Learning to grow your career and embrace leadership in just nine months

Have you ever taken a big step to propel your career? Capital One associates in our Voices Business Resource Group have the unique opportunity to take part in the Magellan program, a customized, comprehensive nine-month career management and leadership development experience. During the program, participants are guided through a robust agenda, including topics like developing their own personal marketing plan to highlight their skills and polishing their resume, as well as learning to identify potential roadblocks to success and develop strategies to combat them. You can hear some of their experiences and reflections in the videos below!

First steps in the journey

Associates cite a number of reasons for joining the program, but many credit the fact that Magellan offers an exciting opportunity to focus on your own goals and build a roadmap for your future. Shamika, an Administrative Assistant and Magellan graduate, shared her thoughts, saying, “Magellan has taught me skills on how to manage my goals, how to build a strong network, not only to identify the perceived roadblocks in my career path, but how to overcome them.” Graduates are empowered to take charge of their career goals and prepare themselves to do whatever is necessary to reach them.

The skills they learn also put them in a position to help their fellow teammates. Shamika added, “It also taught me to pay it forward and help coach [my peers on] how to go after their career dreams.” After completing the Magellan program, graduates can’t wait to share the exciting and empowering things they’ve learned, which encourages more associates to apply and join the program themselves.

Learning important career lessons

The curriculum of the Magellan program is based on 5 key areas of focus to strengthen participants in all aspects of their journey. These lessons include career planning, resource awareness, skills building, leadership development and networking. Each of these core subjects is a vital part of business success. Weaved within these lessons, as well, is a common question that sets the tone for the entire program, “What makes you great?”

Davia, another program graduate, shared that she felt like this question was an important factor in her success in the program. She explained, “If you can remind yourself of what makes you great and you can explain that to others in a way where it can get you to where you need to be, that has been one of the most foundational or most profound things that I've taken away from Magellan.” As they say, confidence is key! Representing yourself well and highlighting your strengths helps you feel more comfortable in positions of more responsibility or leadership. This is the ultimate goal for participants in the Magellan program.

Career planning

When was the last time you sat down and thought about the path you hope your career will take? Magellan participants work through many exercises and planning sessions to form a roadmap for their careers and pinpoint potential hindrances or identify additional skills that will help them achieve their goals. By having a clear vision, they can set timelines and break their journey down into smaller, more easily achievable steps.

Resource awareness

Did you know that Capital One has a Career Development Center that helps associates find business mentors, work on their resume, and connect them with training opportunities they may need to further their career? Capital One associates have a wide variety of resources at their fingertips, and part of the Magellan curriculum is a review of these valuable resources with participants and an explanation of the benefits of using them to their full potential.

The program also helps to fully develop a personal marketing plan and personal brand for each participant. What’s this, you may ask? Your personal brand includes the skills and traits that set you apart from others in your field. Owning your personal brand is the first step to marketing yourself and gaining recognition for your job abilities, guiding you to leadership opportunities and roles. Having a marketing plan to share and highlight your brand is an important step.

Skills building

Magellan participants are able to get valuable training in other areas as well, such as resume building workshops and tips for hosting engaging presentations. As you take on more positions of leadership and expertise, it is important that you can also present your knowledge in an engaging and clear way. Having these tips and training in mind places Magellan graduates ahead of the curve in preparedness.

Leadership development and networking

A key part of leadership is knowing how to network, or connect with others in the business world, and how to encourage them to listen to your insights or ideas. This could be through something as simple as a meet and greet opportunity or in a more formal setting, like a business meeting or pitch of some sort. There are often opportunities to transform everyday interactions into networking opportunities and Magellan participants are taught some valuable tips to recognize such chances. They also learn some key relationship-building skills to transition these networking opportunities into lasting relationships to help them grow as leaders and expand their collaboration and trust with an increasing network of coworkers.

Empowering others with their new skills

Because enhanced leadership skills are part of the takeaway lessons from the Magellan program and a growth mindset is central to our Capital One values, it is only logical that associates would want to teach their teammates and coworkers the knowledge they received during their Magellan experience. Wyatt, who graduated from the Magellan program 5 years ago, stated that he feels proud of his “altruistic attitude when it comes to helping and assisting others,” which he further developed as a result of his Magellan learning. He has empowered several of his team members to seek out new opportunities and achieve their goals.

He also added, “There's a great sense of satisfaction knowing that you've had a chance to make a difference in someone's life, and that's an enormous feeling. I'm just ecstatic that I've had the opportunity to be part of such a special group of individuals.” This collaboration and learning environment is abundant throughout many of the teams at Capital One. The sharing of information and growth is almost infectious. Teams will actively pursue new learning, which are supported by Capital One, and share their lessons with each other upon completion of these programs and opportunities.

Thinking to the future

How does Magellan impact participants after graduation, you might ask? Jack shares his own experiences after graduation, saying, “The Magellan program was a very pivotal part of my development and really helped me see things outside of what I would normally think about when it came to my own development. It also really got me thinking about what I want to do, say, 10 years from now and how I can apply that in my daily work, not only inside of Capital One, but, also, just working towards my own personal goals.” It is easy to get comfortable in your current role and become overly focused on the day to day tasks, but as any Magellan graduate will tell you, you must keep an eye to the future and always know where your next step will be.

The Magellan program is just one of the opportunities available to Capital One associates looking to continue on a trajectory of great career success. To learn more about the opportunities and benefits available to associates, read more on the Benefits page of the Careers site.