Ryan and Kate: HAVE A NACE DAY!

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has an annual event where attendees can network with each other, learn best practices at breakout sessions, and be awed and inspired by keynote speakers like former pro-football player and astronaut Leland Melvin, or founder and CEO of Girls Who Code Reshma Saujani.

This year the conference was housed at the Hilton Chicago where 2800 university professionals, employers, and solutions partners descended. Of those 2800, 1200 were newcomers like ourselves and 4 of our other Capital One Campus Recruiting teammates who attended.

Our plan was to divide and conquer in order to cover as much ground as possible. We broke into groups to cover sessions on topics such as diversity and inclusion, reporting and analytics, campus recruiting best practices and professional development.

We made the most of our time in Chicago by connecting with representatives from our schools, taking in the latest and greatest from technology partners, and leveraging the time for team bonding – including a stop by the Cloud Gate, aka the Bean!

We all are excited to be back from Chicago and to share our learnings with the team. We’ve started to set up demos with potential technology partners and further develop our relationship with career services professionals we met. Lastly, we’re looking forward to playing an even bigger role at NACE 2017 in Las Vegas!

-       - Ryan and Kate

Sarah: NSBE National Convention 2016

When Capital One associates in Talent Acquisition and our Technology and Business organizations go back to college campuses to recruit, often they partner with school chapters of national organizations like Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). This year, in 2016, Capital One Campus Recruiting is extending our partnership from the local level to the national level to support our goal to hire diverse and representative classes for our Campus Programs.

A major part of working with national organizations is attending their national and regional conferences to engage directly with members and attendees. My team is looking at the calendar now to decide where will be going in the fall when many conferences happen, but we already checked our first national conference off of our list in March: the NSBE National Convention 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts.

This year the NSBE Convention had record attendance – over 11.5k – and half of the attendees were current college students. Eight associates, including myself, represented Capital One at the Career Fair, a Hackathon, and a Senior Executive Leadership Forum. Over the course of three days, we chatted with hundreds of Engineering students and professionals from all over the country.

Students who previously met us on their campuses before and excitedly came by to say hello. On the opposite end of the spectrum, many students were intrigued by our presence at an Engineering event. What role do Engineers play at Capital One? Our answer: Engineers throughout the company solve big problems, build intuitive products, and are changing how banking works.

Many of the recent engineering graduates we hire start in our Technology Development Program or our Product Management & Analytics Program. Although we were approaching the end of our spring recruiting season in March, we were excited to hire numerous students we met at NSBE into full-time roles and internships.

The work of organizations like NSBE, SWE, and SHPE helps promote diverse workforces and inclusive environments in Engineering and STEM fields. After a fun, exciting, and successful event in Boston, I’m eager to attend more conferences this fall.

- Sarah

Laura: Conceptual vs. Experimental Innovation

So, as an innovator, are you more like Albert Einstein or Martin Luther King?   

It's not as strange a question as you might think. We've been talking this week about the book "Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World", by Adam Grant.  Today we pick up Grant's discussion of how new ideas actually come about.

While we all have the image of new ideas arriving as a bolt of lightning, many innovations are the result of years of experimentation.  I bet you can think of examples of each kind. 

On one hand, Einstein's key insight into the theory of special relativity came from a burst of inspiration.  He was riding on a streetcar and thinking about what would happen if his train travelled at the speed of light.  (Something that I admit is NOT what I am thinking about when I'm on Amtrak.)  This thought problem triggered an insight, and while Einstein remained creative throughout his career, Grant reports that toward the end of his life, Einstein actually struggled with accepting new ideas, like quantum physics.  So that is one model of the creativity, the conceptual innovator, well known by the signature "Eureka!"  moment.

This is in contrast to Experimental Innovators, who "Test and Learn."  In an example that I've never seen unpacked before, Grant uses Martin Luther King's approach to writing the "I Have a Dream" speech as an example of how years of speaking about civil rights led to the creativity and one-of-a-kind impact of Dr. King's words: 

"Despite being just thirty-four when he gave his "dream" speech, it was his twentieth year of speaking publicly about civil rights.  At fifteen, he made the state finals for delivering an original speech on civil rights".  

Is there any greater way to refine your approach than twenty years of struggling to convince numerous audiences?  Clearly, it was a long road that led to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and a true innovator who spoke to the nation that day.

