Meet our employees
Michelle, Examiner, McLean
"One of the things I like about this job is there isn't a typical day. We do a lot of different things depending on whether we are on-site or in the office."
Why FCA?
"I started working for FCA in the summer of 2010. I learned about FCA through the career fairs at Virginia Tech, where I graduated with a degree in accounting and agricultural economics.
"As a college student, I interned with a System institution one summer, and the following summer I interned with FCA's Office of the Board. During my FCA internship, I got a chance to work on different projects and learn about the different offices within the agency.
"I went on a one-week loan review with the Office of Examination during that time and got to see what examiners do. I was intrigued by the travel and different aspects of the job. When FCA came to the career fair, I asked about full-time positions, and the recruiters encouraged me to apply when I graduated. After that, everything fell into place and I was hired."
"I was involved in agriculture from a young age, as soon as I was old enough to join 4-H and FFA. I stayed a member of FFA through college. My younger brother and I raised a few lambs and showed them at area livestock shows. During summers and winter breaks in college, I was a teller at our local community bank, so I became familiar with some aspects of banking.
Training
"When I started at FCA, I received a variety of training through the commissioning program on credit and finance. After that, I transferred into the Association Examination Division and shadowed a couple of examiners-in-charge and learned that role as I prepared to take the commissioning test. I was commissioned in 2013 and became responsible for overseeing institutions
Typical day
"One of the things I like about this job is there isn't a typical day. We do a lot of different things depending on whether we are on-site or in the office. An on-site day is different if it's an exam I'm leading as an examiner-in-charge or if I'm just participating in the exam work. If I'm leading it, I take on the role of making the assignments and making sure people have the information they need to do loan review and section work. Once we get back from being on-site, if I am the examiner-in-charge, I review everyone's work and compile a report to issue and present to the board. If I am just a participant, I complete my particular sections and submit them to the examiner-in-charge.
"As an examiner-in-charge I'm responsible for overseeing institutions and monitoring their ongoing financial condition and asset quality. I do quarterly evaluations to assign the FIRS [Financial Institution Rating System] ratings. I also review their board minutes as part of our ongoing oversight.
"I continue to participate in training. Now that I'm commissioned, the training is less formal. We get to choose the trainings we attend, either through different agencies or online.
Lot of opportunities to hone skills
"I also work on other special projects. I got to work with a staff member who does quality assurance for the Office of Examination. She performs reviews of our processes. I helped with a review of plain writing, to test if we are following those practices in our exam work and reports. Currently I'm on a workgroup to review and draft guidance on various issues.
"I've improved my communication skills at FCA. Due to the nature of our job, we do a lot of written and oral communication, with a broad audience of people—whether it's internally or working with the CEO, management team, and board of directors of institutions. I've learned to be more comfortable presenting in front of people and how to tailor our message to different audiences. Sometimes the message that we have to share is not always positive or easy. I've learned how to prepare for questions and reduce the adverse reaction.
"At first, it was challenging to get used to FCA's writing style and learn the different terminology. Through the training program and with experience, it gets easier. In college, you are used to leading up to the conclusion in your writing and here you start with your conclusion and support it after. Now it's second nature to write that way.
"At FCA, I appreciate working with a wide variety of people since we have offices across the United States. When we come together on exam teams we are able to gain and share different knowledge and experiences.
Travel
"I like traveling as part of the job. I've been to California, Texas, Maine, and different places that I probably wouldn't otherwise have been. I enjoy trying new and interesting foods, such as lobster in Maine and fried stuffed avocados in New Mexico. The opportunity to travel and experience new cuisines is just one of the perks of the job for an FCA examiner."
