products, it was of our 30 billion Path Forward commitment. So under that commitment, one of the things that I am so excited to have been a part of and watched our Chase Home Buyer grant grow, that grant is up to $5,000 now. And it is available in 6,700 of our minority communities. So we've been very intentional about increasing and expanding that grant to help more people achieve home ownership, giving them monies for their down payment and their closing costs. Even the people who own homes, we've not forgotten about them. We have a grant $2,500 to refinance if they're going into a particular product. So, very intentional about the products and what we do to increase home ownership. And we believe that if we continue on this path, that at some point, we will see the gap become a little smaller than it is today.

Soledad:

I often think people think of banking and they think math, and you have to, you know, that there's sort of certain kind of person, right, who can be in banking. And they may not think that they're that person. What kind of a person do you think...what are the attributes of somebody who could say have the jobs that you have?

Regina:

Passion, passion, passion. But I tell you, there is nothing like the phone call that you received from someone who just moved into their home and they say, "I could not have done it without you." So you just have to have the passion. You talk about the numbers. I'm not a numbers person. It's not numbers. It's people, it's people. So community banking, what we do is all about people. You take care of the people, the numbers will come, they will fall in place. It's not, it's passion for the people.

Soledad:

To anybody who's listening to this conversation and thinks like, wow, these are careers that they'd be interested in pursuing, or at least looking into, where would you send them?

Jared:

Absolutely. So we want them to visit careers.jpmorgan.chase.com.

Soledad:

And they can view all the careers that are available in banking and doing the things that you guys do.

Jared + Regina:

Absolutely.

Soledad:

Oh, fantastic. Well, thanks for a great conversation. I should also mention you can catch a replay of this episode, in fact all the episodes in our Career series. A big thank you to the JPMorgan Chase Career series, which is brought to you by Advancing Black Pathways. I'm Solidad O'Brien, I’ll see you on our next episode.

[jazz music]

END

Soledad: Hi, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien, I'm a journalist and I'm a producer for Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien, and a proud advisory council member for Advancing Black Pathways. So thank you for tuning in to the JPMorgan Chase Career series. So today, I'm here with Franz Warren – he's a Regional Director for Wealth in Chase Wealth Management and Cassandra Cyrius – she's a Financial Advisor for Chase Wealth Management. And we're going to talk about how to establish a career as a financial advisor. They're also going to provide some insights on open positions that you could explore today. So let's get right to it. Thank you guys. It's so nice to talk to you.

Franz: Thank you.

Soledad: So this is going to seem like a really basic first question. What does a financial advisor do? 

Cassandra: Essentially we work with clients and help them attain whatever goal they set forth. Generally it's to, whether it's retirement planning, education planning, or just making sure that their savings is efficient. We work with clients as far as making that happen for them. So it really takes you talking to people and understanding different thoughts and needs, and just really making sure that you're not showing cookie cutter approaches. You're just really just giving a broad scale of what they can do with their money.

Soledad: Do you need to be strong in economics and in math to be able to be a good financial advisor? What is the thing that makes a financial advisor good at their job?

Franz: You gotta want to really like help people, right? Be genuine. You also want to really, I think be a teacher. You've gotta be understanding in terms of what folks are looking for, and certainly you've gotta be patient. So the interest in math, the interest in economics, I think that does certainly help. But they're definitely a lot more non-educational criteria I guess you can say that you would need or be able to use. 

Soledad: I would love for both of you to walk me through your path to your careers.

Cassandra: So my path to finance actually started with me knowing that not many people within my own demographic understood it. If I bring you back to 2008 when I graduated college, the, you know, obviously you were at the height of the recession. And what I was seeing as far as the medical career was concerned is I wasn't really sure of going into med school. But I did want to go work. No one was hiring except finance. And I started going through different firms and from there I pretty much started, with my life insurance, license, and things of that sort. What I was finding is when I was interacting with people, a lot of information about finances and how to invest or what kind of life insurance coverage to have, just very basic information, was very hard to access. And they didn't understand, like, really how to do it. So I came in more as a teacher than a producer.

Soledad: You started off as a financial advisor. You now are the Regional Director for Wealth at Chase Wealth Management. Tell me a little bit about how you started your career. 

Franz: I wanted to be an accountant, probably like my father was. And in college, I started getting more of an interest and a passion in terms of just the classes that I was taking and was intrigued by it. Then I had a college roommate that started in the industry. But he was a referral, I went in and was intrigued by what they were talking about, the, you know, being an entrepreneur, kind of running your own business, which is certainly what being a financial advisor can help you with. So I started out right out of college, got licensed, so passed the different qualifications, which aren't necessary to get in, but you certainly do need to pass them to continue, built a successful practice, dealing with individual clients, and then started having a passion more for coaching and helping. So that started me in the transition of becoming a Producing Branch Manager. And fast forward 20 years later, I've been fortunate enough to not only run large branches, large areas, districts. And then now, you know, the regional director for the boroughs at JPMorgan Chase.

Soledad: What's your day like? 

Cassandra: So I love my day. What I usually do is I go into the office and I work with my team, who will be the bankers within the branch. Essentially really understanding what's going on, getting a recap of what happened yesterday, and again, preparing for what we need to do today. In addition to reading and understanding what's going on, not only in the markets, but in the world, too.

Soledad: I was going to ask you if you get up and have to read a whole bunch of newspapers, just because obviously all those things are going to move the markets, whatever's happening kind of in the news, which means it's going to land at your doorstep and your client's doorstep in some way, shape, or form.

Franz + Cassandra: Absolutely.

Cassandra: Yeah, you kind of have to, like, kind of keep up with what's going on in the world and it's important because then it helps you kind of dissect and help a client understand. I always joke and say, "Listen, after I initiate your account, my job is to be your therapist." So how else can I talk a client off the ledge when they're seeing crazy market volatility if I don't really understand the purpose of it?

Franz: So fortunately, like with J.P. Morgan and what Cassandra mentioned before, there's a lot of fantastic resources for someone to come in and really get comfortable with this industry, especially if they haven't had it before. You still need a passion. But what I've loved about this industry when I started in the early 90s to now is you ask what's a day like, I can tell you in the 20 something years, there's probably no two days that are alike. So it’s great.

Soledad: I think often for young people and for me, young is like 40 and under. But I often think a challenge is they're good at lots of things. They might say that they have lots of things that they're passionate about. What would you advise someone as they're thinking about this as a career?

Franz: So I think you've got to want to help people, so you gotta be genuine there, and you've got to want to teach them. A lot of what--

and you've got to want to teach them. A lot of what--

Soledad: You use the word coach, which I thought was a great...

Franz: Coach, yeah. And a lot of what we do is actually teaching someone in terms of the fundamentals of investing. You've got to be coachable, so there's not one way that's going to help you so you have to be open to listening and change as you navigate and ultimately grow your career. You've got to be a psychologist as well. And you've got to be able to talk to clients, understand them, and help them navigate this world.

Cassandra: When you're dealing with a client and you need to explain what is a stock, what is a bond, things of that sort, they need to know that you know what you're talking about. And although you can just do a quick Google search, but you are licensed and you did actually study to make sure you know what you're talking about when you're speaking to clients.

Soledad: Why are there so few Black financial advisors? So the number I have 551,000 personal financial advisors, this is from 2019. 82%, a little more, are white. 6.9% are Black. Why such low representation do you think?

Franz: Certainly, this is an industry that if you're growing up in most cases in the 80s and 90s, you definitely weren't sitting at the dinner table and speaking about investments. Your parent or maybe someone you were looking up to probably wasn't a-- he or she wasn't a financial advisor. So I can tell you that, fortunately, the stats since 2019 have actually changed and are getting better. I think there's also definitely an intentionality that's happened which has created this. And I think as a couple examples that I can give, you can look at JPMorgan Chase and their Path Forward and their $30 billion commitment in March. They just also announced in addition to it that they have a commitment between Black and LatinX advisors between historically Black colleges and also internal promotions that there's a goal of 300 advisors by 2025. So I think you'll start to see that shift. 

Cassandra: When you're dealing with finances, and as Franz was saying, I'm first-generation, my parents came from Haiti. And they know how to make the money, but we didn't discuss the investment side, right? That wasn't something I grew up understanding. So there's a lot of preconceived notions when it comes to finance, a lot of stereotypes that come to finance. So when you are talking to someone who shares a similar experience to you, it's more comforting as far as having that conversation as opposed to someone who you may think, just from walking in, they won't really know your life or understand what you came from.

Soledad: There are jobs available. This is my favorite part of this conversation [laughs] because I think for a lot of people, especially if you're watching on LinkedIn, you're really looking for employment opportunities or things to look into, at the very least. Talk to me about the opportunities that are available now and what people should do should they be interested.

Cassandra: I would say, if you are thinking about being an advisor, do it because you have a passion to not only help people, but to implement a change overall. I think that if there's anything we've learned in the last year is that a lot of changes need to be made. And if you want to be part of that change in the most positive way, is by impacting families and helping generations. Because if you can help a family create a legacy plan, you then help their generations going forward. And that in itself helps me sleep so well at night. So I would say, make sure that's what you lead with: the passion. 

Soledad: Thank you guys, Franz and Cassandra. I really appreciate it. Thank you for a really great discussion on building a career in financial advisement. Big thank you for tuning into our series. It's brought to you by Advancing Black Pathways and I'll see you at our next episode. 

Sekou: Hi. I'm Sekou Kaalund and I'm the head of Advancing Black Pathways for JPMorgan Chase. Thank you for joining our career readiness series today. Landing your first job is a joyous occasion. It's validating, it's invigorating, and it’s inspiring. It's the payoff for the lifetime of preparation you put into graduating college. But entering the corporate workforce after college can be a daunting experience for anyone and this may especially hold true for young black professionals who are finishing school.

When you start your career as a young black professional, there's a good chance you'll experience moments where you are the only one. At times you won't be able to find corporate leaders who look like you. Learning how to fit in sometimes won't be easy. But understand this, you will eventually hit your stride both socially and professionally and with a little experience you will have no problem navigating the corporate world.

If you're at the entry level in your career now, it means you're beginning at a unique time in our nation's history. Systemic racism is in the spotlight like never before following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery. The more insidious nature of racism is in focus, as well as the recent Central Park incident. Companies everywhere, including mine, are taking a closer look at diversity, equity & inclusion as they want to cultivate that next generation of black corporate leaders, while also growing the ranks of black employees.

In my view, this means there has never been a better time to be young, talented and black, and if you're willing to put in the work, I truly believe that the sky's the limit.

But we want to help you get started, whether it's your first job or you're looking to make a career transition. The Advancing Black Pathways Career Readiness Series will cover a wide range of topics, including an overview of opportunities in banking and operations at JPMorgan Chase.

We'll also offer you tips for launching or reinventing your career in a virtual environment. We'll cover these topics and many more, but we are the largest bank in this country, so we will also provide you with financial help and advice to help you establish solid habits early on in your career.

Today's episode is about how to reinvent your career in transformative times. Before we get started, here's a short video on the work we do at Advancing Black Pathways in JPMorgan Chase.

Soledad: What I always loved about Advancing Black Pathways, just the name of it, is that it was very tactical and very intentional around black people, and making sure that their pathway to financial success was clear and helping them make their way down that path.

Sekou: I'm most proud of the progress that we've made and the intentionality in 2019. It really highlighted that we could make an impact by engaging our community, engaging partners and focusing on what really matters for African Americans. Advancing Black Pathways is focused on strengthening the economic foundation of the black community, by investing in education.

Forest: The role that education plays in creating wealth in the black community actually starts by leveling the playing field. It's going to close the racial wealth gap in America by putting students on a pathway on careers that they would not have otherwise been exposed to.

Michael: Our goal is really to change the way African Americans live to ensure that they are building wealth and assets.

Harry: We want to see more African Americans not only moving into the middle class, but owning homes, creating jobs, creating opportunities for people within the community. And I think this opportunity with Advancing Black Pathways will lead into that in very positive ways.

Sekou: Everyone sees this as a seminal moment where we can actually move the needle to create more inclusive growth. I just feel really excited about the opportunity that's ahead of us.

Sekou: In our first episode today, JPMorgan Chase, Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Brian Lamb has joined me for a discussion on how to reinvent your career in transformative times. So Brian, again, welcome. So obviously we celebrated the HBCU Commencement last month and so you had African American men and women who are now embarking on their careers. What advice would you give them as black professionals to navigate Corporate spaces?

Brian: This is important, right? So this is where we're being real about, you know let's call it Corporate America or any work environment that some of the, you know, the professionals may enter, as they embark on the next stage of their journey. As you enter the workforce. I think I would tell you seek out companies and environments that are inclusive And that stand behind

their commitment around diversity and representation. Seek out companies cause you've earned the right to do that. OK, you've positioned yourself to be well educated and prepared to select the very best companies and leaders that can stand behind that commitment. You may come upon a situation or an environment where you don't see a lot of people that look like you. And in some cases, they may not have come from the same background or experience. So I think a realization that that is a possibility, and so to be prepared for that, right? And to have a mind frame that, "Look, I may enter an environment where not everyone thinks like I do

or has a background like I do. Or looks like I do." So how do we respond to that? How should we be thinking about how we respond to that? The second thing once you join a firm? You think about the management team. There's an old adage that research supports that most individuals

leave a company not because of the company, but because of their manager. I believe that is especially true if you think about Blacks, like women like men. When there is an environment where it doesn't feel inclusive, where you don't feel like you can connect or you don't feel

valued and you believe that some of those disconnects may be because of your background, your race, your experiences. So what I tend to suggest when you see those kinds of environments is think about who you can connect with in the firm in your company, and even outside the company that can help you navigate. Can help you ask the right questions, give you good perspective, right? We talked a little bit about you'll hear my thoughts on surrounding yourself with good mentors in a personal board of directors. That's kind of how I think. They can help give you context. And maybe help you react to situations that in the beginning may be uncomfortable, that ultimately will help you react in terms of how to think and approach, how to ask certain questions. How to escalate issues that might arise. They feel uncomfortable, you have earned the right and deserve the right to thrive. And perform at a really high level, so don't accept anything less than that. This is not the time to settle. OK? Or be positioning yourself in an environment where you don't feel welcome. You want to be in a place where you can be the best version of yourself as a black person. And so that means that as you move through your career as you join organizations You wanna make sure you're taking on roles and jobs that allow you to be authentic. and be your true self, right? That there is an environment. A work environment. There's policies and procedures. There's a culture and there's an environment that allows you to thrive and excel and learn and grow.

Sekou: How did your journey begin? Where'd you go to school and what did you major in?

Brian: So, I went to the University of South Florida, Sekou, in Tampa, FL and I majored in accounting. I had a minor in finance. I was passionate about learning that discipline and was excited to be able to finish

Sekou: So since we're talking about college. Tell me what your favorite memory was.

Brian: You know when I reflect, Sekou, on my college life, there are really so many different experiences that were memorable and helped shape who I am today. You know? But if I had to, if I had to point to probably the most memorable and frankly the most impactful to me was graduating college. There were so many people involved in that process quite frankly. You know, whether it was my parents, my teammates and playing college basketball that were always supportive. The counselors and the professors and faculty members that all played an instrumental role. Frankly, we celebrated it together and that milestone quite frankly has stuck with me through my whole life. And all of the effort that went into it was worth it. And so I reflect on that and would probably say that's that's the biggest.

Sekou: What I like about that is we often talk about it takes a village and what you just heard is the village that was behind you. So thanks for sharing that, but let's talk about your career today and how you came to be where you are. You have a phenomenal background, so if you could share with our audience how you've navigated your career.

Brian: Yeah, you know I I will tell you right up front I think it's important to know that when I finished college I didn't have it all figured out. And frankly probably one of the most important things that I did was admit that right up front, right? Whether I admitted it to my family to myself, which was probably the most relevant. I knew I had a lot to learn and so I guess one of the principles that I would point to or maybe even an element of my success is just this. This belief that there is constant learning that will always be a part of shaping who I am, shaping the decisions that I make. And so if I reflect on the different milestones of success or the changes along my professional career, learning is a consistent part of that. Listening and learning. I think another element that I point to is surrounding myself with people that had a vested interest in my success. It was mutually beneficial, right? So it kind of it kind of stepped past just the networking phase of interacting and building relationships. It was much more about a shared interest and commitment, and people wanting me to be the best version of myself and challenging me around commitments that I would make. And then the last thing I would maybe point to as an element Is performance. I mean when the day is done, and you think about all of the things that you aspire to be and the aspirations you may have in your professional life or even your personal life, there's no doubt that you will ultimately have to perform, and you want to perform at an elite level. To really distinguish yourself from the competition and be able to perform in such a way that it's sustainable.