In virtually every field, experience informs innovation.  Experimentation is the backbone of scientific discovery.  Even Picasso said "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist."  You get the feeling that Picasso knew just which rules to break to give his art the jolt of the new.

So, are you looking for a Eureka moment, or using your experience to gain new insight?  It looks like, either way, you are in very good company. 

- Laura  

Jenny: My First Offer Accept

I was driving down I-95 headed out for vacation after delivering my first employment offers to our summer interns.  I was nervous and walked into each conversation with a scripted delivery of the details of the offer.  But I hadn’t scripted what would come next. 

My phone rang.  An Ohio number.  It had only been a few hours and some miles of driving, but one of my Buckeyes was calling to accept his offer.  He relayed the details of sharing his news with his parents.  “My mom asked me if I’d accepted and I said no, that I needed time to think about it…she asked me what I had to think about!”

I think I babbled something into the phone.  “Ok, sure, I’ll get paperwork drafted up so you can…uh…accept your offer.”  {That’s not really how it works.  And I know now that all I have to do is click a few buttons, trigger an electronic document, and you “sign” away!}  But this was my first set of offers and my first-ever accept!

Fast forward nearly 2 years.  My first accept is now preparing for his second rotation in the Analyst Development Program.  We caught up over lunch and his offer story came up in conversation.  Our work doesn’t overlap.  And we don’t even work in the same building.  But through the power of instant messaging and locally sourced, organic greens, our relationship with our candidates doesn’t have to end at “accept.”

Looking forward to getting to know our new crop of interns this summer!  

- Jenny

Jenny: What I learned from my first Hackathon

Want to be inspired, humbled and embarrassed in the span of 28 hours? Attend a hackathon. I am woefully technically incompetent.  Last week I celebrated the victory of creating a bar graph in a spreadsheet without assistance.  And my fix for any technical glitch is to press the reset button.   We all have our strengths – homemade chocolate chip cookies are mine – but this weekend I got to join our Tech team as they participated in UNC’s Pearl Hacks, an all-female hackathon.

The Top 7 Take-aways From My First Hackathon:

7.  Our Technologists are super cool people

I felt like an outsider.  But, with patience and a smile, our Tech team gladly broke down big tech ideas for my brain.  I strolled the hackathon late Saturday night to check in with everyone and I found one of our Technologists working diligently beside a small team of hackers.  They may speak a different language, but Capital One Technologists get along with everyone!

6.  Capital One IS a tech company

Given my role, I don’t see the coding and innovation and tech conversations happening behind the scenes.  As a Capital One card holder, however, I feel the benefits.  Working with our technologists this weekend, I got to feel their passion behind our digital transformation. 

5.  Caffeinate.  Over caffeinate if you have to.

Do hackathons have an official coffee sponsor?  They should.

4.  There are a zillion ways to solve a single problem

With 24+ hours, unlimited tech support, and free candy/carbs/coffee, the hackers created 50 unique projects.  Not quite a zillion, but 50 cool ideas is a great start!

3.  Kids these days

I remember my family unwrapping our first computer on Christmas morning in the early 1990’s.  I say “unwrap” but there was no wrapping involved.  This thing was a clunker that would have consumed a full roll of wrapping paper if my parents had even dared to tackle the desktop that my sister and I used to “paint” and explore the American frontier.  Kids these days have technology coursing through their veins.  It’s the language they use to communicate, the knowledge they absorb, and the presents they unwrap under the Christmas tree.  The next generation will grow up having access to technology, information and devices I couldn’t have dreamed of.

2.  Nessie is a monster

I love a conspiracy theory.  And Nessie, Capital One’s hackathon API, offers a monstrous amount of data that hackers can use to “reimagine banking.”  That’s fact.

1.  The future is bright

I met brilliant high school students this weekend.  I watched college students design projects Capital One could implement for customers.  With only a few college-level coding classes under their high tech gadgety belts, these students will innovate beyond boundaries that limit us today.  I can’t wait to see what they come up with – and I can’t wait to return to Pearl Hacks next year!

