Building a Career at Schwab: Intern to Full Time Schwabbie - Hear Taji's Story
By Andie T.
Since its inception, the Intern Academy has prepared eager and passionate young professionals to be equipped with both the personal and professional skills they need in order to be successful in their careers. For many students, starting a summer internship at a company can provide a variety of opportunities and exciting adventures: new friendships, a chance to develop professional skills, and a once in a lifetime chance to connect and network with people they would have never met before. Interns are exposed to company culture, various different lines of business, and an entirely new environment within a few short weeks.
As time has passed, the interns who came back to join Schwab as permanent employees are finally having a chance to reflect on their journey as Schwinterns to full-time Schwabbies. For current Project Manager, Taji H., it has been six years since her time as an intern in Schwab’s Internship Academy and we thought it was time to finally catch up!
Texas native and Texas State University alum, Taji H., interned with Schwab in 2014 and made her return as a full-time employee a year later. When describing her career experience with Schwab since her internship, Taji mentioned how she was able to, “collect different skills from different parts of the business that are able to lend themselves to the next project. It has been a continuous learning experience, which I really enjoy. But it has also been very, very rewarding.”
Part of that rewarding experience for Taji has also been moving her way up in the company from an entry-level position to her current role that she is in today: “When I finished the internship and when I started at Schwab full time, I was considered a project coordinator for more of the associate level. So, I have just kind of moved up from there and taken on more responsibilities to the role of moving into the project management space.”
With being able to advance in her career and experience many different roles during her time at Schwab, Taji’s career progression has also resulted in some important learning lessons for her personal and professional life. Taji explained how “There are two big learning lessons that have come out of it and one of them is the importance of building really strong connections and relationships with people by being able to speak to people in a way that benefits them and in a way they understand. I think an equally important lesson is also building a strong relationship with myself. So I think in terms of that, it is just really understanding, for me, particularly what ways do I work best?”
Many of our employees express their desire to further themselves in their career by having goals and aspirations for their future. At Schwab, we help our employees Own Their Tomorrow by providing support and resources to help get them where they want to be. Taji expressed that she is currently in the process of trying to merge two different career paths in technology and moving closer to the business and product side of things. For her, this is done through using her project management skills and asking, “What other opportunities are out there? In what other ways can I bring value to the group that I am in and the projects that I am on. I think a lot of that is just through continuing to understand what it is people need and finding ways, either through technology or through data to move that forward and bring insight to how we can, as a team, work together and better navigate project life.”
Lastly, as a prior intern herself, Taji offered her best pieces of advice for future interns at Schwab: “Never stop building your skillset. Whether it is hard skills or soft skills, always try to be learning something and try to advance the way that, either you see your role or a particular skill of how can this be incorporated into your professional and daily life. Someone told me that if you really want to understand something and understand the root of purpose is to ask the question, ‘why?’ at least five times. So, if I had to give anyone a piece of advice, especially an intern, I would say to just keep asking those why questions.”
As Taji described earlier, her career progression at Schwab has been encompassed by valuable learning lessons, educational experiences, and overall, a chance for her to grow and strengthen her career. Schwab’s Intern Academy was the catapult for Taji’s full-time career journey and because of her hard work and Schwab’s willingness to support her goals, Taji was able to Ignite her Passion for helping others.
If you are ready to Unleash Your Potential as an intern, Read more about our Schwab Intern Academy.