Sekou: Clearly performance is always critical, but I wanna double click on the mentoring and the people you surrounded yourself with. So you were an entrepreneur. You've moved around and run different functions in banking. How did you leverage those mentors and realize it was time for you to have that new experience? Or did you leverage bosses? Walk us through 'cause you've made some impressive moves and ran different functions. Give us some insight on how your thinking process evolved throughout your career.

Brian: Yeah, you know listen, I will tell you I'll be the first to admit I didn't always get it right with regards to leveraging some of the fantastic relationships and people that were around. Uh, as soon as I began to really understand the value of leveraging powerful relationships in mentors and advisors, I personally feel like that is when my career started to accelerate. If I reflect on that and maybe put it in context, that maybe just a principle around how I think about mentors is I've always had this idea of something called a personal board of directors. Right as you think about corporate America, there's obviously boards of directors that play a governance role and those kind of things, but that framework is maybe what I would say I tried to apply to my personal life. A board made up of individuals that cared about me, that were vested in the same goals and ambitions that I had that were willing to hold me accountable and asked me tough questions. That same board was made up of a very diverse group of people. Some were family members. Some were professors and colleagues that I met in college. Others were neighbors and friends that I met along my journey of life or were introduced to in my journey of life. And that collective board all plays a unique role and so my ability to leverage that board if you will, that group of mentors, they each played a unique role. And the ability to stay connected, be vulnerable and be honest with them, and make the time to interact with them, I believe played an instrumental role in my success and even to this day, Sekou, Thank you. I have a personal board of directors and lean on them heavily for both my personal decision sometimes and even my professional decisions.

Sekou: And that's great and I also know you are a mentor and board member for others and so as they think about or your mentees have talked about choosing a new field, How do you coach people on highlighting potential transferable skills?

Brian: So you know one of the things I try to think about around. transferable skills, Sekou, or even the idea of moving between different careers or different jobs.There's this element of preparation. Right, so try to predict and think a little bit forward around your pathway. You know, try to think about what the next one, two, maybe three years looks like in terms of your career progression, that line up with your aspirations and so number one you want to be prepared. You wanna almost have a maniacal approach to preparation, right? It positions you to be able to execute when the opportunity arises. The other thing that you want to think about with regards to these career changes is research. Give some time to learning and really understanding the disciplines and the expectations and what it takes or what success looks like as you move down the path to the next career or are you moving to the next expanded job responsibility? I kind of think about it that way. And then maybe the last thought I would talk about around this idea of career progression, or just changing jobs. Make sure that as you kind of reflect on who you are, find this intersection. I call it the intersection or the equilibrium point of what you're really good at, and what you're passionate about. And when you find that intersection, that is when you now are best positioned to excel. And so, as you think about your career progression and the next moves, that's kind of as I think, through my own life, I'm constantly looking for that equilibrium point because I believe at that point is where I can perform well, have fun, be excited about what I do, and I think about it as work and quite frankly, perform at a high level.

Sekou: I like that notion of thinking about who you are, but another piece of that would be how you tell your story. What insights can you offer the audience on telling your story to match up the intersection you just described?

Brian: Well, I tell you, you know Sekou, as I reflect on telling your story, there probably is no more powerful asset than your personal brand. There's nothing in your arsenal, there's nothing that you will ever accumulate that I believe that will carry more weight than your personal brand. And so as you think about telling your story there's a couple things you wanna you wanna do. You've gotta protect your reputation. OK, it is the most valuable thing when you think about today and the future. That is what's important. It will precede you. Frankly, it will tell your story for you. When you have a powerful, well regarded, you know, credible reputation. So think about that as I do all the time around doing the right thing, having the right perspective, the right intent, and delivering on the commitments that you make and showing up when people need you most. The other thing about telling your story is you know you learn more about yourself. I mean, I still continue to learn about who I am and kind of what I'm passionate about. So as you evolve as an individual, your story will evolve. So have some agility, right? It's OK for your story to move a little bit as you kind of think about your personal and your professional career journey, but have some agility around your story and be energetic and enthusiastic about you know being your real authentic self. And maybe the last thing I'll share about your story that's really important is, you want your story to anchor back on what you truly believe in, what you stand for. Right? don't let someone write your story for you. You want to be your own testimony. So give some thought to how you really anchor your story back to here is principally who I am. Right? I tell people all the time I happen to work at a fantastic, the best financial institution in the world.

But who I really am is a public servant. That's principally who I am. That's always who I have been and it's who I will continue to be. And so I'm anchored in that. I'm rooted in that, and so my beliefs, my behaviors, my thinking comes back to who I am. And that's the story that I want told.

Sekou: That's incredible, because too often we feel like our story has to be a story that we want other people to hear versus who we are and what's important to us. So, absolutely great insights for the audience. Now our audience is also dealing with something that has really not been encountered before, and that's this pursuit of jobs 100% virtually and so before you get that job virtually you have to interview virtually. So this is somewhat new for many people. What can you suggest for candidates to try to build rapport with the hiring manager on screen versus in person?

Brian: Yeah, you know I'm living this Sekou, real time right? I mean if you think about my journey to JPMorgan Chase, which you know has just been fantastic for me and my family, It's all been remote right? And and from you know, spending time with you know key leaders and colleagues along the journey even to this day. as I begin to assimilate into the organization and learn and meet people and try to connect to the culture of who we are. So there's complexity to that, right? But there's also a realization that that's the environment we're in. and so what I'd have you kind of think about and again, I'm doing this real time so I'm learning like many of you will be. A couple, you know, kind of elements to think about. One,

 is everyone is feeling the uniqueness of this environment? Everyone's feeling, including those that you may or may not know really well. So what I have found is acknowledging it up front, right? You know, acknowledging that this is different, acknowledging that you didn't expect to have to interact or begin your relationship or your journey with an organization virtually, but you've embraced it. Right, you've embraced it. You come to understand it and you're ready to thrive in that environment and so at acknowledgement, I think, is the beginning of turning the corner in terms of where we are. The other item is as you build rapport remotely, digitally there's an element of that where I think being authentic and being your real self is key. Right, you know, acknowledging that, you may be, you know, having to be in a house or being in an environment that you typically might not have a business conversation. You may not have a serious conversation, so being authentic about look, hey I'm in a different place right now because I'm operating out of the house but I'm engaged, right? Your body language demonstrates you’re engaged, your tone, your temperament, demonstrates you’re engaged, your readiness in preparation for the conversation demonstrates you're engaged. And I think that's a lot of what people are looking for as you navigate through the process and maybe the last thought, I would just touch on as you kind of think about this is look have some fun, right? I mean this is this is a tough time for everyone. Stress levels are probably higher than normal, quite frankly? And so there is an element to this. of just enjoying the company you can keep, and celebrating the little things the milestones and asking more about you know people to learn a little bit more about who they are, their real selves, and being vulnerable enough to share a little bit about your real self. And so there's these kind of things that I'd have you give some thought to, as we all figure out probably what the new normal is in terms of how we interact in the future.

Sekou: Take that advice, we're going to fast forward a month, so the audiences listen to you, they execute it and they got the job. So they're saying thank you, Brian. But now they're starting the job virtually. So, the job may be virtual, but their performance must still be real. So now that they've started, what would you advise new hires to really have that strong start and be deemed strong performers even though they never step foot in the office or met anyone in person.

Brian: Well, you know Sekou, I think you're asking probably one of the most important questions which is this idea of being inside the firm and then how do you quickly assimilate in a different environment? So I'll just share maybe some of the things that I've done and they may or may not apply, but I'd have you get some context to basically the framework I'm describing. The first thing I really thought of is, what is my learning agenda? What's the learning agenda? What am I principally trying to accomplish over this first 30 to 60 to 90 days. Write it down. You may or may not remember it, but writing it down really kind of memorializes it for you: Here's the learning agenda. And then as you start to build your assimilation plan and you work with the organization on where you spend your time, where you focus. That learning agenda should help drive you to what is the highest and best use of your time, so you get off to a great start. Right? You just really get off to a great start. I call it a running start in terms of your career with the company. Try to prioritize inside out. That's how I thought about it. Inside out means where am I going to spend the most of my time in the early stages of my career? That's the inside. You know, for me it was working with my colleagues in diversity, equity & inclusion. It was working with my partners in human resources. The folks that I spend a lot of time with in the community and corporate responsibility. It was really understanding their roles, right? Principally getting very anchored in. So what is it that you do? And give me some ideas how it connects to the work that I will be doing. And so walking away, not only building a relationship, but frankly walking away selfishly with the idea of role clarity. So that as you begin to interact, and as you begin to work in the firm, you've got, you've got a good baseline for how things get done, you know what work needs to be done and who you're likely to spend the most time with. That can help you be successful.

Sekou: In addition to achieving role clarity, you've also built a strong rapport with people across the firm. How did you do that?

Brian: Sekou, when I think about building rapport, you know you know principally that's kind of rooted in what I call a mutually beneficial relationship. That's just one of the key elements of it. Trust is obviously another key element. You know, as you think about building rapport You know, think about how you connect in a way where people are vested in your success and that you can play a role in helping them be successful as well. And that doesn't always mean necessarily something as clear as helping them do their job, or helping them be successful on a project. But maybe it's a willingness to be a sounding board, right? Maybe it's a willingness to exchange ideas. Or if they need you know someone to maybe step up and volunteer in a key activity and it might not be something you do in your day job, but it's a chance to kind of stretch. Stretch yourself. But building Mutually beneficial relationships I believe are really the more concrete example of what rapport building is about? That means they're vested in trust, right? There's a level of trust there. There's this natural connectivity where we are able to see how we can support each other and help each other be successful. And there's also this willingness to stretch. Just this natural willingness to do more than what may be asked of you because it's the right thing to do. And these things will start to show up. These opportunities will start to present themselves as you integrate into the company. But give some thought and have an open mind too as you operate in a remote environment. You're wanting to be authentic and you're wanting to demonstrate that you're going to do the right thing for the firm and that you can be a trusted colleague as things move forward.

Sekou: So Brian, what makes up a professional brand? As you think about you've alluded to this, the importance of, like your reputation, but broadly, you know, what do you consider to be a brand and what advice would you give to new professionals about how they should work to establish it over time?

Brian: There's just so much to a personal brand that I value. You know I've always had a belief that at the end of the day, it is the most valuable asset that an individual can have. Some of the elements or the components if you will, that I think are of a brand and there's so many of 'em I'll maybe throw out a few folks for us to think about. Number one is you are viewed by those close to you and those that don't know you as someone of integrity. and a high moral character. Right? That's just the table stakes of being able to have a brand and ultimately a reputation where people are going to want to be able to affiliate with you. I think your brand also should start to extend into the things that you do well. Right? So that you are viewed as you know, someone that can deliver and perform based on whatever that skill or competency is that you've developed. Whether you're an accountant like me and are good numbers, whether you're great with marketing and creative. Maybe you've been fantastic in science. Think about the disciplines, the things that you learn to be good at. Your brand should attach to those. Right? And because people will want to capitalize on that, and you instantly bring value to a relationship. And one of the other things maybe I'll just mention with regards to brand because you want sustainability around your brand. Your brand should also extend to the people that you interact with. Right? So if you're surrounding yourself with people with negative brands, I assure you at some point that will bleed into your own personal brand. So give some thought to as you continue to advance in your career, you start to develop new relationships. Who are the people that also are held in high regard? and have you know, great credibility with regards to who they are and what they stand for and surround yourself with those so you elevate each other’s brand in terms of the company you keep.

Sekou: And so for a final question, I just want to ask what didn't I ask you? What last piece of advice or thought would you like to leave with our audience?

Brian: Well, Sekou I'm a little disappointed because I was hoping you were gonna ask me about which fraternity I was in. But since you didn't ask, I, you know, feel an obligation to share, you know we, you know, Sekou we were laughing and joking about some of the milestones in my college life. I was fortunate enough to be a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. And you know, Sekou, I know, you might have some opinions on that.

Sekou: Yeah, I'm a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. But you have the floor now. I'll let you finish. Go ahead. Go ahead.

Brian: So, you know I, Sekou and I always have a great time about our memories in college and the friends that we met and frankly the legacies that we were able to leave. But it was just a great time. College life was a great time and you should all celebrate the opportunity to be a part of something special in college and you should, you know, start to think about how long term you get a chance to give back. Right? We didn't talk a lot about that, but as you advance through your career and as you move through life. You will have an opportunity to give back and one of the first places you should think about is your alma mater. And that's something that I've always done. I feel not only necessarily a responsibility, but a sense of pride around being able to give back our HPC news are so critical. to society as a whole,

to our corporations and businesses and to the future generations that are to come. And so we want to see our HBC use continue to thrive.

Sekou:  Amen, so thank you, Brian. Just one for being candid and really sharing like your journey and two, for providing such insightful tips. I couldn't take my notes, but I'll talk to you tomorrow so I'll get it from you live. But we want to thank everyone just for tuning in. What you need to do now is register at www.jpmorganchase.com/ABPcareers. So thank you again for joining us and we'll see you soon.

Soledad: What I always loved about Advancing Black Pathways, just the name of it, is that it was very tactical and very intentional around black people, and making sure that their pathway to financial success was clear and helping them make their way down that path.

Sekou: I'm most proud of the progress that we've made and the intentionality in 2019. It really highlighted that we could make an impact by engaging our community, engaging partners and focusing on what really matters for African Americans. Advancing Black Pathways is focused on strengthening the economic foundation of the black community, by investing in education.

Forest: The role that education plays in creating wealth in the black community actually starts by leveling the playing field. It's going to close the racial wealth gap in America by putting students on a pathway on careers that they would not have otherwise been exposed to.

Michael: Our goal is really to change the way African Americans live to ensure that they are building wealth and assets.

Harry: We want to see more African Americans not only moving into the middle class, but owning homes, creating jobs, creating opportunities for people within the community. And I think this opportunity with Advancing Black Pathways will lead into that in very positive ways.

Sekou: Everyone sees this as a seminal moment where we can actually move the needle to create more inclusive growth. I just feel really excited about the opportunity that's ahead of us.

Sekou: Hi, I’m Sekou Kaalund, Head of Advancing Black Pathways for JPMorgan Chase.

Vicky: And I’m Vicky King, Operations Executive at JPMorgan Chase.

Sekou: Thank you for tuning in to the 2nd Episode of Advancing Black Pathways Career Readiness Series. In each episode we’ll share valuable insight from Senior Leaders and also helpful tools and tips for young professionals navigating their careers. No matter what industry you are in, there are some functions that are essential to every business, and operations is one of those functions. Today, Vicky is going to speak with us on how we could begin to explore a career in operations and she’ll also provide some insights into open positions that you can explore today. So Vicky, let’s talk about your background and how you began a career in operations.

Vicky: Thanks Sekou. Actually, I attended Otterbein University, which is a college here in Columbus Ohio. I had a double major in Business Administration as well as Human Resources Management. And I started my career at the firm actually as a teller, and I worked my way through the organization in different departments, learning as I went along and then finally landing in Operations. I really enjoy detail and so it’s been a really good fit for me. I’ve worked in a number of departments and I think that’s one of the advantages of working at JPMorgan Chase, is the multitude of opportunities it provides for people.

Sekou: And that’s great to hear because often we enter our careers and build up on these experiences as you have done. But, let’s get into this first question. So when we hear the term Operations as it pertains to Financial Services, what does that actually mean? And if you could go further, like, give us some examples of areas at the firm that truly have a big operations component.

Vicky: Yes, so when I think of Operations. I really think of it as being the heart of the organization. Because if you think about what our Sales Teams do on the frontline, they’re the legs, arms, and face. But if we’re not really good in operations, we actually don’t deliver on what they promised.

We actually have a spanning from fraud, to lending, to item processing, for those of you who remember checks, the processing of checks, to doing research for our bank, for all departments within the firm to other banks. Working very closely with the Federal Reserve, cash services, and supplying cash not only to our branches but to customers and large businesses. So it really spans a multitude of operations within the organization.

Sekou: Well that’s helpful. So let’s stay there in terms of descriptive, I like it, because if I’m on the call now and I’m an entry level Operations Analyst or even let’s say my older brother or sister is watching and they’re mid-level operations, looking for a mid-level operations role. Like, what does that person do, like, day-to-day? So, if I’ve graduated from college, day one on the job. Walk us through what a typical day is for an entry level operations role.

Vicky: Yes, so it really varies depending on where you are working, but to give an example. I’ll give two extremes, an entry level position and a mid-level manager type role. If it’s an entry level, it can range from being in our service center supporting our customers on a number of operations. Whether it’s filing a claim, especially during today’s times with all of the challenges that we’ve been facing with COVID. A lot of customers made purchases that they really want to return and they are not able to do that. So the employee would help the customer through that transition and help them be able to regain those funds. And that’s kind of their day-to-day, what they could be doing. If you are mid-level, you can be in an entry level Team Leader role. You would be leading a small team, helping them answer questions, getting the right answer to the customer the first time. Keeping track of your production, making suggestions on how we can improve the operation. Streamline processes, attending meetings, certainly. Doing one-on-ones with our employees and leading team meetings.