Zeenat: The Importance of Focusing on Women

March 8^th, 2016 was International Women’s Day (IWD), a day that was selected by the United Nations over 100 years ago as a celebration of political, social, economic and cultural achievements of women.  This year's theme was Pledge for Parity.  Celebrities, politicians and various noted personalities were taking to Twitter to celebrate International Women's Day and bring awareness to its importance.  Across the globe, there were rallies, marches, campaigns, protests, and events to commemorate this day.  It's great to see a global dialog on this important topic.  I personally received several messages regarding this day from various spheres.  Having recently moved from Canada - where this day is celebrated with notable importance - I was thrilled to hear the buzz around IWD, and several colleagues noted that this year has seen a heightened awareness of this day.

Women play important roles in families and communities, as leaders, colleagues, friends, role models, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers…and much more.  With diversity and inclusion being key priorities for us at Capital One, I love the conversation this day sparks around the progress that we've made in this arena in society, and the work that is ahead of us to continue to advance women - and girls - in an increasingly meritocratic society.  I believe this is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do for businesses and communities to thrive and prosper.

As a member of the Women's Network Advisory Council at Capital One, I am proud of the focus on this important topic across the company.  In Financial Services, this has been a key leadership priority, and a number of notable achievements have been made.   It is hugely empowering and energizing to be part of a company and culture that celebrates and recognizes the importance of diversity.

I want to share a quote that I find very inspiring and motivating:

“You must do the things you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, activist, politician and former First Lady.

Have a great day!

- Zeenat

Eva: Thoughts From a Former Campus Hire

It’s hard to believe that this year is my 17 year work anniversary at Capital One.

Wasn’t I just in college yesterday? Didn’t I just attend my Welcome Weekend in Richmond? Unfortunately, the answers are No and No.

My Capital One career has been exciting and wonderful, which is why I am still here after all these years (Side note: I like to joke that I started when I was 8 years old). And what’s been really cool is that I’ve had the opportunities to switch tracks throughout my tenure.

I started off in our old Credit department and realized that I needed to do something with my marketing background. After a year in Credit, I applied for a position in the Brand Marketing department and remained there for several years. Over the next few years, I had the opportunity to continue building my skills through roles in Marketing Operations, Card Partnerships, Affinities, and Human Resources.

I am always excited to see familiar faces when I walk around our West Creek campus and ask about my coworkers’ careers. Many of them have switched departments and teams, and it’s always wonderful when we end up working together again. I love the fact that Capital One has allowed us to explore other opportunities across the company, become successful, and then take those experiences to other areas.

My journey isn’t over yet, and I eagerly await to see where I will end up next. Maybe this time, you’ll be my new coworker. And if so, I hope to see you around in another 17 years (or more!).

-Eva

Jenny: Tech Talking

When I interviewed at Capital One nearly 2 years ago, my interviewers didn’t ask me what languages I spoke.  But here I am, learning to speak a new one.  Each day I pick up a little bit more – a word here, a phrase there, a cool new term or two.  I learn by immersion and also because I have to.  If I don’t learn to speak the language, I’ll get left behind.

I’m learning to speak Technology.

Not power buttons and “help, my screen froze!”  I’m learning about the Cloud and big data and technologies our engineers speak fluently.  Thanks to our Technology Development Program – Capital One’s fastest growing population of college talent – I’m engaged in conversation in their native language daily.  And today I got to see them in action.

As a recruiter of Tech talent out of Ohio State, Michigan and UNC, I had the chance to spend time with some of my candidates at a Welcome Weekend in Richmond.  With offers on the table, these candidates are invited to see us on our home turf before making a decision.  And I get to join them for brownies (err…lunch?)  We talked about cold brewed coffee and the weather in Columbus and spring break plans.  Languages I speak.  I live above a coffee shop in D.C. and I’m smitten with their college town and I, too, was once a college student. 

And then they started tech talking.  Palindromes and cybersecurity and Hadoop.  I nibbled my brownie. 

On my way home from Richmond, I called my dad.  I gushed to him about Capital One’s move to AWS.  What the cloud means for cybersecurity concerns.  And how this is cutting edge, really cool stuff.  I could sense him nodding along, waiting in his car for me to stop my rattling so he could pick up his dry cleaning.  And then my dad chimed in something about the Boy Scouts and building a radio.  I’m not sure he was speaking my language.

