Discover Financial Services, Inc. is one of the largest American financial services companies. It is headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinois, and owns and operates Discover Card, the third largest credit card brand in the United States.
The company was founded in 1985 as a subsidiary of Sears, an American department store chain. 22 years later in 2007, the company became independent of its original stock brokerage and financial services firms, and became a publicly traded company. In 2008 the company purchased the Diners Club network, the first credit card company in the world.
The company is most known for its Discover credit card. It was the first to make use of a cash-back rewards system to its customers. In 2008, when the company purchased the Diners Club network, customers were able to use their cards internationally, making the company an even greater competitor with other credit card companies such as Visa and MasterCard. The company is also known for its high customer satisfaction rating: for the past three years it has been rated Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Credit Card Companies by J.D. Power.
Employees for Discover are eligible for all-inclusive benefits packages. These include health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement plans, and paid vacation time. Other benefits include tuition reimbursement for students, group auto and home insurance, and adoption assistance, to name only some.
Employees love working for the company for three reasons most of all. First, the work of the company is challenging, but rewarding. Second, the benefits enjoyed by employees help with all the various costs of living. Third, careers for the company are incredibly stable.
How old do you have to be to work at Discover?
Most jobs for the company require a four-year college degree. Because of this, the typical minimum age for working for the company is around 21-22 years old, the typical age of a college graduate.
Discover Careers
There are many different career opportunities available from the company. It offers numerous entry-level positions available to recent college graduates to get a start on their careers. The company does not offer many standard positions. Responsibilities vary greatly from job to job. Each one is unique. The following jobs are just examples of many different possibilities.
Project Manager, Leader Development: The manager for this position is responsible for organizing and implementing leadership programs at company locations. This includes classroom instruction, managing development tools, and conducting training sessions. The candidate for this position must be engaged, driven, and encouraging.
Education and Awareness Program Manager: This position closely collaborates with the Human Resources Department. Its duties include designing and executing education and awareness plans for company employees in employee workshops. Candidates for this position must be critical thinkers and detail-oriented people.
Training Program Manager: This position is responsible for supporting and constantly improving training for the company’s security jobs. Those holding this position must plan and develop training plans, and maintain accurate training records. These plans must be thorough, effective, and instructional.
Marketing Manager: This managerial position functions as marketer for Discover Personal Loans. The position’s responsibilities include campaign targeting and analysis and partnering with other company teams. Candidates for this position must be thorough and deep thinkers, able to analyze large amounts of data quickly and effectively.
Senior Consultant, PMO – Discover Global Network: This position functions as the main contact for the Global Network team of the company. Its duties include organizing and hosting company meetings and reporting on company management programs. Candidates for this position must be punctual, have strong organizational skills, and be able to effectively communicate with global connections.
Manager of Analytics: This manager is responsible for providing analytical support to Balance Transfer Marketing. Those in this position have the duty of using analytics to help the Marketing department to drive transfer volume.
Facilities Service Technician II: This position is responsible for coordinating building moves under the Lead Technician or management. Other duties include repairing and maintaining company buildings. The candidate for this position must have a thorough knowledge of the power tools and machines necessary for such maintenance.
Consultant, Cybersecurity Risk Management: This position works with the Data Security team of the company. Its responsibilities include developing and enhancing the company’s security program, independently running thorough security tests, and developing educational materials for the company.
Assistant Sales Manager, Home Equity: This position works for the sales department of the company’s bank. Its responsibilities include supervising daily operations, developing staff output and work ethic, and making sure the company has enough resources to cover the its tasks. Candidates for this position must have a good work ethic and values, and able to teach them to the company’s employees.
Senior Recruiter: This position works for the company’s Talent Acquisition Team. The recruiter must be energetic and goal-oriented, and is responsible for organizing and running recruitment activities to garner the best recruit workers for the company.
Discover Application
The company lists job openings on its website, searchable by location or by position title. After looking through an opening’s description, any interested candidate can then apply on the company’s website, following the instructions given.
Applicants must create a new account on the company’s website before applying. This is so that applicants can easily check on the application’s status and any saved documents. After creating an account, the candidate will then be able to easily fill out the application form.
Applicants should be prepared to supply all of the standard application documents: a cover letter and a resumé. They should also supply a mailing address, an email address, and a phone number, and respond quickly if an interview is offered to them.
On their résumés, applicants should make it clear that they are punctual workers, well-educated in business terms, and, depending on the position applied for, extremely familiar with computer technology such as Microsoft Excel.
If an applicant is invited for an interview, he should make it a priority to be prepared to be a thorough, critical thinker. Financial companies do not necessarily want workers who are quick-witted thinkers. They prefer instead critical, deep thinkers who can examine many different aspects of issues.
Facts About Discover
The company has multiple Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These allow employees for the company of various backgrounds to collaborate and progress in their careers and in their work for the company. Such groups include the Young Professionals Organization, Honoring Military Veterans, and Accentuating Discover Abilities.
Discover Financial was the very first credit card company to offer services without an annual fee. This pioneering movement forever changed the industry, and is a market decision that the company will always stand by.
According to the 2016 Discover Annual Report, total purchase volume made using Discover Card added up to $140 billion dollars. That divides down to about $2,300 per Discover Card user (59 million as of 2012).
The company has a group of nine Charitable Partnerships, including the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (among others). Each year the company donates $25,000 to the charity that receives the most donations from company cardholders.
COMPANY LINKS
https://www.discover.com/company/