Sekou: As I think about, we have some college graduates on the call and often for many professions, what you major in, isn’t necessarily exactly the topic that you are going to pursue when you enter your first job. So, as you think about skills, what type of skills or background does someone need to be in operations generally? And then also, like, we talk about being passionate about something, or that being your differentiator. Like, what should people be passionate about as they think about operations.

Vicky: As I think about someone entering the workforce today Sekou. One of the things I like to tell them is to be flexible. Because like you said, your college degree may not be what you actually end up doing for your career. And so be flexible on what it is that you like to learn. Think about it from a big picture perspective. You know, how can you add value to the role? What would the role look like if you made changes? You know, how things fit whether they’re coming into your department or going out of your department and the role that you play in that. Be a great problem solver, that’s really key from an operations perspective. And as far as passion, I think of passion just doing what you do and being the best at it. That’s how I like to think about my career, that’s the value that we all add to our roles.

Sekou: Got it. And sometimes attention to detail I guess for operations is important. And you talked about checks earlier. And so this brings another question to my mind. How has technology created or enhanced that operational experience whether it’s for a customer or employer? How has that altered, how we were trained? So, just talk about the role of technology in Ops.

Vicky: Yeah. So over the last few years technology has changed the way we do business and coming through COVID it has even been more so. We’re able to do things remotely now that we never thought we could do remote before. We changed things such as how we process checks. The beauty of JPMorgan Chase is that we’re on the cutting edge of technology for the Financial Services industry. And we actually created the virtual processing of checks. So when you get your checks back as an image, we actually started that technology for the industry. And that’s only continuing, COVID has pushed us forward so that we can do things faster. We are able to route calls to people’s homes, things we never thought before. We’re partnering with the Federal Reserve to make changes in how they process and it’s all through technology. So, it plays a major role in how we do business.

Sekou: This is great. I wanted to get a little personal now and hear about your experience or even tips for what to do when you are one of a few. As you are starting your new career, you are excited, you know navigating is never easy. So, as you think about young black professionals in this space now. What tips or advice would you give them?

Vicky: Yes, so I have a young professional son in the industry, and so I’d like to think that I provide him guidance on a silver platter and that’s the same thing that I share with the young people watching the video. One of the things I told him first off is to remember this is business, this isn’t personal, and so we’re not going to take things personally. But, at the same time to be very confident in your abilities and what you are bringing to the table. And I think when you approach it with those two things in mind, you actually deal with issues a little bit differently. The reality is you are going to be one of few, if not the only on a lot of teams. And we are making great strides in changing that. But I think it’s something that you have to get comfortable with before you come into the firm. Know that that’s the reality of it, but that we certainly are working to change it. So, you know, don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions to get the job done. And certainly don’t be afraid to exert initiative and show that you are willing to do more than you are being asked.

Sekou: I am going to pivot now to talk about pathways, in this case operational pathways. So while there is no exact one way to do it. But what are the typical types of career tracks for people in operations?

Vicky: Yes, so that, like you said, that varies. But, one of the things I’ll share a little bit of my background, I did not grow up in operations. As a matter of fact, I grew up in the branches and started off as a teller to get me through until school started. And I worked my way into various positions to get to where I am today and I think for me, that’s the secret. It’s about, it’s less about growing your career, and it’s more about expanding the breadth of what you know. And that is really true in operations because it’s so varied. And so I could see someone coming in, taking a less, let’s start at mid-level, say a team leader role. Learning the job very well, progressing to that of a division league. Potentially then leaving that area, taking all of that knowledge with them going into another area, potentially in the same role. So, don’t be afraid to take lateral moves. Learn what you can from that role and then advance your career from there. So, like I said, the beauty is operations is so varied that you can learn and be in operations really your entire career.

Sekou: So with COVID-19, you mentioned this earlier. How has that impacted operational jobs? Are they work from home or work remote? Will people be going into the office? What impact, if any, do you feel COVID-19 or just the way forward will have on how operational employees work?

Vicky: How we’re working today is not typical of an Operations environment and I don’t see us in large numbers remaining work from home in the future. That said, we certainly will have more people working remote in the future than we had prior to COVID-19. And the reason why, is because we’ve proven through technology that we have the capability from a resilience perspective to work in both environments. So, I see us expanding what we do prior to COVID as far as work from home but traditionally it’s an in office. One of the things about operations is up until now we’ve been predominantly paper-based and when you have a paper-based environment you have a need to be in the office. We have a very large commercial cash vault, you have to be in the vault to do the work. We have a lot of work that we do on court orders and levies, which is paper coming from various municipalities. And because they’re a little behind in moving to an image-based environment, it requires us to respond to their work and how it’s presented. So, I do see opportunity for some individuals to work from home more than what we had in the past, but I do think predominantly we will be an in office type of operation.

Sekou: Again, great insights here. So, as I’m sitting home, a college student, college graduate, and I hear this information and it’s helpful, incredibly helpful. But what are some of the pros or cons even of working in the Ops world?

Vicky: Well, from a pro perspective, one of the things I think that operations provides that a lot of the other positions don’t is a tremendous opportunity for someone to learn to lead individuals and to lead a team. Because there are lots of teams, because of the sheer number of the operations team. Outside of the branches, operations has the largest number of employees within the firm and so I really see that as a pro. In addition, I think the environment overall is a little more relaxed. A little more casual than some of our professional businesses. You don’t have to come to work in a suit and tie every day. I definitely think that’s a pro. The other thing is you can learn in multiple areas without actually leaving the line of business. So I had given some examples earlier, but you could very easily work in our International Domestic Collections area, go from there work in our Fraud area. From there you could go back and work in our Court Orders and Levies. From there you could work into our Customer Research department, and it goes on. You know, so I think those are all definitely pros. From a con perspective, you know, Operations probably isn't quite as sexy as working in some of the frontline offices. The people would think especially in the investment bank, but it is a place where I think someone could have a very admirable career and it would give you a lot of runway. A lot of opportunity to change direction in what you want to do. Another con would be that you probably could be faced early on in your career with working some late hours and/or weekends. But for me, it’s the last spot that I’ve been in, in my career and I will tell you it has been very enjoyable. And I honestly wish I had made the transition to Operations sooner.

Sekou: As someone who’s run sales teams and sales groups, I can attest to how critically important operations are because they are that voice of the customer and they can translate what the client and salesperson is saying into an actual process. And so, that’s been my experience on how critical Ops has always been, especially as you talk about what we do for our clients. But in your words, and someone who’s in Ops, let us know from your perspective why Ops is so critical for the firm.

Vicky: Like I said earlier as well, I look at Operations as being the heart of the bank. We can’t function without Operations doing their job, doing it efficiently, and doing exactly what it is that the customer asked for. We interact on behalf of the frontline. Oftentimes we will speak directly with customers to make, you know, get clarifying comments on what it is that the customer is looking to do. And you know, so it just makes it the heart of the bank and you know I don’t mean that just because I work over here. I mean it because I truly feel that way. Our employees in Operations are so committed and so focused on doing the right thing every time for the customer. And it’s just amazing to me some of the things that we’re able to do and uncover, the fraud that they’re able to pick up and stop before the customer’s account is even impacted. So, I believe in Ops.

Sekou: I like that, that’s a new tagline, hashtag I believe in Ops. So Chase employees have been instrumental in assisting customers with their needs at this time no matter what role they’re in. And I think about that even as Advancing Black Pathways where I’m proud that we launched a financial hardship fund for HBCU students and it was able to help hundreds of students impacted by COVID-19. So we helped cover transportation costs so students could get home after their campuses were closed. But we certainly are not alone in doing this work for customers and communities at large. So, Vicky can you share with us how you see operations or our firm truly help our customers.

Vicky: Yes, you know everyone knows that the government issued the stimulus checks. I think that’s probably one of the best examples and it’s not just one customer, it’s hundreds of thousands of customers. And what our customers don’t realize is that when the government sent us the files, the files were incorrect. And so our operations employees had to make corrections so that those payments were credited to the customer’s account seamlessly. So, the result of all that work, the beauty of it, is the customer never knows that it even happened. And that’s what we’re really geared at doing. So, doing what we do and doing it totally without the customer being impacted. So, the opposite of that is had they not completed those and made the corrections on those files, those customers would not have received their payments. And that would’ve been very impactful during the time when people were really in need. If I think about COVID, another example would be how we assisted our customers in deferring payments. Whether it was for a car loan or an installment loan, a home equity, a mortgage. We actually spun up that process in three days. I have never seen us work that fast to get something in place to help customers to ease their minds. So, again I think a great outcome for our customers first and foremost, and the firm’s commitment to helping our customers.

Sekou: So Vicky we’re coming towards the end and so I would love to end on some advice and insights. You’ve given us a lot of knowledge on operations but what’s the one piece of advice more broadly that you would give to recent graduates? And also, candidly speaking, how would you talk about your experience as a black professional and what words of wisdom would you offer to the black professionals out in our audience right now.

Vicky: Yeah, thanks Sekou for that question. I guess, you know, when I think about advice to a graduate, what I would tell them is to come into their new role looking at it as a career and not a job. If I think about myself I didn’t make that transition until I had probably been working with the firm for several years. When I thought I could actually have a career here. There is no better place to work than JPMorgan Chase. I’d also tell you to be patient. You are not going to be CEO tomorrow but you certainly can get there and I feel that the time is right. When I think about my career and what I’ve gone through as a black female in a predominantly white male world, there were times when I didn’t feel included. I know there were times when my peers did things and they didn’t include me in it. I know that there were times when I may have said something that they didn’t understand where I was coming from. And you know, when you go to meetings and you are the only black person in the office or in the room and you just feel a little bit uncertain about how you fit in and what you should say. What I will tell you is that I think that the time has come and that we have made and are making great strides in improving that environment from an inclusion perspective within the firm. I think that managers are more aware of hiring diverse candidates to get our numbers up. This isn’t a numbers game, this is about giving us equal opportunity because we’re qualified to do the job. And so I feel really good about that right now for the firm and for our recent graduates.

Sekou: I just want to tag on there with a message to all of you and that is: You are enough. You’ve been able to navigate this path and it’s put you where you are whether that’s a recent college graduate or newly entering the workforce. And I will say that the commitment to the top talent is how firms will thrive and survive. And so we have a deepened eye on ensuring that we have the best and brightest talent and in particular from Advancing Black Pathways, the best and brightest black talent because that’s how these organizations will continue to serve its customers, to innovate, and make impact. So, you have given us a deeper look into the operations field but one thing that I’m sure our audience wants to know is, what roles are open right now? So for all the job seekers out there, Vicky can you give us an example of a couple of roles that they can pursue today?

Vicky: We have a number of roles that are open in operations like we always do. Specifically on my team I have several exempt level roles in my quality area that I would love to have some diversity in. In addition to that, we’ve just rolled out new technology for our service centers and the team that supports that technology is hiring as well. So, if you’d like to learn more about our open operations roles, by clicking on the link on the ABP career page under the section that’s titled exploring a career in operations. Feel free to filter by the location to see what’s available in your area.

Sekou: Thank you for tuning in to our discussion today and make sure you register for our next episode on July 21^st.  We’ll be covering what it takes to establish good financial health as a young professional. We’ll cover critical topics such as budgeting, maintaining and establishing good credit, and of course savings. So, make sure you register now at jpmorganchase.com/abpcareers. We hope to see you soon.

Soledad: What I always loved about Advancing Black Pathways, just the name of it, is that it was very tactical and very intentional around black people, and making sure that their pathway to financial success was clear and helping them make their way down that path.

Sekou: I'm most proud of the progress that we've made and the intentionality in 2019. It really highlighted that we could make an impact by engaging our community, engaging partners and focusing on what really matters for African Americans. Advancing Black Pathways is focused on strengthening the economic foundation of the black community, by investing in education.

Forest: The role that education plays in creating wealth in the black community actually starts by leveling the playing field. It's going to close the racial wealth gap in America by putting students on a pathway on careers that they would not have otherwise been exposed to.

Michael: Our goal is really to change the way African Americans live to ensure that they are building wealth and assets.

Harry: We want to see more African Americans not only moving into the middle class, but owning homes, creating jobs, creating opportunities for people within the community. And I think this opportunity with Advancing Black Pathways will lead into that in very positive ways.

Sekou: Everyone sees this as a seminal moment where we can actually move the needle to create more inclusive growth. I just feel really excited about the opportunity that's ahead of us.

Sekou: Today Don and I are covering one of the most fundamental steps to creating a rewarding life. Both during and after college, and that’s understanding the state of your financial health. So, Don it’s always good to see you. We don’t do this in person anymore, so we’ll kick off this remote virtual conversation. So, if you could talk to our audience here about your career journey. You know, where you went to school, how you landed your current role and just give them a background on who you are.

Don: I began my career after graduating at Howard University in Washington, D.C. where I majored in Information Systems. I’ve had a long career in Financial Services across a number of different products and businesses. I was an investment banker, corporate banker, and obviously now in the consumer bank. I did go back and get my Masters in Business Administration from University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School where I majored in both Strategy and Finance. And I am fortunate, I get to do both of those things here at JPMorgan Chase.

Sekou: Now, just a quick question. If I were to say H.U., what would the response be?

Don: You know!

Sekou: Alright, that’s that Howard University call-and-response and one thing I’ll say too before we get started. Don and I actually worked at another company together before this. And so, again students, you'll see a theme here that you build these relationships coming out of college and your paths can intersect throughout your career. For many new graduates entering the workforce. First job after school is probably that first time you’re getting that steady paycheck, but it’s also the first time that you’re managing various expenses. Like rent, student loan payments, car payments, etcetera. So it can be overwhelming. So for that new graduate starting that first job, like what, what should they do? Where should they start?

Don: I would say start by keeping it very simple and it’s about having a budget. And that budget can be in four parts. Know how much you make, know how much you have to spend. Your rent, your utilities, your cell phone. Then know how much is your discretionary. You worked really hard to get to this point. So you should enjoy some of your money. Which means that you’ll probably hang out with friends and when we can, you’ll travel. But, the most important part, the fourth part, savings. Make sure you create an opportunity to save. Even if you can only save a little, your future you will be so glad that your current you hooked you up that way.

Sekou: Oh that’s great. I like that. And are there any tips or tools around savings, by the way, since you mentioned that?

Don: One of the best things that we offer here at JPMorgan Chase is Autosave. It is the easiest set-it and forget-it tool that you can find. It gives you the opportunity to save money periodically as you set it. Or, payday, when you get paid, and we know that 80% of Americans have struggles saving money and managing paycheck to paycheck. So, carving out a little bit every paycheck can help. And if that’s too hard, we’ve tried to make it so easy you can save as little as a dollar a day. And when we know that half of Americans struggle to keep $400 in savings on a regular basis to withstand life’s little emergencies. Leaky faucet, a blown tire, that dollar a day, for 365 days, gets you pretty close.

Sekou: Now, that’s a great point. And so we’re thinking about the students. And so, cost of living. So, I finished college, right? I was living in, I’m going to make this up, Dallas. Now, I moved to Manhattan. How do I factor in the cost of living as I think about building my budget?

Don: Just don’t forget about the little things, right? It’s easy to not factor in transportation, lunch, certainly housing. Different parts of the country will have different costs of living. A one bedroom in Manhattan will be a lot more than a one bedroom in Dallas. But, in Dallas you may have to drive and have gas expense, whereas in New York, you may end up walking to work. So just consider how you live and how you work and try to find those hidden savings along the way. And just make sure you keep that budget like I mentioned and stay on track. And don’t be afraid, if you fall off track, just get back on.

Sekou: So you mentioned early on that many Americans don’t have that emergency fund. Many people referred to it as a rainy day fund. So as these students, now graduates, are starting off in their careers. Like, how much should they have saved in terms of monthly expenses in that rainy day fund?

Don: I start off first by saying, think about what your monthly expenses are and make sure that you can always cover at least a month worth of expenses, just in case. I already mentioned that most Americans, half of Americans don’t have $400 in savings for those emergencies that come up from time to time. So you for sure you want to at least make that minimum threshold. But, I am more of a conservative guy. So I think about having at least a month’s worth of my rent, my utilities, my cell phone, the things I mentioned before. Just to make sure in case, you know, there are tough times and we’re experiencing some of that right now. There are people who didn’t expect to be out of work and they are very grateful that they did have that emergency savings fund.