- Jenny

Beverly and Leah: Perks of Meeting Your Best Friend at Work

One of the hardest parts of being a “grown up” or living “life in the real world” is making friends. Our entire lives up to this point have been full of opportunities to pretty easily make friends… school, sports, camp, extracurriculars, living in a dorm, sororities, fraternities, Bev’s fencing team, etc, etc…

Once you start working though, you have this notion that you have to maintain a separate personal life and professional life. But the truth is that you spend over a third of your day (or over HALF of the day that you're actually awake for) with people from work. So if you prevent yourself from making real friends with people you work with, then how are you actually going to meet people?

Let’s run through the current options:

1. The Bar - but really who makes "friends" at the bar?
2. Dating Apps... yea ok... try asking your date to if they want to be “friends”
3. Kickball / Softball / Dodgeball / Volleyball "sports leagues"
4. People you went to college with that you weren't friends with before and that you never actually liked
5. People you meet at the gym who are too in shape for you to ever truly be real friends with
6. That awkward family friend (seriously you don't know until you've experienced the desperation)

At Capital One, you don't have to worry about that. When you start working here, you come in with a class of peers. You all start work together, you go to training together, you travel together, and you share your experiences with each other. When you start at Capital One, you join a development program for your job family (Product Management & Analytics, Tech, HR) which is made up of all the new hires who are recent college graduates (We also have a Professional Development Program and an Executive Program for our experienced hires as well). It’s honestly a huge relief when, on your first day of work, there are over 100 other recent college grads in the room who are just as nervous / overwhelmed / friendless / excited as you are. You spend that entire first week together not only getting brought up to speed on what your actual job is going to be like, but having networking events, dinners, happy hours, social events and more where you start to realize that you have a ton of potential friends surrounding you as begin to figure out how to successfully adult.

We (Leah and Bev, also known as BLeah) were both part of the Analyst Development Program (ADP) and are proof of the friendships you’ll form once you start working here. During the interview process you will hear SO many people say that it is the amazing people here that set Capital One apart. When you’re going through the interview process, it can be hard to believe all the amazing things that companies say about themselves. But as skeptical as we were, within less than 2 months of being on the same team, Bev and I had quickly fallen into BFF territory and had realized everyone in our interviews was telling the truth. Now a year later and living on two separate continents, our friendship remains strong with 20+ Instagrams, 2 upcoming vacations, 1 spontaneous visit last fall, weekly video chats, daily IMs, constant texts, and infinite bestie love.

Here are just a few of the benefits of making friends at work:

1. Running into each other’s arms at work after being away from each other due to vacation. And your whole team looks on and judges you, but you don’t care because you’re with your BFF again.
2. Have hour-long feedback sessions for each other (this is not typical unless it’s with your manager) where you will write at least three pages of strengths and opportunities for one another. With at least one page solely being a love letter celebrating how awesome your bestie is.
3. Do you miss AIM? Don’t we all? Luckily you get to IM your bestie all day long. (PLUS we just got new Emojis!) 
4. Share your calendar with each other so you can know where they are at all times. This is particularly helpful when they’re showing up as “in a meeting” on IM and you need to know whether you should actually interrupt.
   




5. Get massages together after a super stressful day at work.
6. Someone to always watch tv with when you’re traveling for work and bored at the hotel.
7. You can plan a vacation with all of the analysts on your team and conveniently leave out all of the managers.
8. Have sleepovers after team “fun” days.
9. Borrow work clothes following the post fun day sleepover.
10. Almost get your car towed after the post fun day sleepover but luckily be able to split the $50 ticket with your BFF.
11. “Work From Home” together when you need help moving, because your BFF obviously bought all of your furniture from you when you decided to move to another country.
12. Lock yourselves in a huddle room together and actually work.
13. Lock yourselves in a huddle room together and cry / gossip / eat / complain / watch the Bad Blood music video.
14. Be jealous when your bestie steals the mentor you want for yourself, but also be happy for them for getting a rock star mentor.
15. Write recognition for one another (obviously) and then unexpectedly winning gift cards for it.
16. Spend hours outside of work talking about work… even on the weekends.
17. Spend an hour arguing on a bus… about PAYMENT BASED REWARDS when we could’ve talked about anything else. Trust us, we aren’t proud of this.
18. FREE Swag benefits when your BFF is in charge of t-shirt designs and swag options for work.
19. Feel territorial when your BFF gets coffee with someone you don't know.
20. Video chat when one of you is in Richmond for the day and the other is back in McLean.
21. Continuing to constantly video chat even when your BFF moves to the London office.
22. Bring your BFF to work day when you visit your BFF after she moves to the London office and you book a trip with less than 2 weeks’ notice. And it doesn’t count against your vacation days because you’re working… from London.  
    
