• Home
  • Education
  • News and Resources
  • Advocacy
  • Associate Members
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
News
Community, News

Career Launching and Job Landings, BankWork$ Creates Opportunities

By Alex Paniagua

A Graduate Profile of Anthony Lamar Smith, II, Associated Bank

An entrepreneurial spirit, Anthony Lamar Smith, II has been interested in how businesses operate since he was a kid. But as he explored a few different professional paths, he never expected this passion might lead him to a career in the financial services.

Smith graduated from the University of Dayton with a degree in management information systems. Although his education and aspirations felt like the perfect combination, something never felt quite right once he earned a business analyst position with a major health insurance provider. Still on the job hunt, Smith came across an eight-week career training program called BankWork$ designed to help young adults establish a career path in banking. He described the occurrence as something that almost ‘fell in his lap’ after exhausting the options he thought were sure to be the best fit.

“I received an advertisement through the [Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development] for BankWork$,” Smith said. “I read a bit about it, completed the inquiry, and received a call back to do the initial interview process.”

Smith immediately connected his business background with the similarities in banking. His knowledge of economics, background in retail, and his keen interpersonal skills were only a few things that played a role in bridging the gap between the two industries. Although certain elements such as compliance and regulation were new to him, Smith caught on quickly and enjoyed not only the information the program offered, but the experience overall.

After graduating from BankWork$ in June of 2021, Smith is now one of over 4,000 individuals who have had their career in financial services launched with the help of the program. He was offered a job at Associated Bank, Milwaukee, as an entry-level banker and is currently participating in 13 weeks of training where he receives hands-on experience and learns the ins and outs of the bank. He works as a teller but also trains his way toward being a certified banker. Each day he has ample opportunities to observe the tasks of his coworkers and has started on account openings and other services where he can interact with customers. This side of his role is Smith’s favorite part of the industry.

“Being able to build rapport with clients and offer solutions that they find tangible and advantageous to their situation is so important,” said Smith. “Learning more about the customers, understanding how their financials look and work, what their expectations are, and recommending the best options have all been great.”

Whether in or out of the office, Smith has proven himself to be a self-starter. When he’s not working at Associated, his time is spent designing graphics, building websites, or mixing and mastering music for a variety of clients. He has also volunteered teaching Junior Achievement courses and helped co-found multiple startup companies. Part of what Smith loves about using his many skills outside of the banking industry is getting to collaborate with others and make a difference in their success.

“Associated Bank is proud to work with Employ Milwaukee to provide adults with an opportunity to learn skills in the financial industry through the BankWork$ program,” said Sandra Meka, talent acquisition consultant manager, Associated Bank. “Associated is pleased to celebrate Anthony’s graduation from the program and will continue to help him grow in his position.”

As Smith continues his time with Associated Bank on his new journey, there’s a lot that intrigues him about the banking industry that he looks forward to learning more about — especially as it relates to technology. From the growing shift toward online banking to the ways that artificial intelligence helps banks with underwriting decisions, he’s grateful that there’s always been someone at the bank willing to offer their insight. He anticipates all the new information to be gained, skills to be learned, and ways he can use his many talents to help his fellow bankers and customers.

Finding the right career path can be complicated when there are so many to choose from. Although Smith was confident that his role as a business analyst would be the right fit, it wasn’t until the opportunity through BankWork$ came along that things began to really make sense. For others exploring professional possibilities of their own, Smith had some words of wisdom to offer from his own experience.

“Start early, and get involved in as much as you can,” he said. “Find a way to connect what you want to do with what you love, and then you can avoid being pulled in too many directions that don’t fit together.”

Print 🖨
September 13, 2021/by Cassandra Krause
Tags: BankWork$, Human Resources, Member News
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg 0 0 Cassandra Krause https://www.wisbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Wisconsin-Bankers-Association-logo.svg Cassandra Krause2021-09-13 18:42:352021-12-13 17:42:28Career Launching and Job Landings, BankWork$ Creates Opportunities
You might also like
Triangle BackgroundStarion Bank Hires Konarske
Bank of Sun Prairie Announces Branch in Sun Prairie West High School
Bank Five Nine President/CEO Honored With Lifetime Service Award
GreenLeaf Bank Honors Three
Investing in Your Team
Fifty Years and Counting: Reflections on a Lifetime Career in Banking
Triangle BackgroundSeasoned Banking Professional Brings Passion to Developing New Talent Through BankWork$ Program
Triangle BackgroundWaterStone Bank Announces New Vice President – Commercial Real Estate

Categories

  • Advocacy
  • Community
  • Compliance
  • Credit Unions
  • Education
  • Member News
  • News
  • Products
  • Resources
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Anderson Earns Bank Award for Outstanding Community Service
  • National Exchange Bank & Trust Announces Leadership Changes
  • Executive Letter: Resources for Grassroots Involvement and Fundraising
  • March WBA Compliance Journal
  • Burnett Promoted at National Exchange Bank & Trust

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
WBA logo
  • About
  • Community
  • Subsidiaries
  • Staff

questions@wisbank.com

608-441-1200

4721 S Biltmore Ln.
Madison, WI 53718

Get our Newsletter!
Subscribe

© 2023 Wisconsin Bankers Association. All rights reserved. | Website Design by Bizzy Bizzy
Executive Letter: Advocate for Credit Union FairnessExecutive Letter: Bolstering Your Bank’s Cybersecurity
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more×

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Terms of Use
Accept settingsHide notification only

Subscribe

* indicates required








Membership