Sekou: And I imagine, as you know, these students are starting off, you have to actually build those reserves. So, build that month and then as you go further in your career, two to three for months or depending on your expenses. But, it brings up this whole concept of short-term savings versus longer term savings. So, can you tell me the importance of having a vision for both the short-term, which is maybe that rainy day fund and the longer term, saving for whether it’s retirement or something else, car, house, etcetera.

Don: Well you hit it right there, Sekou. It is really about goals and setting goals, and knowing where you want to be for the long-term. For the true long-term, it’s about retirement. You want to be able to retire comfortably and with dignity, right? You want to be able to enjoy and maintain a certain lifestyle that you will hopefully continue to grow into over the course of your life and your career. Along the way, you may want to buy a house, perhaps buy a car. You may even start a family. So, it’s important to start thinking about those things even now. It’s one of those things where you wish someone had shared with you, like these little tips, these little kernels, these nuggets of information. You don’t have to wait until there is a significant other in your life, for you to be a homeowner. You don’t have to wait until that family arrives to start saving for it. You can start doing that now. And then from a short-term goals perspective, as I mentioned before, you worked hard, you should enjoy it. I’m sure you’ll want to go on vacation. You may want to do something nice for those people who have supported you, that helped you get this far. Maybe this is the time to really treat your parents or that caregiver who was so nice to you and supported you along the way. Those are the types of goals I’m talking about. And I think it’s important to always maintain that line of sight for each one of those short, medium, and long. And then put a little bit aside for each one of those. But, like I said, it’s also important to enjoy, you know, the fruits of your labor. So, yeah go ahead and take that vacation, makes you feel comfortable when you know you’ve got that money set aside as well for your retirement.

Sekou: You mentioned enjoying the fruits of your labor. I remember when I moved to New York City out of graduate school in North Carolina. And I, this is somewhat that cost of living discussion. But I got my salary and I was like, Oh yes! And then I started paying rent and I’m like, oh no! The challenge was, okay, how do I then prioritize now having this expensive rent, etcetera? So, what would you say in terms of, like, how I breakdown, or how these graduates should breakdown that budget? Like, are there any tips or the way you should think about the prioritization of your expenses?

Don: You know, it is about being practical. You know, so for me, being practical recognizes that you as a graduate, you know, perhaps living in a new city that you do want to enjoy your life. So I’m not going to, you know, skirt over that. But, if you’re practical then you’ll say to yourself, you know what, I can’t spend it all. And if I take these tips that Sekou and Don are sharing with me. I’ll think a little bit more about my medium-term goals and my longer term goals. And, I’ll sign up for that 401K today and I’ll make that a priority. But, there’s another word that’s really important, quite honestly, and its sacrifice. So Sekou, when you talked about graduating from undergrad, it made me think about my time from graduating from Howard University. And for me it really was about sacrifice. I just didn’t go out as much as I could have. I didn’t buy as much gear, as much as I could have, because I was very focused on paying down my debt. That was super important to me. I didn’t want to be in student loan debt forever. But I also was thinking about my long-term in retirement and I made sure to contribute to my 401K. I will tell you that now, the me now, is very glad for the me back then that put that money aside. It just means that I have more peace of mind and I have more security for my family.

Sekou: I’m glad you brought up retirement. I’ll share a personal story there around my 401K. So, first job out of graduate school. I was basically trying to make sure I can make all the rent payments and student loans, etcetera. And I said, you know what, let me not invest in this 401K. Like, I’m not retiring anytime soon. And fortunately, I had someone say to me, no, you’re getting a dollar for dollar match and to your point, the me of today...I worked at that company for five years and have since rolled that 401k over. The amount of increase in that money, the power of compounding, really has made a tremendous difference. And so, that’s great, that again, your journey as well. Sometimes we may want to make a short-term decision that has a longer term implications. So, it’s great to hear that you emphasize that for students because starting retirement is important now. But let’s talk about the here and now. And one thing that will impact my ability to get a car, to buy a home, etcetera, and that is credit. So, what would you, what can you tell us to deconstruct how your credit score is calculated? Or what are some of the things that we should be mindful of as we think about our credit?

Don: I’m so glad you asked that question. It is sometimes the biggest pitfall that hits students, hits graduates and quite honestly, hits adults throughout the course of their life. And most folks are not as educated or as thoughtful about their credit as they could be. It really comes down to four basic parts. How long is your credit history? Do you pay your bills on time? How much overall credit do you have and what’s your utilization? There are other factors as well, like how many times you will apply for credit? But, I’m going to focus on things that you can control, which is paying your bills on time. At a minimum, make the minimum payment. Make that one of your practical priorities. Make that one of your practical sacrifices. Now, of course, you are way better off when you can pay your bills in full. There’s a lot folks who’ll say, if you can’t save it, then you shouldn’t spend it. And it’s also, if you can’t pay it off, then you shouldn’t spend it. So just be smart about your budget, don’t overextend. And don’t think, well I got this big credit line so I can use up a bunch of it. That really hurts you and particularly when you’re trying to get something you really want, a house or a car. It will be so much more expensive for you because you didn’t practice good credit habits.

Sekou: And that’s a great point you raised and that is your interest rates are correlated to your credit score. And I’m glad you broke down those four components because, you know, sometimes people just don’t know. So, if you’re about to buy a home and you’re in that department store and they say, do you want to save 10%? Well, if you’re about to buy by opening the department store credit, if you’re about to buy a home, that answer is probably no. And so, that’s helpful to hear how important credit is. But, if you can go deeper there. So you said, the length of time that you’ve had credit. So as a new graduate, obviously I’m going to be building credit. So, what are some of the things I should do as I build credit?

Don: Some of the best ways that you can build credit is to just be smart about the credit that you take on. So, these days you’re going to have a credit card, just don’t overextend, right. You don’t need perhaps the biggest line and if you get it just be smart about it. What’s also helpful is your student loans. And, if you can afford it and you choose to buy a home early or buy an apartment. Having a mortgage is also great credit to have, demonstrates great borrowing skills. We have a great tool here at JPMorgan Chase called Credit Journey. I would highly encourage you to enroll and that will help you stay on track. Will also give you good tips along the way in terms of what are the right levers that you should be pulling to get to the highest credit score you can. Better believe, you can keep a 700 plus.

Sekou: Yes, and keep it 700 plus. My joke there is, our generation, we used to say keeping it 100. That meant keeping it real, but this era, you have to keep it 700 plus. So, that again is your credit score. And let’s talk more about the credit score. One, I want to say Credit Journey is free. You don’t have to be a customer, anyone can sign up. But sometimes I think people don’t understand more of the components. So, if, you mentioned balances. So if I have a credit card with $5000 limit and owe $4000 versus a credit card with a thousand dollar limit and owe $200. What scenario would give me the better credit score and why?

Don: Well it’s a great question Sekou. And what I will say is look, everyone’s relationship with money is different. What’s important to do is to make the best decisions that you can. Look at the interest rate that you’re paying. Maybe it’s important to pay down the credit with the highest interest rate because it’s costing you the most. But also, in the example that you gave, look at your utilization. Do you have an opportunity to pay down on the higher used card so that way in balance, your credit score hopefully will take into account favorably, that you’re not overextending on either one of those cards. But, keep in mind the point on interest rates because that does cost you money. What I like to say too and I go back to the well on this. It is about sacrifice. If you find yourself in a position and maybe you have overextended yourself a little bit. And in the example, you have one card where you may be not using a lot, but it’s costing you a lot. And on the other card, it’s not costing you that much but you were highly utilized on that card. It just means a little bit more sacrifice for the short-term. And part of goal setting is saying, where do I want to be versus where I am? And for the next six months, what can I do to improve my position? Maybe it means that I don’t do some things that I like to do or I don’t buy some things that I like to buy. But, nothing feels better than being debt free and managing your debt to a comfortable place.

Sekou: Yeah, that’s a great point. And I think spending habits have changed for many people in this COVID-19 era. Where you realized, again, I used to get cuts maybe weekly, now it’s been more of a every two months endeavor. But, how can the students and graduates really take into account some of those habits and build it into a budget? So, you talked about like, looking at and being responsible. But like, as I break down at the base level like. Should I set goals around, entertainment goals around, going like, what types of goals should we think about as we look at our holistic balance sheet?

Don: I will tell you the first thing that me and my family did with COVID is say, we’re no longer commuting to work, we’re no longer buying lunches. How much money can we save? And we didn’t just leave it in the checking. We were intentional. And every two weeks, we would look at our budget and we would say, what’s the dollars that we’re saving because we’re not doing certain things anymore. We’re not dining out, like I said, we’re not commuting, we’re not buying lunch, and we intentionally would then move it to savings. And we have two children at home, a 5 year old and a 2 year old, and we put more into their 529 plans. It is really about managing your finances as an activity. Making it an active part of your everyday life and taking advantage of those moments. Taking advantage when, hey, you know what, I didn’t spend that $10 this week that I spent last week. Don’t just let it sit there, it will ultimately find its way to getting spent. Move it, be intentional, and if you have those goals where you know you’re trying to chip away at something or you’re trying to build something. Like I said, there is no greater reward than seeing your chip away or seeing your build up.

Sekou: Yeah, I like that concept and I’ve heard you say before, it’s not what you make, it’s what you keep and grow. So, you know, that seems to embody that. But, for those out there, explain that statement.

Don: That’s a great question Sekou and I’m so glad you asked that. And I know for our graduates, you are just on the cusp of beginning your career, so there’s going to likely be great income appreciation for you. But, one of life’s best lessons learned for me came from my Mom, who was an essential worker, and as a nurse, her income didn’t appreciate, it stayed the same. But she did a great job as an immigrant, raising me and my two sisters. And so we never had to worry about food on the table or lights in the house. But most importantly, when it was time for us to get our education, like we saw firsthand what sacrifice and savings could yield. It meant that our life pursuits and our life’s dreams could be fulfilled because she made the sacrifice based on what she made and what she kept to then pay it forward to us.

Sekou: Thank you for sharing that very personal example. Now that really leads me to a bigger point about savings and building toward a financial future. But the reality that there have been several factors that have made that a bit more challenging for black communities. If you think about it, nearly one-fifth of black households are unbanked. When you look at the median net worth of a black family, it’s $17,000 versus $171,000 for a white family. So why is it that so many black Americans have had challenges around that financial health? So what structural factors have led us to this point?

Don: Hey Sekou, that is a great question and thank you for asking it. Obviously, it’s one that’s deeply personal and cuts right at the heart of who a lot of us are. I think structurally some of the challenges that we have faced is access, exposure, and education. And even when I look at you and I look at me and here we are at JPMorgan Chase, I’ve known you for a long time and I know what your hustle has been. I know that you have been persistent, right? And you have therefore persevered. And so, so when I think about folks from black and brown communities. Big challenge sometimes is not knowing where to go to get good guidance and good advice. And sometimes having the role model that says, you can do more, you can be more. And that’s why I’m proud when I see you in this role. I’m proud of the work that we do here at Advancing Black Pathways, to really create all of these paths of opportunity. We are creating that exposure element. We are giving folks the education and it’s not just students, it’s not just graduates, it’s everyday people. It actually even goes beyond black and brown communities. That is sometimes the biggest challenge, is that you just don’t know. That’s why I’m glad we’re even doing this today, because there is going to be some tips that someone hadn’t thought about. There’s going to be something in here about sacrifice or being practical, or prioritizing, that maybe they just didn’t consider, and sometimes it can be as simple as that. I don’t want to diminish the challenges that come from being born and being bred in black and brown communities. But I focus like I said, on the things that I can control. The things that I can control is, what do I know, and what actions do I take.

Sekou: Yeah, I agree that with the immense opportunity that these students will have, they will be able to do more than the generations before them. I think those structural challenges, whether it’s been less income passed on, whether it’s been less capital in the community, etcetera. I think that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. I agree with you, with Advancing Black Pathways and financial health, so that we can ensure that this next generation is really able to do more than we’ve even dreamed of. And so, I appreciate you, in playing your role as that General Manager of our financial health to ensure that whether it’s the tools, the tips, the access to banking is available for all. Well Don, our time is almost up. So, I want to see if you have any other calls to action as our graduates now are full of insight. But, what other thing would you leave them with, as they start their journey?

Don: First, let me start off by saying, how proud we are of you. Both Sekou and I, for your journey, especially during these times. It’s been difficult for a lot of us, but it’s been particularly difficult for you given this is where you’re starting off. But I’m so glad that you are persevering and we know, both of us, that you will continue to persist to reach your goals. And I’m so glad that we had this opportunity to talk to you about setting goals. Because your goals are going to be both personal and professional and financial. So some simple calls to action to remember, We talked about them throughout the course of our conversation. Start saving, just get started. It’s simple. Make that behavior a habit. We have a great tool, you can use it: Autosave. And as I mentioned, as little as a dollar a day. Two, Credit Journey, sign up now. Know what your score is. Like, do you know your score? Are you keeping it 700 plus? Make sure you can get to the highest number you can and stay there. Make it a game. And three, start your budget. Figure out what your income and your expenses are. And we have another great tool: Budget Builder. It’s pretty simple, pretty easy, and allows you to put into the buckets that we mentioned so you can better manage your day-to-day finances. And I’ll leave you a bonus, one more. Be committed to excellence. We talked about coming from black and brown communities. We talked about the sacrifices that we’ve made and the sacrifices that those who have supported us have made. Be committed to excellence.

Sekou: Thanks again Don for providing these insights, and tools, and tips, for navigating your financial health after college. And while every financial journey may look different. It’s important to start taking steps today to build towards your financial future where you can. Whether that’s savings, whether that’s putting together a budget. The steps you take now will benefit you for your lifetime. So be sure to tune in for our next session of the ABP Career Readiness Series on August 4^th. Gerrod Parchmon, our Global Head of Banker Support, will discuss how banking has evolved in our digital age, and share tips for how you can explore a career in virtual banking. Register now at www.jpmorganchase.com/ABPcareers. Look forward to seeing you for our next episode.

Soledad: What I always loved about Advancing Black Pathways, just the name of it, is that it was very tactical and very intentional around black people, and making sure that their pathway to financial success was clear and helping them make their way down that path.

Sekou: I'm most proud of the progress that we've made and the intentionality in 2019. It really highlighted that we could make an impact by engaging our community, engaging partners and focusing on what really matters for African Americans. Advancing Black Pathways is focused on strengthening the economic foundation of the black community, by investing in education.

Forest: The role that education plays in creating wealth in the black community actually starts by leveling the playing field. It's going to close the racial wealth gap in America by putting students on a pathway on careers that they would not have otherwise been exposed to.

Michael: Our goal is really to change the way African Americans live to ensure that they are building wealth and assets.

Harry: We want to see more African Americans not only moving into the middle class, but owning homes, creating jobs, creating opportunities for people within the community. And I think this opportunity with Advancing Black Pathways will lead into that in very positive ways.

Sekou: Everyone sees this as a seminal moment where we can actually move the needle to create more inclusive growth. I just feel really excited about the opportunity that's ahead of us.

Sekou: Hi, I’m Sekou Kaalund, the Head of Advancing Black Pathways at JPMorgan Chase.

Gerrod: And I’m Gerrod Parchmon, our Global Head of Banker Support here at JP Morgan Chase.

Sekou: And now you’re tuned in to the fourth episode of JPMorgan Chase’s Career Readiness Series, where we’re providing helpful tips and resources for students as they begin to navigate their professional life after college, and take steps towards sustainable careers. Now like many fields, banking has evolved in how we communicate with our customers digitally. I’m excited to be here today with Gerrod who’s seen how the banking industry has grown and he’s going to really walk us through what a traditional versus virtual banking world looks like. So, with that let’s get started. I would love to ground our audience in who you are. So we’ll just start with your background. You know, where did you go to college? What did you major in? Tell us about some of your favorite parties. I’m just joking, but tell us about some of your fondest college memories.

Gerrod: Yeah. So, first of all, pleasure to have a conversation with you today Sekou. So, I had somewhat more of a non-traditional way of going into banking. In fact, if it were a case study it would probably be entitled, How to Switch Up Your Hustle. And so, when I got out of high school, I started out of a small college in Detroit, Michigan, in which where I’m born and raised and worked my way through college. So, I worked full-time in manufacturing operations, the assembly line while I was going to school during the daytime. And, my fondest memories of college were learning really about what it’s like to have hustle and grit. And at a very foundational level for me again, from age 17 through 26, I learned things at a foundational level that have helped me to where I am at today. So, I majored in Business while I was in college because I was really passionate about understanding about money and how to make money work. Since in our communities, we oftentimes didn’t see that and I wanted to be able to change the trajectory.

Sekou: So, uh, you know, that’s helpful because we want students to see how this navigation occurs in college. How people approached their career, their majors, and ultimately where they end up. But let’s actually dig into the subject matter a little bit. You know, from the outset we want to know. What’s the difference between traditional banking and virtual banking?