23. Passing notes during to each other during training… and then NOT getting in trouble because they are actually work related.
24. Win blow up sharks together when you kill it as a duo pitching a new project idea at your team’s internal business idea competition.
25. Get to start the new project idea from above, where you literally spend all day working together and get to think about how to change banking for good with your super inspirational bestie.
26. Sign off on all emails related to above project as BLeah (after you spend at least an hour coming up with your celebrity couple name).
27. Accidentally Twinning @ work. Or on purpose if you desire.
    
    
28. Be constantly inspired.
29. Find the person who is going to help you change the world for better.
30. Find your work soulmate, future start-up cofounder, and future b-school study buddy.
31. But seriously the best part of meeting your best friend at work is being lucky enough to find your work and life soulmate.

Beverly (Civil Engineering, Cornell ’13) is a Business Manager in US Card in Mclean, VA. She’s currently focused on bringing analytically rigorous underwriting and a customer-focused application process together for the ideal customer experience. In her spare time she likes to run marathons, cook yummy Asian food, and plan trips to visit Leah!

Leah (Biology and Economics, Wash U ’14) is a Senior Analyst in UK Card in London, UK. She’s currently working on product development for new and innovative ways of providing customers with digital, transparent, and fair lending products. In her spare time she likes to read, explore markets in London, and plan trips with Bev!

- Beverly and Leah

Jenny: Work Travel - Chocolates, Laundry and Handshakes

My dad used to bring me the chocolates a hotel would leave on his pillow at night.  That was my impression of “work travel” – candy and someone else making your bed for you every morning.  There were chocolates on my bedside table last night when I checked into my second hotel in two days and the room was certainly plush, but I’ve come to realize work travel is heavier on the work than I once imagined.

My job comes to life on the road.  Back at Towers, it’s all spreadsheets and photocopies and conference calls.  But on campus I get to meet the people behind the resumes.  You become three-dimensional, as opposed to flat stacks of paper.  I get to match a voice from the other end of a phone line with a smile and a handshake in person.  Work travel is not glamorous (there’s a pile of dirty laundry in the backseat of my car right now) but I think it’s worth it for the chance to meet you all in person. 

I’m heading home tonight from my last trip of the season.  I have an empty fridge and that carload of laundry but at least I’ll be making my own bed tomorrow morning.  And trading in those pillow-top chocolates for a leafy green vegetable or two.

Thanks for keeping me company while I’m on the road.  Til next season!

- Jenny

Chantal and Samantha: 7 Shocking and Unexpected Truths You Learn after College

Growing up can be scary- but joining a campus new hire program can make the transition a lot easier. Capital One campus hire associates, Chantal and Samantha, document just how similar their corporate world experiences are to their collegiate experiences, which enabled a seamless and exciting change.

1. Social media is alive and well in the workplace. Our company intranet is the ultimate combination of social media sites that focuses on all things Capital One. If you frequent it enough, you might end up winning a contest with two VIP tickets to JingleBall #Top40 #YASSSS. Pro-tip: Don’t forget to update your profile, follow leaders in your organization, and seek out new information about what’s trending across the enterprise.
   


2. The company actually cares about you- all of you. Your well-being impacts every aspect of your life, so we’re always striving to provide the best choices for you and your family. Similar to what you’d find at a university, Capital One has comprehensive wellness programs (and incentive programs with monetary rewards!), from on-site healthcare physicians to state-of-the-art gyms. Check out the Benefits Page to learn more about Capital One’s benefits. 
   


3. People will be there to support your development. - One of the great wonders of campus new hire programs is the “buddy system”. To make it short and sweet- it’s basically like any student organization. You have a ‘big’ in the same campus program as you that wants nothing more than the best for your personal development, he/she will give you advice on the ins and outs of navigating your first year, how to optimize your work/life balance and even hang out with you outside of work. We love our buddies for their guidance and wisdom because they’ve been there & they’ve done that *hair flip*. Pro-tip: Make use of your "family" lineage, you never know where those connections might take you. 


