Employee Stories: Hunter Nauman

Hunter's Story

I started my journey in the banking industry during high school when I participated in a cooperative learning experience.

I worked as a Retail Teller at my local community bank in my hometown of Princeville, Illinois. There, I learned about the banking industry through hands-on experience working with customers. I also took advantage of trainings and the job shadow opportunity there. While attending Illinois Central College, I continued to work at my local bank part-time. I also continued to work there during summer breaks when I was a student at Illinois State University.

Heartland Bank was my first employer after graduating from ISU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. My current manager, Patrick Masso, the Director of AMTS Portfolio Management & Financial Planning, reached out to me on LinkedIn when I was a senior at ISU. He recognized my skills and invited me to apply for an open position. Having had a positive experience working for my community bank in the past, I was excited to apply for the position! I knew that I wanted to establish my career in banking, and I thought Heartland was a strong institution that embodied the idea of “small enough to know you, big enough to serve you.” With the bank being in that sweet spot for size, I knew it would be a financially and operationally strong organization. I also wanted to be a part of a smaller team where my contributions would have a bigger impact.

Finding Your Career Path

After gaining substantial hands-on retail experience and completing my education, I was ready for the position and to learn and grow in my career.

Now going forward, I want to finish the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and grow into a portfolio management role. I am driven to help our clients manage their investments by constructing diversified investment portfolios that balance risk against their needs.

I am driven to help clients meet their financial goals. For example, after working for the bank for one year, I had the opportunity to sit in on a client meeting. The client experienced significant stress while working through her late-mother’s estate. It took a lot of time and effort because her mother had not properly planned to transition ownership to her surviving relatives. The client’s motivation was to ensure that a plan was in place so that her own children would not experience the same stressors, particularly not during a difficult time of grieving.

It’s meaningful to me to help our clients plan for big financial goals, such as college expenses, weddings, or even their own retirement. Assisting our wealth advisors and helping to explain complex topics to my clients is very rewarding!

Professional Growth

Heartland supports continuous professional development among employees and has helped me learn, grow, and build a career plan.

I have the support of the Bank to take the CFA exams and work towards attaining the CFA charter. This designation helps me to better my skills in investment and portfolio management. Heartland Bank also recognizes that technology is important to our work and has actively implemented new department-wide resources to help us increase efficiency.

I also mentor several college students at ISU that I am connected to through my business fraternity, ­Phi Gamma Nu. It is important to me to pay it forward!

Support from Managers

My manager, Patrick, has been helpful navigating me through the steps of the CFA program and we laid out a very specific plan for my career path at Heartland Bank that is easy to follow. It helps me stay on track for accomplishing my goals. I am supported by my manager to grow in my career and continue my professional education.

Advice from Hunter

If I had one piece of advice to give today, it would be to take initiative and be dependable! If you are just starting in your career, sometimes it can seem overwhelming. The first step is to fully develop foundational skills. Take it one day at a time. Get into the groove.

When you are ready to take on more responsibility, work closely with your supervisor. Be proactive by asking to start taking on tasks that require your foundational knowledge and skills. Practice skill-sharing by helping others on your team develop. These efforts won’t go unnoticed. Through practice and consistency, you will become a colleague that others depend on, shaping your reputation as a dependable employee.