Gerrod: Yeah. So, I think in its simplest form, when I think about traditional banking, and I’ll use consumer banking as the scope since banking is such a... such a wide body of work. So, in terms of traditional banking, it’s the client going to the branch, to the bank to get guidance. With virtual banking, it’s the bank coming to the client to provide guidance. And to me, that’s the twist and I’m excited to talk a little bit more in our conversation about what that looks like and why that’s so important.

Sekou: We’ll jump right into discussion on skills. So, again some of these students are just starting out, they’re figuring out their passions, their interests. What skills do you feel are really critical for these types of roles?

Gerrod: Yeah.            So I think about skills in the perspective of being analytical, attention to detail, the ability to really authentically engage with people, and the ability to build relationships. Those are just a few of the key skills that are needed. From a passion perspective, the desire to really help people. I can’t express that enough. You can teach the skills, but the true passions around helping people, you either have it or you don’t, right. So, that’s the thing we’re really good at helping to foster. If you bring the passion, we can hone the skills and help you be successful.

Sekou: So I want to stay with that because obviously, you know, a critical thing is passion and that enables people to push further in their career because they actually have that desire to make impact. But what other attributes would you say are critical to really be that exceptional candidate? So, even if I have that passion and other people have passion as well, you know, are there any other factors that you feel enable a candidate to stand out?

Garrod: When I think about banking and when I think about someone who wants to work at JPMorgan Chase. It’s not just about the initial job, it’s about the career. So someone that’s open to be able to experience different facets of banking, to help make themselves a well-rounded candidate. Because, my assumption is if you come to JPMorgan Chase, you’re thinking about having a long lasting career. So the ability and the desire to take on new challenges, learn new things, take on risks, of course, calculated risks of course. But the ability to do those things but also the desire to do those things. Someone that doesn’t get, you know, easily bored as an example and really wants to be invested in.

Sekou: So, you know again, we know the skill set. So, now let’s say I’ve secured this job. I’m excited. As I think about trajectory, like, what are the types of career trajectories for these roles.

Garrod: So, I’ll just use, again, consumer banking as an example. So, what’s great about this is that you have the opportunity to come in the door as a Personal Banker and really have the firm giving you the opportunity to really be invested in. And understanding our products and services and solutions that really help our clients to make the most of their money, to make the most of their lives. But then to me that’s very foundational. As you build and develop those skills, the opportunity to take a couple of different career tracks. And perhaps you’re someone that wants to be what we consider an individual contributor, where you are the person that’s primarily driving the revenue for the business. So the ability to leverage coming in as a Personal Banker and then growing your career to be perhaps being licensed or perhaps go from consumer banking into commercial banking. We have those avenues for you, or perhaps you’re pretty passionate about developing people. So again, the ability from that foundational level as a banker, to then being a leader of bankers, and then being a leader of leaders, particularly from a Director level perspective. And so, what’s great about our firm is that we have the ability to really create these pathways for incoming students because we have that investment in them.

 Sekou: And you talked about your hustle early on as you were going through college and trying to figure out what you wanted to devote your talents to. Why would you say it’s important for black graduates to consider a career in banking?

Garrod: Yes, so that is something, that’s like, deeply personal to me Sekou. So, again as you know, as you heard a little bit earlier I’m from Detroit. And when I think about the certain circumstances that we’re going through right now, not just as a country but also globally. What sticks out to me is the lack of access to knowledge that can help guide financial empowerment and within our community unfortunately that is still lacking. And so the opportunity for someone to come in the door and learn those financial skills, not just to help educate if you will clients, but to take that knowledge back and be able to educate your own household, your own community is really, really important to me. And even more personal right now is when I think about the conversations around social justice. You know, you hear so much about awareness, but it’s interesting, it’s our young college graduates that are asking us the question, “what about action?” And to me there’s no better way to take action and really drive social justice, than to be able to drive economic empowerment within your own community. And what’s great is the ability to do that and get paid to learn how to do it. I can’t think of a better hustle.

Sekou: Yeah, and I just was thinking of a quote from Martin Luther King. I’m going to butcher the quote, but basically it talked about while philanthropy is important, what’s important is creating the economic opportunities so that there’s less of a need for the philanthropy. So again, that’s not exactly how the quote goes, but it really supports what you’re saying. And I see that in this generation too, and it has me excited about the future. But, I also believe the students are asking, OK if I come into these spaces where, you know, people don’t look like me as much. How can I be my authentic self? Because they are embracing their authentic self on this journey now for change. What would you say to students now who are, who have that question? Like, can I be my authentic self in a corporate environment?

Garrod: So first of all, I’d say that’s real talk. I mean, I get it. I mean, for many years that’s something that I struggled with. The feeling of I’m one person outside the office and I’m a different person inside the office because I’m trying to get in where I fit in. But what’s interesting is, that’s one of the things that drew me to JPMorgan Chase. I mean, when I think about leaders like Thasunda Duckett, Sekou Kaalund. What’s interesting is that when you have a firm that says, not only are we about supporting black people in black communities. We put in big bold font advancing black leaders, Advancing Black Pathways, that tells me it’s not a game. And then when you see and you have the ability to interact everyday with leaders like yourself, Thasunda, and other many talented black executives, here at JPMorgan Chase, who are there, who every day are their authentic selves. To me, that sets an example for folks like myself and others that you can be who you are and still be able to deliver to the bottom line of the company. To me, particularly times like this, you know, where you work at matters. And so when I think about our college graduates, it might seem as if it’s a challenging job market and by no means am I challenging the statistics. But at the end of the day, I think about our college graduates in terms of having their own options to chart their own course. And again, where you work at matters. And not just the things that they’re doing as it relates to what’s popular right now, but what have you been doing. And again, that’s another thing that drew me to JPMorgan Chase, is that we have a history of making bold moves particularly as you think about the black community. So again, where you work at matters.

Sekou: So now, you talked about bringing your authentic self. Like now, how authentic are we talking? Are we talking, you know Detroit…. Now, I’m just kidding there, but being authentic is important and I want to ask a serious question actually, as it relates to being authentic. Like, how have you managed? You know, what’s going on. You know, as you’ve interacted whether with teammates, you know, etcetera. How have you brought your authentic self to work in these times?

Garrod: Yeah, so you know, if I said that you know what, it was easy breezy, I’d be fronting Sekou. It’s had its challenges, right? But, you know, you talked about the culture, right? Let me, let me give a little bit of inside baseball on that, right? So, when, when we first saw and experienced the horrific events particularly with George Floyd. And that was again, back to back to other just again heinous and horrific acts. What I really appreciate about our CEO, right, Thasunda Duckett, She personally reached out to a group of Black African-American leaders, just to see how we were doing. Like, like who does that, right? Our CEO does that, right. So, when I think about the culture, just making sure that we were alright. And in particular because she recognized that in many cases we have the weight of the world on our shoulders particularly as black, black men. Particularly black executives, in a large company like this one. And so, when I think about how it’s affected me personally and trying to figure out, “Do I keep on a game face?”, like many of us have been taught to do. “Don’t let them see you sweat?”, versus “I’m feeling some kind of way inside”. And bringing back memories of things that I’ve experienced on a personal level particularly, you know, growing up in the city. Those things, you know they came back to me. But again, going back to the firm, what it really helped me to appreciate is, one, just like the firm has a platform, we as black leaders have a platform. And it’s incumbent upon us to make sure that we are operationalizing our individual platforms, so that as a collective, we can truly drive change in our communities. When I think about the city that I reside in now, here in Columbus, we’ve been very very intentional at a market level. Really engaging and igniting, you know the three seeds. You know, community leaders, corporate leaders, and civic leaders. You know, again going from this conversation around awareness. How do we take action? And really recognizing as a firm, particularly here in Columbus, we’re the largest private employer. Like, how do we lean in and how do we set that example? So that we bring the entire community with us to address, you know, social justice.

Sekou: Yeah, the point you touched on and again we’ve had some of the same experiences, but wearing the mask. I actually recited a poem called We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar at a team meeting. And to your point, normally we would feel that we have to put on that mask. But, this is why our culture has been important and instead we’ve talked about our feelings. And we’ve said, and T, the CEO said, “It’s okay not to be okay”. And I think having moments like that in a team culture, in an organization, enables you to not be okay and actually feel what may be impacting you in society. More importantly, talk about it and have the support system like you and calling others as well. And so, I do appreciate you sharing that because I think that’s important for students to hear. That’s truly about being your authentic self and being able to acknowledge, you know, the difficulties you may be having, whether it’s something in society, whether it’s something in your personal life and those are important factors of making sure you are in the right culture and environment.

Garrod: Yeah, I agree. I mean it goes back to again where you work matters. And when you have the choice of where you want to work and things seem very binary in terms of opportunities. You know, it’s those kinds of things that stand out. And you know, again the thing that I’m proud about when you think about our firm is that we didn’t have to conjure up a new way of addressing the opportunities that are in front of us. We just leaned in on what we had already been doing. Particularly with the very strategic focus around the Advancing Black Pathways.

Sekou: I will concur with that and I wanted to stay with that line of thinking in terms of where you work and that’s a discussion about culture. The culture of the firm where you're working. And again, every firm, I’ve worked in an investment bank. I’ve had the privilege of sitting at the consumer bank leadership team. You know, culture is different, you know, wherever you go, but culture matters. And so, how would you describe the culture for the consumer bank and what are some of the things that stand out for you outside of what you just indicated?

Garrod: Yeah, so I’ll take it from the high level to the ground floor. I think about our business principles which really define our core values and not only who we are but why we do what we do. When I think about things such as our commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and acting as a team and winning cultures...Like, those are the things that are part of what we do everyday. But those are the things you might expect for me to say because we’re in this type of conversation, Sekou. For me it’s about the day-to-day and we are a team, particularly within consumer banking where we work incredibly hard. I mean, I think about the pace Thasunda Duckett has us operating at on a daily basis, but it’s not just because we’re trying to do a lot of hard work really really fast, it’s because we’re laser focused on helping everyday people to win. So it’s not just about driving shareholder value. Again, it’s about that, but it’s not just about that. How do we do that and then leverage our platform to help everyday people? And it’s one of the biggest things that drives what we do on an everyday basis. So again, when I’m thinking about college graduates that we would have the privilege of being able to partner with and going back to the earlier point about where you work at matters. That’s the kind of culture that I believe that’s important to our college graduates.

Sekou: So customer preferences, you know, and expectation for service have been evolving with new technology. So, technology has made life easy in many instances, at the same time this work from home or work remote or bank remote environment is also accelerating, I would imagine, some trends that you’ve been seeing. What are any of the, like highlights or differences that you’ve noted whether it’s from your work environment, from the customer environment? What are your thoughts on how we’re going to evolve from COVID-19? What things will stick? What will we return back to? Any thoughts on how this is impacting customers and employees?

Garrod: Well, that’s a really important question you just asked. So let me take my time a little bit. So, if anything I think COVID-19 helped us to move from the philosophical to the tangible. So there was always this thought of if we really…

Sekou: I like that. Can I just jump in? The philosophical to the tangible. I just had to repeat that. Continue, I’m sorry.

Garrod: No, no, you know, I had to do my push-ups before I got in the conversation. But you know, but real talk though, I mean I... COVID-19 if anything, helped us to see that things that we were working on from a strategy perspective around delivering guidance in a virtual manner. When COVID-19 hit, and when you think about it, we had to literally pivot overnight, right? How we operate and deliver guidance to clients. And what was really really personal for me was when I saw our bankers, again, operating in a virtual environment. Reaching out to clients who normally their mode of engaging with our bank is primarily in person and particularly some of our most vulnerable clients. And so now when you’ve removed the ability because of stay-at-home orders and things of that nature. Banking transactions still need to happen. Clients still needed guidance, right? And so, when we had the opportunity to reach out to our clients and let them know, first of all, thinking about you, I care about you, and I want to make sure that you have information that you need to still keep as much of a normal mode of operating as possible. Like, that’s very very special to me and in particular within our communities. And so, to me this is just the beginning, as it relates to you’re seeing more and more people adopting technology and tools like what we’re using right now where normally we might be talking in person, now we’re talking via video and what felt a little bit weird now feels normal. So I’d say from a technology perspective, the level of adoption from consumers has been really interesting to watch, but that doesn’t replace the human element. And so, as we think about, like, how our bankers are engaged with clients using technology. What we haven’t missed out on is the need to make sure that our bankers are connecting with people. And of course, when you’re not doing it in person, that presents its own challenges, but you know it’s a challenge that’s worth overcoming because it allows us to at a high degree of velocity, engage with more clients. And so, you know, when I think about, you know, our college graduates that we have the privilege of being able to engage right now. That’s why we need you. That’s why we want you so bad because you can help to bring in different concepts for us, around how we can deliver a wealth of guidance to our clients in ways that they never imagined. The ways that they’re entitled to.

Sekou: I think that was, you know, critical point you made. And I know there’s some students out there thinking, this sounds exciting. But, I don't know if my major will make me qualify. What other message would you give for these students to let them know that they are enough? It’s not about what they think they don’t have, it’s about what they actually do have in earning that degree. What advice would you give the students to let them know that these are the types of jobs meant for them?

Garrod: Yeah. So let me articulate the hustle a little bit more then. So, my major when I was an undergrad was Quality Management. Because keep in mind, I started my career in Manufacturing Operations. But again as I mentioned, switching up the hustle. So for me, when I think about students that I have the privilege of being able to engage with, I’m looking for adaptability and the desire to learn and take on new, you know, concepts and opportunities. Because if you think about it, if you have that, as I mentioned a little bit earlier, we can teach the skills. But, if you have the desire to learn more and do more, we can work with that. The other thing I’d say and I love how you brought the example, Sekou, around folks that, you know, perhaps may have majored in Finance and Accounting. Because, what some of our graduates may find is that, in their minds they thought, you know, I’m going to graduate. I’m going to a firm and then immediately work in Finance and that’s going to be what I do. And what they find potentially is that the opportunity that they want, there isn’t that alignment. But again, the ability to switch up the hustle and say, you know what, I’ve learned the concepts around balance sheets and income statements as an example. Maybe my first step won’t be in our Finance            group, maybe it’s in our Lending group. So, you actually understand how to produce the numbers that end up on the financial statements. And then, once you’ve got a really solid understanding of how the numbers get on the financial statements in the first place. Then taking that path back into Finance and being that much better at accounting for them. But, you know again, like I mentioned earlier, you know, where you work matters. And our firm not only supports that but we promote that. So again, what’s really important is having the talent, having the desire, having the hustle and the willingness and desire to learn new skills. We can work with everything else.

Sekou: That’s great and I just will ask you two more questions. Just, you know, as you’ve navigated this, So you switch the hustle I’ve seen, again, how well you’re doing, even coming into JPMorgan Chase. Are there any moments in your career that you would want to point out, that there’s an insight? That a nugget that these students will need for their shorter term or medium or longer term of a lesson learned. So, as I’m starting my job, if you want to frame it like this. As I’m starting my job, like, what are one or two things out the gate as I begin to build my reputation in brand or tackle these assignments or think about the career. What are one or two pieces of advice you would offer for the students out there?

Garrod: So, this is a little bit ironic Sekou because I remember when I was joining the firm, actually when I was interviewing with you. You asked me a very similar question in terms of like, how I thought about things and how I approached, you know, life particularly professionally. Here’s what I think about. Number one, the importance of having grit. And you’ll notice that I’m spending more time talking about, you know, behaviors versus skills. Because skills can be learned, behaviors are much more challenging, right? So the ability to have grit, you know, you’re going to come across situations particularly early in your career, post college that are going to really test you and stress you. But the ability to make, to be… the ability to demonstrate your ability to work through challenging situations. The other thing I would say as well and I believe that Brian Lamb referred to this in his career conversations with you, was the importance of having a Board of Directors. And I can’t stress enough the importance particularly as you’re entering into a workforce, particularly if it’s a large firm like ours, really taking the time to invest in a Board of Directors. And I love the way Brian articulated it, you know, companies have Board of Directors to help advise the senior leaders on which way to go from a career perspective. It’s just as important, if not more of taking the time to build your own Board of Directors to help guide you and navigate you. And just like, Board of Directors have diversity as it relates to experiences and you know, talents, what have you. Again, same thing, having a very diverse Board of Directors, you know, help you guide and navigate from a career perspective.

Sekou: You know, when you interviewed and I remember this so vividly and to see you started that... My only question is, they let you in? Does no one listen to me anymore? No, I’m just joking with you.

Garrod: I don’t know Sekou. I thought your clock was up. But you know, I had to go like, sneak in through the back.