4. “Schooling” never ends. The coolest thing about adult-ing is that you actually want to learn to become more proficient in your respective discipline/ field. You can sign up for classes and train by competency in Capital One University. Best thing about COU? They offer on-line and virtual courses- you can lay in your PJs at home whilst taking Coding 101- learning as it should be. (If this doesn’t make you think of the Education Connection commercial, you might live under a rock).


5. ~Socials~ still happen... but on a grander scale! Think company dinners and fun events, folks. Pro-tip: Make your social events themed. Things become a lot more fun which enables you to get to know your colleagues better!
   


6. Community service will become a huge part of your life (and happiness). As a graduate, you probably remember professors and deans giving lectures about the importance of giving back to the community. Perhaps you even went as far as to join a few organizations that fundraised for philanthropic causes. As a part of the campus new hire program at Capital One, community service will play a huge part in your development. Look for ways to give back in your local community and keep your eyes on the company intranet for volunteer opportunities.


7. You’ll actually make friends. We don’t just have “colleagues” here. As a campus new hire associate, you will make real, lasting friendships *cue awws*. Overtime, new hires grow to love and appreciate their fellow cohorts. Just look at how SamCha ended up! (Admittedly, we really need to work on the merging of our names- not quite as fabulous as Cara and Kendall….)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

- Chantal and Samantha

Kyle: The Capital One Kid

Wow. I can’t believe it. I’m almost 4 months old in Capital One Years already. How has this much time passed so quickly? So easily? As I reflect on the beginning of my career with Capital One, one thing truly stands out to me: the culture. But let’s dive deeper-- culture, at its core, is all about the people. The people you interact with every day, the people you pass in the halls (or on powered scooters) and even the people you never meet.

So what’s so special about these folks anyway? We’re just a bunch of boring bankers in suits, right? Nothing to could be further from the truth! This place is truly unique and words really can’t describe it…but since you asked, I will attempt to describe it with some dialect:

Everyone here is really flippin’ smart!

• Every day I am challenged to think differently, attack problems from an altered angle, see the world through a new lens and gain insights into a broader context of how to observe every day challenges.
• I work with people of all different majors from all kinds of schools. Philosophy majors to Chemical Engineers. Large Midwest State Schools to small private Ivy League Schools.

 It's super casual…

•  My team mostly wears jeans, tennis shoes, golf polos and quarter zips; wait, that’s just my go-to outfit every day. But you get the idea!
• I even have a Snuggie® stashed in my drawer for days I want to get extra cozy

…but don’t let that fool you!

• People work hard here! Our time isn’t measured. We don’t work the standard 9 to 5 so people learn to be extremely efficient with their time.
• I can’t even begin to describe how motivating this is for me. It’s great to be stimulated by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. The energy all around me gives me the strength to bring my best on a regular basis.

Work/life balance isn’t really a thing…I prefer work/life integration!

• Because sailing is so important to me, my manager and I came up with a flexible schedule to fit my needs.
• I used to leave at 3pm on Wednesdays to go sailing in Annapolis. I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old and was able to do this from day one without anyone batting an eye!
• My manager and I agree that I should use Monday through Thursday for meetings and collaboration. I found that working from home on Fridays allows me to be more productive when completing independent work or in-depth analytics. Now, I commonly spend my Fridays in the comfort of my apartment.

We’re a company that cares about two main types of people

1. Our Customers
• The customers are at the heart of everything we do
• Every meeting always has a discussion of: “how does this affect our customers?” “How does this improve things for our customers?” We are always trying to keep the customers’ best interest in mind.
2. Our Employees

• I have never seen a place so compassionate about its employees. My Capital One gym membership is $15 a month and includes my personal training sessions and intramurals. Our lunches are offered at discounted prices, making it cheaper to buy at work than cook for myself. We have health clinics on all of our campuses, making it an easy and convenient primary physician.

Most importantly, have fun!

• We all recognized that work is a large part of our lives. So let’s have some fun too! Let’s have fun birthday celebrations, play pranks on each other and create ridiculous nicknames that make us smile every time.
• We have in-office socials every other Thursday. It’s a great time to network with other teams, collaborate, or get the creative juices flowing outside of normal work conversations!
• Last week I helped a team member with their MBA homework, and we accidentally came up with a cool concept for our work project along the way!
• We hang out beyond the boundaries of the office walls!
• I started my job with 250 people, providing plenty of instant friends when I moved to a new city.
• We love to hang out beyond work. Those boundaries are quickly torn down. We go to music festivals together, grab dinner, go white water rafting on the weekends, attend football games, etc.
• All of this beautifully synchronizes together to make this place of work feel like a home with family. I love it.

So how does all this sound? I am truly blessed to work at a place where I learn an incredible amount every day. I’m challenged to be well rounded and I look forward to the good times inside and out of the office. Who says the fun has to stop after college?

Until next time,

Kyle 

Alex: Millennials' Mindset on Money

Want to read more about what Capital One has learned about People + Money? See below for some highlights from our millennials mindset on money survey!

- Alex

Caleb: Fitness Trackers for my Finances

As a researcher, part of my job is to figure out exactly what it means to create breakthrough customer experiences the way other tech leaders have done. The most important thing that I’ve learned in decoding user experience innovation is that success is much less about the experience than it is about the user. Truly understanding the way a user interacts with something – their understanding, their pain points, and their motivations – is the key to unlocking experiences that allow them to engage in entirely new ways.

In an effort to understand how to make banking “smart,” my team set out to explore other industries that had gone to market with smart products. While we found inspiration from all corners of the tech world, one industry beacon showed a number of interesting parallels; fitness trackers. It was a solution that approaches a sensitive topic in a complex category immersed in an over-crowded industry with few mass-consumer solutions. And thus, we set out to learn how we might create a ‘fitness tracker’ for peoples’ finances.

Enter, People + Money – an event crafted to share research explorations throughout Capital One. P+M, as a platform, emphasizes the user (people) behind the experience (money) and it’s been a catalyst for true innovation internally. With our fitness tracker exploration, we’ve had the opportunity to share industry parallels, innovations in the fitness category, and analogous solutions to the world as we know it at Capital One. People + Money has been an invaluable experience for me and I’m excited to watch as others explore the users behind the experience.

- Caleb

Beverly and Alex: Capital One Changing People’s Relationships with Money

How does a fitness tracker help us better manage our finances? How are millennials like us finding purpose in today's world? What is the most awkward thing to talk about in a relationship (it's not what you think!)? These were all questions that we were interested in when we first saw People + Money talks at Capital One's headquarters in June 2015. And the answers to those questions are what inspired us to share People + Money talks more broadly. We, Beverly and Alex, are both Business Analysts and recent Cornell graduates.

So what is the relationship between people and money? We were all raised to work hard in school, go to a good college, and find a career that we enjoy doing (hopefully it also pays well). We both started at Capital One in our early twenties and it was our first full-time job. Our first full-time paycheck. But our relationship with money started long before that first paycheck two weeks into the job, in fact, it's been affecting how we've been living our lives since as long as we could remember! Before we could even walk, we would beg our parents for one more ice cream cone or one more order of french fries. Although we had no idea of the concept of money, we were already trying to make (or at least influence) our parents' decisions that involved money. Money affects how we grow up, interact with people, make career choices, and ultimately, it affects how we make decisions every day, like what am I going to eat for lunch - the $5 burger or the $25 steak. Money is LIFE CHANGING.

We at Capital One recognize that money is life changing. We create products with the goal of making YOUR relationship with money better. We design credit cards and mobile apps with the customers at the forefront of our decisions, and are committed to offering the best financial services so that anyone can have a great relationship with their money. By doing that, Capital One realizes that we can make people's lives better and change banking for good.

In an effort to change the banking industry and people’s perceptions of banks like us, we decided to host People + Money talks at our alma mater, Cornell University. We brought in five speakers, and topics ranged from understanding the extent to which money can and cannot buy happiness, to how you share your finances with people throughout your life. Those five stories only give a glimpse of the hundreds of efforts across Capital One to work towards a better relationship between people and money. There are still many opportunities for improvements. Capital One associates are addressing those areas every day. One other example includes simplifying a customer's mobile experience by enhancing the Capital One Wallet app.

We are working on bringing People + Money talks to different campuses across the nation in the hopes that we can find more people interested in changing banking for good by improving the relationship between people and money . If you are interested in seeing People + Money talks live, reach out to your campus recruiter! 

- Beverly and Alex