Sekou: Sneaking in through the back door. No, you’ve been a rock star addition to the team. And I am delighted to be here doing this with you and we’re even fortunate that the students get to hear from you. So again, this is how the work environment should be. You know, I give them a hard time occasionally but again, it’s all in good fun. And we’re out here making the difference for our clients and you can make that difference too for your communities and for your families. You know, it’s been great to see, you know, what you’ve been able to accomplish here in such a short time. It’s been a pleasure, like, working with you and I think that’s a lesson in and of itself. That surrounding yourself with intelligent, critically important people like yourself, the big timers as I like to say, you have fun on this journey, right? You know I had to give you a hard time but we really can have fun…

Garrod: This is with a company like this, Sekou, I don’t know, man.

Sekou: You know, hey c’mon now. So, no what I do like though, seriously, that this is what work should be like. We are serious, we work hard, we work long but you have to enjoy the people that are around the table. And to your point, that’s the culture that matters. So, we’ll wrap up. Any other closing points that you want to make? Parting shots you want to take back at me, anything, the floor is yours.

Garrod: No, it’s truly all love. I want to just first of all say, you know, thank you to you, Sekou. You know, you do so much not only publicly but behind the scenes to really help advance the causes of really helping out, not only black people with black communities. And so, first of all, I really salute you for that and putting on a series like this. And I also want to give a special shout out to the graduates. I mean, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to graduate during these perilous times. But the biggest piece of advice I would say is what I said a little bit earlier around the hustle and having that grit, and knowing that you’ve got leaders in companies like JPMorgan Chase that are committed to investing in you, your communities, and your families. And so, again I wish you nothing but success.

Sekou: Well that was a perfect way to bring us home. So, I want to thank you for sharing all of those helpful tips. You know, keeping it real with our audience. But most importantly sharing that understanding of the field of virtual banking. But actually, let me ask, if I’m searching for jobs, what should I do? Any thoughts there.

Garrod: Appreciate that question, Sekou. So, perhaps some of our graduates are interested in careers starting out in retail banking as a banker in a branch or a home lending advisor as an example. Regardless of which, they can learn more about open banking roles by clicking on the ADP Careers page under Exploring Career Banking. And they can also filter by location, depending upon the area they desire to be able to live and work in.

Sekou: Okay, well that’s great. Well, thanks again. We definitely want all of you out there to save the date of August 18th, for our next session. We’ll be sharing insider tips on LinkedIn and how to make your LinkedIn profile rise to the top of the recruiter’s list and what keywords are particularly relevant for the AI filters. So you won’t want to miss it. Again, register at www.jpmorganchase.com/abpcareers. Thank you and we’ll see you again soon.

Soledad: What I always loved about Advancing Black Pathways, just the name of it, is that it was very tactical and very intentional around black people, and making sure that their pathway to financial success was clear and helping them make their way down that path.

Sekou: I'm most proud of the progress that we've made and the intentionality in 2019. It really highlighted that we could make an impact by engaging our community, engaging partners and focusing on what really matters for African Americans. Advancing Black Pathways is focused on strengthening the economic foundation of the black community, by investing in education.

Forest: The role that education plays in creating wealth in the black community actually starts by leveling the playing field. It's going to close the racial wealth gap in America by putting students on a pathway on careers that they would not have otherwise been exposed to.

Michael: Our goal is really to change the way African Americans live to ensure that they are building wealth and assets.

Harry: We want to see more African Americans not only moving into the middle class, but owning homes, creating jobs, creating opportunities for people within the community. And I think this opportunity with Advancing Black Pathways will lead into that in very positive ways.

Sekou: Everyone sees this as a seminal moment where we can actually move the needle to create more inclusive growth. I just feel really excited about the opportunity that's ahead of us.

Sekou: Hi, I’m Sekou Kaalund, Head of Advancing Black Pathways at JPMorgan Chase.

Cameron: Hi, I’m Cameron Cobb, Relationship Manager with LinkedIn.

Sekou: Well, thank you for tuning in to our fifth episode of the Advancing Black Pathways career readiness series, where we share tips to help young professionals navigate the next phase of their life and establish rewarding careers. Now, LinkedIn is a powerful tool to help showcase your portfolio, build your professional brand, and help you grow your network and career. And so today I’m excited to be here with Cameron, as you heard from LinkedIn’s talent solutions team. And he’s going to give us that deeper look into how you can build a strong LinkedIn profile that showcases your skills and accomplishments, and sets you apart from the competition. So, I might actually take notes as I’m asking you questions because I’m ready          to hear this good stuff as well. But let’s jump into this, as we started the other series, we want to know about the speakers. So tell us more about you. Where did you go to school? What did you major in? And really unpack your current role more.

Cameron: Absolutely. So, I went to school at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois right outside of St. Louis, majored in Business Marketing, I’ll jump back to some of my favorite moments during my undergraduate career, but right out of college I jumped straight into Financial Services. So working all the way from a part-time teller and then my most recent position, acting as Vice President for a large institution as the Associate Manager training on the brokerage side of things underneath a Market Manager. Not by my own design but by a beautiful design, I was recruited to LinkedIn in early 2019 and ever since then it’s been a great partnership and an excellent place to work.

Sekou: So, great for LinkedIn and great for you. So, let’s talk about that, we’ll start with LinkedIn. Like, what makes it the preferred platform to build a professional network?

Cameron: Absolutely. And jumping back to some of my most memorable moments in college, besides the fact that I spent a lot of time, maybe probably doing too much fun with my frat brothers at Southern Illinois University.

Sekou: Wait a minute, let’s make sure you chose the right fraternity. What fraternity was this?

Cameron: The oldest and the coldest…

Sekou: Keep going, let’s ignore that. Kappa Alpha Psi, shout out. But keep going, keep going so…

Cameron: One of my most fond memories was at the conclusion of my marketing research class which was in 2008, I believe. And at the end of the class the professor, I remember his name Dr. Rahm said that if anybody had any follow-up questions after the class to connect with him on this new social network called LinkedIn. And here I am ten years later, after my first experience, now working for the LinkedIn Corporation. The thing that I admire the most about LinkedIn is LinkedIn makes it all about you. It’s about your professional journey, your community helping you to connect to opportunity. LinkedIn defines it’s vision or True North to create opportunity for every member of the global workforce. And then followed by that mission or that vision is our mission, where our intent is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and more successful. So now that you have a better idea of LinkedIn as a company, let’s just talk a little bit more about the network specifically. So, our network is comprised of over 690 million members on the network. We work with about 50 million employers and we have millions of job opportunities on the site. We also have 2.9 million groups that you can join in order to grow your community. So when you think about the network it’s about connecting to opportunity, right, and opportunity can mean whatever it is to you. We have individuals who go there in order to tell recruiters that they are able to work. But we also have individuals who are going there in order to build their brand, individuals who are entrepreneurs who are looking to maybe grow their practice. So those are all the great things that I believe the LinkedIn network provides for its members.

Sekou: So again, very powerful statistics, so you set the table that this is the forum that we want people to leverage. And so then now talk to us about how I can begin to define my professional brand on LinkedIn, like, what does that mean?

Cameron: Absolutely. In my opinion there’s three things to think about when you define your professional brand, right. First, think about what makes up a good brand. The second thing is to identify what it is that sets you out. And then lastly, what can you do in order to show that you are the right choice. So the value of your brand should answer the question of why choose you, right. How does an employer, a coach, or a college decide who to choose? You know, what do you promise to that employer, that team, or that school? What can they expect from you and then answer the question of how unique are you? What separates you or differentiates you from the other candidates that are on the platform. Next, in showing that you are the right choice, you also want to make sure that you display how your brand includes who you are now and how you’ve developed. So it should contain a couple of key things. One being your skills, so your work, your school, you know, specific things that you may have obtained from a job or a class. Your network, right, how you’re able to be around people, how you work on a team, and then information. So, employers and individuals in your...and your network might look to you for thought leadership, might look for your areas of expertise, they want to learn more about your wisdom and your experiences. And then the last two things that I would add is making sure that your values shine through, what’s important to you. And then lastly, your goals, so on your LinkedIn profile you can leverage that space in order to say where you might want to be, you know, in the next two, five, ten, or even at retirement.

Sekou: So, that’s very helpful because you’ve covered some of these components and I started with brand and you mentioned profiles, so we probably should reverse and talk about like, what those first steps are in building a profile. So you talked about skills, but should my profile just mirror my resume or like, how should I really build a profile, like, what are those building blocks?

Cameron: Perfect. So, that’s a good segway and I want to cover four key things in this area. One, you know, just the basics of how to set up your LinkedIn account. But two, also how to take a look at your profile and differentiate it, like you said, from your resume. Look at the essentials of what to have on your profile and then if you need to make edits, what are the key points and places that you should be focusing on, on your LinkedIn profile. So in order to set up your account simply by going to LinkedIn.com, you can do so on your mobile device or on a PC. You can download the app on the App Store or on Google Play, but it’s an easy set up. But I think the thing that individuals when they think of the LinkedIn network is that they begin to look at it simply as an expression of their work history and just what their resume basically says and the LinkedIn network is so much more than that. For example, in my personal experience throughout all of the things that have been going on and recent events whether it be social unrest or whether it be a pandemic. I can’t express to you exactly how I’m feeling through my resume, but I can leverage to my network, you know, and say how I’m feeling through my LinkedIn profile professionally. So, there’s a couple of big differences that I think you should think about when you think about your LinkedIn profile. One, your LinkedIn profile speaks to all employers and not just a single one, right. So you’re not specifically tailoring your LinkedIn profile for a job that you just applied for. Two, it goes into much more detail with skills, with rich media, with pictures, with posts, with telling people your true personality and also adding that human element. It also allows other professionals and employers to interact with you, to learn from you, and then if they want to reach out to you they can also do so using the LinkedIn platform. And then lastly, it’s a place where you can go in order to get recommendations and endorsements in order to add to your brand. Just a couple of key things that you want to make sure that you include on your LinkedIn profile is going to be a great photo. So we do know that LinkedIn members who have a profile and then have a photo, particularly maybe a professional photo that they may have taken by a photographer. They can receive up to twenty-one times more views and up to nine times more connection requests if they do have a great photo. You should use a background that isn’t distracting on your photo. I would discourage you to have yourself in your photo and if you were looking at the, I guess the tic-tac-toe on a photo frame, your eyes should be at the top bar and your eyes should be right in between the two vertical lines. You want to smile and have a friendly expression and then make sure that your face and nobody else’s makes up this frame. So, it’s not a place where for you to post…

Sekou: So I can’t have my friends in there, you’re telling me? Okay...alright.

Cameron: It should definitely be by yourself. You’d want to dress on that photo like the job you want, so if you're pursuing a more professional job then I encourage you to maybe, you know, do a little bit of what I call rough luxury with a jacket or a nice shirt or a blouse. If you’re working in a tech field you might choose a picture that makes you seem a little bit more comfortable. There’s also a couple of key things that I want to make sure that you have on your profile. So key sections that are going to help employers find you but also help individuals in your network find you is going to be your location and your industry, your education, your work and internship information, any skills that you want to list, any volunteer experience, or any program or organization. Now, you don’t have to include all of those but those definitely make you more searchable if you do have those on your profile. One of the key areas that I also want to touch on is the headline, so it’s that short phrase that describes who you are as a professional. This is one of my favorite sections to talk about because I think this is where you should actually focus a lot of attention on. So your headline is going to be just one tagline that should tell your big three. So when you think about your big three, think about yourself professionally, think about yourself as a human, and then also think about something else that makes you special, and in a couple of words make sure that you put that on your headline. And then lastly, I just want to quickly touch on the summary. The summary is a place where you can go on and add in what I call your elevator pitch. So this will be a few sentences that give us a snapshot of what you’ve accomplished professionally, who you are as a person, and then also talks about what your intent, or your promise, or your future goals will be to your network. I do want to give a quick hot take that this section should be at least forty words. We do know that individuals who have at least forty words in the summary section do receive more connection requests.

Sekou: I’m going to start counting up my words now. Is that my problem? I don’t have enough words? No, just joking. But that’s a great segway to the next question I have and that’s okay… Once again, I’ve been in Financial Services twenty plus years, so I’ve built a network and followers, and all that stuff. But, if I’m starting out like many of our viewers there now, and I’ve put all these pieces into place. How do I then go about building out this social connection, and like, to your point you mentioned people taking notice, but are there things that I need to do as the, you know, the person developing my profile to kind of build out that network?

Cameron:  There are three key areas that I actually think that LinkedIn members should start to focus on when they think about their professional network. So it’s going to start with the foundations, it’s also going to include how you can discover existing connections throughout members who are already in your network, and then how you can search for new connections. So, something that I just want to give a quick update on or point of fact, did you know, is that fifty percent of hires result from a personal connection? Just so that I can kind of walk you through what connections mean on LinkedIn, your friend is going to be your first level connection or first degree connection. The friend of a friend is going to be your second degree, and then, that friend's friend is going to be your third degree connection and so on and so forth. Research does show that your weak connections like your second and third degree connections, they are often more valuable for your job search than strong existing connections because their networks are more diverse than your own. So for example, my neighbor’s sister works at JPMorgan Chase. I’ve only met her once but if I want to work at JPMorgan, she can help me find jobs there and then connect me with people in my field. So each time you connect with someone new, their own extended network becomes more accessible to you. So, in discovering existing connections the first thing I encourage you to do is click on “My Network” on the top navigation in order to find people that you already know. So this could be your friends, this could be colleagues that you currently have, or previous companies that you’ve worked for, and it can also include managers, and then former managers at companies that you may have also worked for. Also, the more that you build connections, the algorithms in the system will automatically recommend other people that you may know. So, this system gets built out the more that you improve and build your network. The second thing that I’d encourage individuals to do is to search for new connections by using the search bar in the top of navigation in order to find connections by name, company, location, or keyword. When we think about connections, there’s a couple of things that I would encourage you to think about, you know, if you are interested in a communications position at LinkedIn in San Francisco. Then you would use this section in order to look up who in my second level connections can I connect with that may be able to connect me to some opportunity in San Francisco.

Sekou: Alright, well that’s helpful. So what are some of the do’s and don’ts, I can share some don’ts based on some LinkedIn requests obviously. You know, hi, can you help me find a job? Like, that’s probably a don’t but let me ask you, the expert. What are some of the do’s and dont’s about connecting, you know, with people who aren’t necessarily in your personal network?

Cameron: Sure, the first thing that I would recommend as a don’t is don’t focus on volume as much as you would quality. So I think all of your connection requests should be quality connections somehow. Because like you said, there’s a couple of things that happen if you only focus strictly on volume, so if you focus on volume there’s, the first thing is that you’ll get referral requests. So individuals might start reaching out to you if they see that you know somebody and then it’s kind of embarrassing when your response is…”well I don’t actually know them, I just want to connect with them on LinkedIn”. That’s one thing, the other thing is that all the people that you follow end up on your LinkedIn feed. So the information that you are taking in should be from individuals in your field in order to make sure that the information that you’re getting is relevant to you and not just clutter or information that’s going to distract you. So, when you think about your network, expand your network strategically. Thinking about who you should be reaching out to are people that you have something in common with, people that have a job or work in a company that interests you, people who may be able to connect you to somebody else. And then, when you send out those connection requests don’t hesitate to write a little note to them in order to tell them, you know, who you are, how you came across their profile, and then how they might be able to help you as a connection on LinkedIn.

Sekou:  So, I want to pivot a little bit to careers now, finding career opportunities since again, many of our viewers, some may be looking to change or find that initial job. So, how do you leverage LinkedIn to actually pursue job opportunities?

Cameron:  There are quite a few ways that you can, I’ve narrowed it down to what I think is going to be the top four hot takes or tips that I would recommend that, you know, job seekers can walk away with in order to start their career search. One’s going to include asking for informational interviews. So, before I jump into that, I do want to make sure that I give another “Did You Know” and let you know that LinkedIn members are four times more likely to get hired when they are referred by someone. So, one way in order to get referrals can be asking for those informational interviews. And this is something that I actually do about once a week. I actually open up my Fridays in order to schedule out time just to do informational interviews. This isn’t something that I walk away with the expectation of immediately having a job offer from. But it is something that does give me more advice about the career path that I might be seeking or in order to teach other information about how I got to the career path that I’m in. It does help me learn about industries that I might be interested in, or about the specific culture at a company, and then it also helps me establish a professional brand of someone who likes to have coffee, you know, loves to meet, loves to learn, and loves to gain more knowledge from other individuals. The benefit of it or the indirect benefit of it is yes, down the line that can possibly land me some type of a job when they think of me and think of the time we spent together, and they could think of me for a position that might be opening somewhere near them. The second thing that I would recommend that you do is request for referrals, so again, four times more likely if you are referred. So requesting referrals, you know, that is another way that you can possibly seek a job, so if I’m looking for a job at JPMorgan then here I am in your inbox to ask you, are there any more opportunities in your organization or with your company. Some things to include when you ask for a referral would be why you’re interested in this specific role. And then make sure that you express your appreciation for them considering making a referral for you. The next thing that I would recommend is taking a look at your brand. I know that when we think about our brand, we think about it as me, me, me, like, what I think about me or but the other way in order to validate your thoughts about your brand is to request outside recommendations from individuals on the network. So don’t hesitate to reach out to someone to ask them about how their experience was about you and if it was positive, how do they feel about sharing that information on LinkedIn. The way that you can do that on LinkedIn is that on anybody’s profile, if you go to the “More” section on their profile, you click “More”, there will be an option that says “Request a Recommendation”. You then have the opportunities to select your relationship to that person and then indicate how you all work together and then ask if they wouldn’t mind recommending you. People who I recommend doing this to would be former managers, current or former colleagues, and then people who you may have mentored or mentored you throughout your professional journey. Those do show up optionally on your LinkedIn profile. The last thing is just a couple of quick tips, you know, make sure that you are also reciprocating, right. Figure out how you can also add value on the LinkedIn network, so invest your time in connections, make sure that you like and share other people’s posts if they are relevant to your audience, make sure that you are joining groups. So I came from the Financial Advice background slightly, so I do participate in groups like Quad A, the African American Advisors Association. Also, give testimonials, so comment on other people’s posts, make sure that, you know, they know that you also are willing to give back. And the more that you pour into your network, the more your network will start to pour into you.

Sekou: A lot of our viewers and recent college graduates are searching for job opportunities right now. So, like, what are the best ways to actually search for jobs on LinkedIn?

Cameron: That’s a wonderful question and there’s four key areas that I think that they should focus in. One is going to be setting career interests. Two, making sure that they, you know, use the network in order to search for career opportunities which I will show you shortly. But a couple of other tips that I would encourage them to do and I’ll talk through it, includes following companies and joining groups. But a quick “Did You Know” that there are about 31 million job seekers who visit the LinkedIn network jobs site every week.

Sekou: Wow.

Cameron: So, in order to search for opportunities, there is a section at the top that is called “Jobs”, so you can use the search filters in order to make sure that you find opportunities, jobs, internships by looking at a couple of key areas. So you can do a keyword search if you are looking for a specific opportunity, you can search by job title, a combination of any of these including company, location, the specific function, the experience level, or the date that it has been posted. Something that’s not included on here, you can also search by our “Easy Apply” option. So companies that opt for the “Easy Apply” option make it extremely easy for you to go in, learn more about the position when you click “Easy Apply”. It collects a little bit of information but it may not be a full application and then using that information they can then collect your resume and determine if they want you to move on to the next part of the application process. The next thing that I’ll talk briefly about is following companies and this is going to be extremely important because companies do invest in their company pages. The company pages are typically designed in order to allow users to know specifically the mission and the vision of the organization, what the culture is and the value, and what a day in the life looks like via Rich Media. A quick tip that you should note is that there’s recruiters who use LinkedIn software in order to find their next hire. One of the things that they can filter out specifically is individuals who already are engaged with their company page. So, if I type in an accountant in San Francisco, you know, ninety thousand accountants might pop up but recruiters might take a shortcut by clicking on individuals who are already aware of what their brand looks like, their culture and values, and then engages with their brand. The other thing that I want to point out here is, it’s important to join groups. And I’ll try to say this in the best way that I can, but there’s two things that I will say, that the first thing is LinkedIn does not have a specific way where you can identify yourself as a diverse candidate. The second thing that I will also state is that recruiters do have ability in order to search for groups if they are looking for individuals of, you know, a diverse background, or of a specific industry. For example, if an employer was looking for someone specifically who may be a black engineer, then they can search through the NSBE list in order to, you know, learn more about who might be a good fit in a certain state. So, it is important to join groups on the LinkedIn network.

Sekou: Well great tips on getting recommendations, referrals. But let’s get into some juicy stuff. Like, tell me examples of mistakes people make as they are applying just so our audience doesn’t make those mistakes. But, can you give us examples of things not to do, so you gave us the to-do, tell us some of the not to do.

Cameron: Well, I don’t know if this is the one piece that I do have when looking at positions. I think it’s common particularly amongst minority groups and women, is that they pass up on opportunities because when they look at the qualifications for that role, they might see that of the ten qualifications that are listed they only check the box for four. And then they miss out on great opportunities because they are discouraged from applying for those roles. So in my opinion one of the best tips that I would give would be, it’s still okay for you to go ahead and shoot your shot, put in an application for those positions that might be little bit intimidating but the manager still may see your profile, see that you might be a great fit, be willing to coach you or be willing to mentor you in order to get you to the place where you need to be for that position.

Sekou: Yeah, that’s actually, it’s really great advice. You know, because you as the applicant don’t know the full array of things that manager may be looking for. So there could be pieces in your background that either augment some of those experiences that you may perceive that you don’t have or are needed because of whatever particular demands in that job. So, that is a great, great piece of advice. Don’t make the mistake of missing out on an opportunity because you don’t think that you have what it takes. So, I appreciated that, and so, last question...or next question at least is I want to talk about, like, social media and how it’s been used as a tool to call out acts of racial injustice from the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, you know, all of these unfortunate and tragic scenarios have really sparked dialogue on every social media platform including LinkedIn. So, how do you think LinkedIn can be a powerful tool in this moment?

Cameron: Absolutely and I foremost want to start by listing one of the reasons why, you know, I admire LinkedIn as a company and they’ve made a bold statement that we will not stand for anything that gets in a way of real progress. So, we’re working to produce actionable efforts on our end here at LinkedIn as we endeavor towards like, dismantling systemic racism and then building equity for the workforce and all the numbers on the LinkedIn network. We are not and will not be a company or a platform where racism or hateful speech is something that we allow on the platform. LinkedIn did release a statement in support of Black Lives Matter and we have been heartened to see other companies like JPMorgan Chase who have also used their platform in order to share their statements of support as well. Me personally how I leverage the or have leveraged the LinkedIn network in recent times. I used it two ways, one I use it to educate myself, so our LinkedIn learning platform does have courses available in order to, you know, maybe coach me on how I can be a better community member, be willing and open in order to answer questions from colleagues who may not see how we’ve gotten to this point or what systemic racism may have looked like in the past. But I’ve also used it in order to express my voice or my thoughts and be an educator. So, maybe sharing books that I think that individuals could read or documentaries that individuals can view in order to also educate themselves on their time about, you know, not only how we’ve gotten to this point but, you know, ideas, give them ideas about how we can move forward. So, another thing that I absolutely admire about the LinkedIn network is a tool that they recently added on the network or “My Network” tab called “Black Voices to Follow and Amplify”. So, it’s individuals, African-American individuals that you can go on to the LinkedIn network and it’s recommended that you follow them and learn more about their journeys, their experiences, them at...professional leaders and then how, you know, you can prioritize that content in order to expand what’s showing up on your feed.

Sekou: I’ve definitely taken advantage of this platform in this moment, even prior to that, I would write articles, but as the Head of Advancing Black Pathways and addressing, you know, challenges of this moment or even around COVID-19, providing tips to make sure the message was getting out there. So, I’ve appreciated it as that forum to really talk about some of these, you know, challenging issues or provide critical insights and I’ve been so surprised, I remember when I would first, you know, write an article, like, happy to see two, three, four thousand people view it. Now like, when you see tens of thousands, you’re like wow! You know, so you realize that it is a tool that can absolutely enable us to promote our efforts around such critical issues but also represent your own brand. And so I think the tips you gave us were very important for people starting off, so they start off in a way that they’re maximizing all of the resources of this powerful platform. So again, thank you for those tips. And, but I want to give you a chance to talk about, like, outside of LinkedIn, you know again, your own college journey and graduation and all that great stuff. Do you have any advice that you want to impart to our listeners out there in terms of how they should think about this journey that they’re embarking on or just whatever advice or insight you wish to share. I want to give you the floor.

Cameron: Absolutely. I mean, so there’s a couple of things that I wanted to briefly touch on. One is resilience. A lot of individuals go onto the network and they put in so many applications but after a while they get slightly discouraged because they may not have gotten that one position that they want to. It’s more of a marathon than a sprint is what I’ll describe it as. So make sure that, you know, you have the opportunity or you take the time in order to continue on in the journey. Don’t give up, keep looking, the role for you is going to be out there. Also, a couple of key statistics that I think or one key statistic that sticks out to me immediately when I think about the workforce as of now and that is that the average employee maybe stays in a role at a max between three and seven years nowadays. The workforce has drastically changed compared to, you know, how our parents may have worked in one company in one position for thirty or forty years. So be willing to be flexible and be nimble, my journey started as a part-time teller, I now work at, you know, in the tech and internet business but I still find a way in order to bridge the gap. So even though I’m working in the tech and internet business with HR leaders and recruiters day in and day out, I still also find a way in order to, you know, leverage my background in Financial Services by connecting with organizations like JPMorgan Chase and other companies that I’ve worked within the past. So, be nimble, be flexible, be understanding that, you know, that you might start in one place but it might lead you ultimately to another path. And then the last thing I would encourage everyone to do is seek passion, find a career path that matches or aligns with your passion because at the end of the day I think that success can be defined as the intersection between who we are and what we do. So if you can align those passions of who you are or what you strive to be, in alignment with what it is that you do professionally, that would be some of the best advice that I can give out to those seeking a position.

Sekou: Well, thank you for sharing those insights and I really appreciate how you’ve ended that. I just want to recap, you know, because I think it was a powerful message and that’s one, pursue careers where you have an alignment of your passion. Be perseverant, you know, as you look for these opportunities, be nimble, quick...be nimble and flexible rather, and so recognize ultimately that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I think that really captures, you know, how we embark on our career journeys to truly maximize the ability to be successful. So make sure you tune in to our next episode of the Career Readiness Series on September 1st, where we will be giving you tips on how to pursue careers as a Financial Advisor. Register at www.jpmorganchase.com/ABPcareers. Thanks again and we’ll see you next time.

Soledad: What I always loved about Advancing Black Pathways, just the name of it, is that it was very tactical and very intentional around black people, and making sure that their pathway to financial success was clear and helping them make their way down that path.

Sekou: I'm most proud of the progress that we've made and the intentionality in 2019. It really highlighted that we could make an impact by engaging our community, engaging partners and focusing on what really matters for African Americans. Advancing Black Pathways is focused on strengthening the economic foundation of the black community, by investing in education.

Forest: The role that education plays in creating wealth in the black community actually starts by leveling the playing field. It's going to close the racial wealth gap in America by putting students on a pathway on careers that they would not have otherwise been exposed to.

Michael: Our goal is really to change the way African Americans live to ensure that they are building wealth and assets.

Harry: We want to see more African Americans not only moving into the middle class, but owning homes, creating jobs, creating opportunities for people within the community. And I think this opportunity with Advancing Black Pathways will lead into that in very positive ways.

Sekou: Everyone sees this as a seminal moment where we can actually move the needle to create more inclusive growth. I just feel really excited about the opportunity that's ahead of us.

Sekou: Hi, I’m Sekou Kaalund, Head of Advancing Black Pathways for JPMorgan Chase.

Kristal: Hi. I’m Kristal Sizemore, Private Client Advisor for JPMorgan.

Tequilla: Hi, I’m Tequilla Swan, Private Client Advisor for JPMorgan.

Sekou: Well thank you again for tuning in to ABP Career Readiness Series where we share real advice and tips on how to build lasting and rewarding careers. Today I’m joined by two of my colleagues, it’s good to see you ladies, for a discussion on how to establish a career as a Financial Advisor. They are going to provide insights also, and this is important, for exploring roles here at JPMorgan Chase. So with that, let’s jump right in. So Kristal and Tequilla, talk to us about your career path. You know, what made you want to pursue a career in Financial Services and talk to us about how you got to where you are today.

Kristal: Oh wow, yes. I’ll kick it off. So, I am from Mobile, Alabama. I went to school at Spring Hill College which many people may not have heard of it, it’s a small Jesuit school. It’s actually the Jesuit College of the South. And so while I was at Spring Hill I studied Finance and Economics. It was a combined kind of major because there weren’t a lot of people in either one, so they kind of put us all together. And from there I, you know, had several internships just in different financial service firms and my final one was an independent firm my senior year. It was actually an online brokerage firm and at that company is where I started my full-time career. This was in the midst of the great financial crisis where, you know, we had double digit unemployment, so when I had a job offer right out of school, I took it. And I moved with that firm to Lafayette, Louisiana, and then moved to that firm to Dallas, Texas, then I moved with that firm to Oklahoma City, and then here to Kennesaw right outside of Atlanta. And so after eight years with that firm they were being acquired and one of my colleagues actually told me about JPMorgan, how great it is, how it kind of compares to the role that I had at that firm as an Investment Consultant. And so I interviewed at JPMorgan, made the switch, and I have been here three years.

Sekou: Alright, well congrats again. Good to hear about that story,

Kristal: Thank you.

Sekou: I may ask you to unpack some of what it’s like moving and all that great stuff. We’ll turn to you Tequilla, you want to jump on in?

Tequilla: Yeah. So I attended Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s an all girls school so not a lot of fun there, but I studied Finance there. But I got into Banking first as a teller because it was considered to be a professional role and I worked part-time and went to school. So I started at a bank as Teller and worked my way up and through acquisitions became Bank One and made a move with my husband's career here to Arizona where I’m currently located. I was able to transfer with the firm and we know the story Bank One was bought by JPMorgan Chase and here I am now. So I always like to say I was homegrown here, this has been my world for about twenty three years now and I love it. But I made a transition to a banker role, did that for eight years here, and then the natural progression for me with my colleagues was to become an Advisor, and I’ve never looked back, I love it. Absolutely love it.

Sekou: Great, already see that you’ve moved around in terms of cities and locations but it seems like you've been put in Arizona longer. So again, we’ll pick up on these things as we go throughout this conversation. But what I want to pivot to is what exactly you do. They think about Financial Advisors, some of these may be recent grads, but talk to us about the typical day and just help demystify what a Financial Advisor actually does.

Tequilla: So, I always tell clients, I help clients build, manage, and protect their assets. And many of them, I’ve been with them since first married, and now kids are graduating from college. So, I help clients reach, you know, their dreams of retirement and living the life that they want to live once they retire. So, you know, many of those solutions and strategies are you know, here through JPMorgan, and we put all of that together to help clients get to where they want to be, so it’s fulfilling.

Sekou: Well great. So Kristal, can you talk to us then about the skills or background that’s needed for someone to be a Financial Advisor. Like, what do they need to be passionate about?

Kristal: Yes, absolutely. So you certainly need to be passionate about helping people, number one. Particularly in our community I think, because it’s just an underserved, you know, part of our situation here. I think you need to be passionate about personal development because things are just constantly changing in this world. You just can’t get comfortable in what you know because it’s evolving. I think you need to be, you know, comfortable with working on a team, particularly in our firm because we are so connected to the branch. There’s just a lot of people that you have to work with to, you know, make it a success for yourself and for the people around you. And I think you have to be a good listener because that’s paramount in terms of your client relationships. Like Tequilla said, you help people, you know, reach their dream, accomplish their objectives but you also have to be cognizant of like, the conversation to get there, right. There’s a lot of trust building and that comes through listening and understanding.

Sekou: Great. Tequilla, anything you want to add there?

Tequilla: No, she hit the nail right on the head, it’s being passionate about people, a big part. Being passionate, getting to know them personally, their family, what’s going on in their lives. So being passionate about people is a big one, helping them.

Sekou: Great. Alright, what I want to do is to get into a specific program that JPMorgan launched and that is the Advisor Development Program. So can you talk about, you know, what the goal of the program is? Obviously, it’s our commitment to diversity but if I’m someone who I’ve heard about the program once you’ve explained it. What can I gain from participating in the Advisor Development Program?

Tequilla: Well I’ll tell you it is a wonderful program, in fact, we have, one of my colleagues is involved in the program currently at my office. And we’ve come such a long way with this program because you’re not out on an island by yourself. You have so many resources and people that are there to help you to be successful in this role. So my colleague, he has just a load of resources that are available to help him be successful. So, that hasn’t always been available, so what a great, great program this is.

Sekou: I guess that ties back into Kristal, what you were saying is that having that team of support and resources around you, seems like a critical component of being a Financial Advisor.

Kristal: I would agree and I think that part of the event, the Advisor Development Program is diversity and like, experience, right. Diversity and background because particularly when I learned about the program I thought it was outstanding, right. And I actually referred someone to it who had a Biology Degree, right. He had a Biology Degree, he had a mentor who, you know, joined this investment class with him and so his mentor knew a family member of mine, so we kind of connected. He was just trying to figure out how he can get into it, right, because his background wasn’t in Finance, wasn’t in Economics, wasn’t in Investments, anywhere near Banking. And so, I had recently heard about this program and I said I think this is right up your alley. So, I referred him to it, he interviewed, he got in, he is now in the role doing amazing, he’s transitioned to his licenses. So I think it’s about not only diversity amongst you know, ethnicity, background, gender, but it’s also experience and background as well.

Sekou: Thank you for sharing that example because one of the questions I had was, you know, what is the major. Because often people assume that you have to be a Finance or Economics major, but what you just described is that you can be from any background or any major, because a lot of the skills you’re going to go through and become licensed and pick up on the job. So let’s get into licenses in a moment, but what I want to know is from a career trajectory, like, what is the track for Financial Advisors? Go ahead with you Tequilla.

Tequilla: So for me I have been in a role for some years, twenty some odd years, but it’s kind of a personal decision. Some of my colleagues have gone on to become Market Directors, Regionals, Managers, but a lot of us have chosen to stay in the role to help clients and help them grow their assets. But it’s more of a personal decision on if you want to stay in close proximity connected with clients or if you want to go into Management. So a lot of different routes they could take in advancing their career, a lot of choices here at JPMorgan. So really depends on if you want to head towards Management or if you want to stay connected with the client. I’ve chosen to stay, you know, hand in hand with my clients.

Sekou: So that’s, you know, great to hear, that again it’s the individual choice. And I'm sure by being with clients for a good amount of time you’ve experienced different milestones and you’re able to see, you know, the fruits of your advice at work as their assets grow, etcetera. So I’m sure that has to be incredibly rewarding. So, as you think about your career and your track, are you thinking about a similar approach or what are other avenues that you’ve seen for, since you’ve moved with the prior company, even to different offices and now to here three years ago. You know, what do you foresee as like, a career track for you.

Kristal: So when I first got into the industry I was a stock broker at that independent firm and it was very service oriented, it was very reactive, it was in the age of like, when people were just like, getting into investing for themselves, using the internet to invest and buy stocks, it was very service oriented. And so as I moved within that company I became an Investment Consultant where there was just a lot more education. Like helping people do research on a security, helping people put their own portfolios together, helping people just figure out what all this means and how it can work, you know, for themselves and for their families. And so, eventually I got my manager… my advisory license with that firm where we started referring to managed money and that was right around the time that I made the transition. And so, my first time actually giving advice was here at JPMorgan and so it has been so rewarding because there were a lot of times in my previous roles when people just wanted me to do it for them, right. “Can you just tell me what to do? I have all this money, I don’t know what to do with it. Can you help me?” And in that role I really couldn’t and so at JPMorgan I feel really empowered to make just a bigger impact, build deeper relationships with clients and just, you know, be, you know, part of their financial story. That being said, because I’m just three years in I think I need to like really... I’m digging into this role, like, and I really want to plant my feet in this community because my family has moved a lot and we do not plan on moving anymore. And so we’re putting roots down and I just really want to be able to help and serve the community where I live and work.

Sekou: So you mentioned, providing advice for clients, and in order to provide advice you have to have different licenses or securities licenses. So talk to us about, like, what is that process like? Why do we need licenses? So, we’ll just start with you Kristal and Tequilla if you could jump in as well.

Kristal: Perfect, yes. So this industry is very regulated and so there are licenses required to provide the type of services that we provide. So it’ll start with the Series 7 and the Series 6 FINRA licenses that really go into securities, like, what’s a stock, what’s a mutual fund. You learn all about the markets, different indexes and exchanges. And then from there you’ll get the FINRA Series 65 which is really about how to provide advice. And I think that is very important in this environment and the great thing is that the firm gives you time to accomplish, study for those exams and get past them.

Sekou: So...go ahead, Tequilla.

Tequilla: The great thing about the program is they’re with you every step of the way. So through your Series 7 you have time to study, to learn the market, learn exactly what you’re going to be interacting with clients about, gives you the expertise that you’re looking for, and then they give you time to study. You have colleagues that you can go to for explanations. They really walk you through it step by step, they’re right there with you to make sure that you’re successful with these testings for the licenses. So it’s just…it’s just wonderful how they come alongside and help.

Sekou: And that’s important as you think about, again someone coming into this program that may not have the background to know upfront. That this is about supporting, ensuring that you grasp the knowledge are able to, you know, successfully secure your license, and then also obviously, provide the best advice for our clients. So let’s take a pivot back to JPMorgan. I’ll start with you Tequilla. You’ve been here, you said two years…okay maybe I underestimate, maybe twenty years, I forgot. They had a Kindergarten to work program and you were a part of that. That’s what it was, now I remember. But, so you’ve been here like twenty years, what have you enjoyed most about JPMorgan? What has kept you here at the firm?

Tequilla: Oh wow. I have a great team, so just starting with that, they really cultivate a team environment here at JPMorgan. And I’ve talked to a lot of people from different firms and they say there’s no platform, there’s not a program that can outperform or that can even match what JPMorgan is doing here. They’ve done the smartest thing, they have put a whole team together in a Banking Center and we are working towards the same goal which is helping our clients to be successful. I’m just passionate in my role, I really am but I enjoy all of my colleagues, our teamwork, and then I enjoy the pride that comes behind working with JPMorgan, carries a lot of weight. I know I’ve got solutions so it makes it easy for me to help clients. I know that what they’re looking for, we offer it and it’s not mediocre but it’s going to be top of the line, it’s going to be the best forward thinking. So, it’s actually been easy for me because of the firm and the environment that they’re promoting here. So, I have no reason to go anywhere else because we’re working for the best, the best firm, we really are.

Sekou:  And Kristal I want you to answer it in a different way since you’ve been here three years and...

Kristal: Yes.

Sekou: Moved from another firm and some of these viewers at least could be young professionals who may be wanting to move to JPMorgan after this. Talk to us about that process and when you felt like, okay yes, you know, this has been the right decision for me and my career.

Kristal: I’ll tell you. So at my previous firm I was typically either always the only something, the only woman, maybe the only black person, and when I came to JPMorgan I really felt seen. I really felt welcomed, I felt like, I felt valued in my own experience, in my own point of view. T. Duckett has braids, right and so just to see a CEO with hair like mine meant the world to me.

Sekou: I just forgot my braids for this interview myself. Okay maybe not, go ahead, go ahead…

Kristal: And I went to my interview with a braid out and I felt comfortable doing that because, you know, it doesn’t…I guess the firm looks at you as an individual, right, not what your hair looks like, what color your skin is, and I think that being in Atlanta makes a really big difference too. My Market Director is someone I feel really comfortable with, someone I trust very well. To Tequilla’s point, there is a team of people around me, we’re all working towards the same goal. And I think that makes a big difference, I think that, you know, having your voice be valued, having, you know, your experience be valued on a team. You know, it keeps people around. I’ll just…

Sekou: No, it’s a great response and we talked about that in our other sessions and that is the importance of being able to be your authentic self. To recognize things that shouldn’t matter, you know, my hairstyle, that’s not going to be what impacts my ability to grow in a company and serve my clients. So I want to stay with this theme and Tequilla, I'll go to you. How have you personally been impacted as an African-American, a woman in Banking in these times where these calls for racial and social justice. You know, how have you managed, you know, to be your authentic self at work and continue to serve your clients, you know, family. Like, how has that all come together for you?

Tequilla: Well I have to be honest, I… the firm has been a great source of support during these times. My clients had been amazing, when we did our early close for Juneteenth day I got all these emails saying “I came to the Banking Center but it was closed”, they’re like, “great, you know we’re so happy for you and so happy that the firm has to”… So I got lots of emails and it just warmed my heart, it really did. And clients are, they are in it with us, they have come to be parts of our family and see things that are going on in the world. I’ve received so much encouragement, just my clients have been wonderful, they’ve sent me emails and phone calls. You know, “how are you doing, how’s your family”, so you know, I’m grateful and thankful and I’m glad that the firm has come alongside, which they’ve been doing things for years. JPMorgan really has been so this isn’t something new to our firm. It’s been really good, it really has been, my clients… My clients are everything to me, they really are, they’ve been very good to me, I’ve been good to them too with solutions and things that we’re doing but it’s been really encouraging. People have really come out and just really shown their support.

Sekou: And it sounds like, again, one of the advantages of maintaining these long-standing relationships with clients is, it’s almost like an extended, let’s call it a client family, I don’t know if that’s a new phrase that we’ll use but, yeah. So Kristal what about you? What has…any reflections that you’ve had in this moment? Obviously, you’ve been now in Atlanta for a couple of years, you have your roots there. You know, how have you been able to navigate through these challenging times?

Kristal: Yes I…It has been a challenge. I have four small children and all of my clients know that because everyone gets floored when I say that number, right. And so....

Sekou: I have three and I was thinking wow four, okay…

Kristal: Well we had twins the third time so…

Sekou: There you have it.

Kristal: It was not in the plan. But I think that the…my Market Director, you know, just the Leadership Team has been really supportive of us as individuals, of us as parents, of us as people all experiencing this together. And so there has been a lot of balance, there’s been a lot of conversations that we have had as a firm so that, you know, our voices are heard. So that our concerns are heard, not only heard but addressed and so I think that’s been the biggest help, right. Like, I haven't been having to stress out about, will I have a job next month or will I be able to do xyz for my kids because it just has, it’s not a risk or it hasn’t been a risk with the firm wanting to do the right thing for everyone.

Sekou: Well that’s great to hear because for parents in this era especially Zoom calls and your child running across the camera. You know, fortunately, this has not happened in any of the interviews but you know it is…

Kristal: I locked my door so don't expect to see them.

Sekou: You locked the door, that’s smart, you got to learn the necessary measures you can take. And so, but it’s great though to know that even in these difficult times that you’re in an environment where you feel comfortable that you could continue this new normal of balancing a lot at home and going into the branch, etcetera. Now Tequilla, I’ve been curious because I know you’ve been helping other folks make some money but what about, is this a great profession to make money? I know I probably shouldn’t ask you that but every time I see you, you’re looking mighty prosperous, so people want to know. What is that financial benefit, is this good financial benefit of being a Financial Advisor?

Tequilla: It is, it is, you really can change your trajectory of your life and the life of your family and your friends by, you know, knowing markets and being able to help them navigate and navigate your own personal finances and I always say with the firm, the sky’s the limit, it really is. You bring in the clientele, you help them, JPMorgan is willing to, you know, compensate you for it. So it’s been a great life for me, it really has been and yes I’m prospering.

Sekou: You’re prospering…

Kristal: I’m proud of you, Tequilla.

Sekou: So again, let’s… for those that just heard that, they’re like, tell me about that ADP again, so we're going to go through all these acronyms. But actually let’s talk about the Advisor Development Program. So, let's say I’ve come into the program but now I’m here as an employee. You know, what are some of the broader support systems or programs that really help diverse professionals or others once they are here to have that sense of community? What are some of the programs that you’ve been engaged in?

Kristal: That’s a great question. I think it’s something that was missing from the previous firm where I was and…

Sekou: You could’ve come earlier. I don’t know, we were waiting on you. Now go ahead, go ahead.

Kristal: So I actually met Tequilla on the Black Leadership Forum. In any other, you know, scenario we probably would have never crossed paths. Me being in Atlanta, her being in Arizona but because we’re both part of the Black Leadership Forum it really created a community. It expanded both of our territories, right, across this country. Outside of that, the firm does have BRGs which are Business Resource Groups where you can connect with people who are like you. So, there’s BOLD for, you know, for Black Leadership Development, there’s Women on the Move for women to connect with other women in the firm there’s just a wealth of groups and resources available to you once you do join and so I think that’s invaluable too.

Sekou: And what I like about these Business Resource Groups is that you don’t have to be, you know, the fill in the blank to participate. It’s actually encouraged that you join multiple resource groups so that you can be proximate to other thinking and to a diversity of both ideas and people. But Business Resource Groups will encourage you to get involved as soon as you join because it’s your opportunity to connect with your fellow employees. So Tequilla, anything you would like to add?

Tequilla: Yeah. I’m part of Bold and I’m also part of Aspire. So Aspire is our Asian Community and we do all kinds of great things together. Me and my colleagues go to meetings so I like to get involved with the different groups to learn.

Sekou: I think that learning becomes key, you know, for Aspire you learn Diwali festival and all the different groups. It just gives you organic ways to really just connect with other cultures which I presume even is helpful as you speak to your clients. That you’re able to recognize a particular holiday or some cultural nuance. So you know, that’s again great insights. So I want to switch though in general to talk more about diversity in that… because as I think about the industry, you know, historically there has not been, you know, as many African-American Financial Advisors and so I think this push to hire is important. But, tell me why it’s important for you as you see it through the lens of JPMorgan culture as well as the industry. And Tequilla we’ll start with you.

Tequilla: I think it’s extremely important because I think diversity of views, diversity of people can only help grow our business, and bring in new ideas. I think it’s extremely important and it’s great to look up and see people who look like yourself. And the beautiful thing about my office actually, I say it's the United Nations in my office because we have someone from Tehran, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mexico, we have me.

Sekou: I was going to see where you are going to go with the alliteration. I was trying to think of what other city would be T...I was waiting for it but go ahead.

Tequilla: So diversity matters because if we get someone in from Taiwan, I have someone there that makes them very comfortable and it can build trust. So I think that diversity, it’s the key really to advancing our business, it really is, it’s really important.

Sekou: Kristal, any thoughts there?

Kristal: I totally agree. I think we are changing the face of what financial advice looks like and what a Financial Advisor looks like. Because, you know, stereotypically there’s, when you think of a Financial Advisor, there’s one image, right, there’s a… at least in my experience, right, there’s a middle-aged white man. And so when I came to the firm and I see myself, I met Tequilla, I have, you know, a diverse team, you know, here in Atlanta that I work with and so I think it’s important because you want, you know, your advisor to reflect what’s important to you in your world, right. So that population of investors should be representing the population of the advisors, in my opinion.

Sekou: And that’s great. I’ll recap just some of the thoughts, so as a Financial Advisor you're able to develop these deep relationships with clients and through your advice you help them make the most of their money and enjoying some of these life milestones. Kristal you talked about the importance of flexibility even, you know, as you navigate something that’s as unforeseen as COVID-19, that the firm and your clients enable you to still manage that balance and deliver, and just more broadly the importance of the support around whether it’s entering the profession, getting your licenses and you know, having the time to prepare and ultimately pass those exams. So those are good, at least the recaps that I had for our audience today. But I want to get to one last question, just more broadly speaking. You know, what is your important piece of advice that you will offer to recent grads or young professionals in this job market? I will start with Tequilla.

Tequilla: Well, gosh, there’s ten great things I could name about working for our firm. The best advice I can give is, it kind of takes a leap of faith to do this job, it really does. But I always believe that the firm is here to catch you, they really are. With every twist and turn that comes with this position, I’ve always had a colleague, a manager, someone I can call to help navigate me through any challenges that I might have, whether it’s the testing piece, understanding the dynamics of markets. Knowledge abounds here, so we’re here to catch our new people and make sure that they are successful in their new role.

Sekou: Kristal, any last thoughts?

Kristal: I would echo that, right and just try not to be intimidated by, you know, this role and this task. I would say follow your passion, so do what you are passionate about. I would say, you know, when opportunity knocks, open the door.

Sekou: Got it. Well thank you both for such an insightful discussion on building a career as a Financial Advisor. And I know our audience, viewers didn’t just tune in to see me or the guests. They tuned in to get some insights which they got. But they also tuned in to understand where they can apply for these jobs. So, can you talk about, like right now, if I’ve now heard this great insight and I want to pursue a career as a Financial Advisor. What steps should I take, where can I go to learn more about these roles?

Tequilla: Well, for more information they can visit our website at jpmorganchase.com/adp to get more information on our Advisor Development Program.

Sekou: And that one again is ADP, not to be confused with ABP, but yes thank you. Anything else you would like to add there?

Kristal: Yes. You can also visit the ABP careers website where you can find Financial Advisor roles, you can filter by location, the location where you are, or any location where you would like to be.

Sekou: Thanks Tequilla and Kristal. One again, I’m going to give you that URL that you can visit and it is www.jpmorganchase.com/ABPcareers. And you can catch the replay of this episode, as well as our previous episodes where we talked about careers in Banking and how to navigate your career during these transformative times. As well as financial health practices as a newly minted professional. So go back and see any of the episodes and I just want to take the opportunity to thank you all for tuning in for today and for this entire session. And we invite you to look into careers at JPMorgan Chase where your talent is not only wanted but needed during these transformative times. So thank you again for tuning in.