I dont understand the Edward Jones hiring process
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I just went through the whole EDJ hiring process. I had my final F2F interview today. I will hear back by the end of the week.
I’m young. (I look like I’m 19) I put myself through college through night classes, and will not even have my degree until December. (Accounting Major).
My previous employer was a management consultant. And I was basically an administrative assistant.
Everyone has to start somewhere. And you guys are right, 900 of the 1000 will not work out. But no one knows where the 100 that do work out will come from.
It’s not different than prospecting for clients really. If you are cold-calling businesses, do you think you’d be successful automatically disqualifying people based on the type of shop they run?
“Oh this guy runs a mobile DJ business, I’m not gonna talk to him. Same for this guy that owns a barber shop. Next number”
The short story here, is that this forum is a GREAT place to learn, but you must sift through the constant bickering to get the info. We love to be critical of each other here for some reason; from grammar and spelling issues, to actually critiquing your prospecting methods and/or portfolio management skills. Get used to it now. EDJ gets bashed because they are "unsophisticated" by wirehouse standards, and because they door knock instead of cold call. They take flack for being a partnership, which gets twisted into them being a cult, because their business model isn't for everyone. They're also typically a bit "behind the times" in terms of new products (i.e. fee-based) and technology. Wires get stereotyped for being "arrogant," and after last year "wreckless with their money" (even though it was the i-bank's fault, not the retail ops). They get flack for having teams that make your assets "sticky," along with recruiting deals that "handcuff" you to the firm. There's also banter about being "assigned assets" by "mowing your BOMs yard." Insurance Co.'s get their share of flack for the mantra of "life insurance will solve all of your problems!" And that some of them want you to shake down your F&F to start in the biz, and sell overpriced products like VULs. Bank reps get their share too: "i.e. you're a Series 7 licensed teller that doesn't know how to prospect." The knock on Indy b/ds: "Most of you guys are wirehouse flunkies." Or "You guys work out of your Mom's basement and/or your garage." Also "your higher payout is b.s. after ticket charges and the light bill," or "i'd rather grow my practice at a wire than worry about vacuuming the office after closing time." And the knock on the RIA channel: "Fee-only isn't more ethical because you always have an interest in keeping assets invested - you can't do as good of a job for your clients because sometimes commission biz is better for the client." And they take a great deal of flack for charging for "Financial Plans" too. So, point is...get used to it. This board is a biatch-fest, almost all of the time, with a ton of "diamonds in the rough" if you are looking. [/quote] Thanks.[quote=Leverage]What’s the knock on Edward Jones? Seems like everyone on this board has it in for this firm. Someone give me the short story.
Point taken...I can understand that. All too often, individuals jump into a career in financial services with whatever company and don't know what they are getting into. I think that the white lies and overstatements occur to some extent at every company. I know I've heard more than my fair share at my current firm. I've come to the conclusion that only a handful of folks that stay in the financial services industry stay with the firm they first started with. Most folks transition on to other firms for multiple reasons. In my case, I'm just sick and tired of selling insurance. I was given the whole "were a financial planning outfit" from the jump and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. Slowly but surely, I realized that life for under 5yr producers at a captive insurance co. is all about insurance premium. Investment planning, advising, consulting and selling is virtually non-existent. I'm sure Jones has its share of flaws but at least I know what I'm getting into.ice the peacemaker.
To answer your question Leverage - I will speak for myself. My Edward Jones experience was a learning one. I learned that I wanted to be independent.
The bill of goods you are sold is not the one you get (in my case - there are others here who will disagree). I had a horrible regional leader, a crappy field trainer, was lied to repeatedly, was told I could do whatever I wanted as long as I was being ethical, legal and profitable (another lie).
I don’t b!tch as much as I used to, mainly because I realize that my experience isn’t the same as others. However, having been there, I have seen the flaws up close of the firm. And I think it is important that before someone jump into a career at Jones, they understand the pros and the cons.
[quote=MrJonesAndMe] But no one knows where the 100 that do work out will come from. It’s not different than prospecting for clients really.
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It’s more likely that the 100 that do work out have a track record of success and have basic reasoning and social skills.
Statistics show that people who have had some success in the past (notwithstanding a stellar grocery clerk record), tend to have success in the future.
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I've come to the conclusion that only a handful of folks that stay in the financial services industry stay with the firm they first started with. Most folks transition on to other firms for multiple reasons.[/quote] I thought the exact same thing. I feel like branch of MSSB I just started in is quite different (surprisingly so!). There are 4 guys that have been with this firm, IN THIS BRANCH for 40+ years. Pretty wild and uncommon from what I've heard.The short story here, is that this forum is a GREAT place to learn, but you must sift through the constant bickering to get the info. ...So, point is...get used to it. This board is a biatch-fest, almost all of the time, with a ton of "diamonds in the rough" if you are looking. [/quote] As usual, a great post from ice. I've learned as much from this forum as I have from my mentor and field trainer combined, and my clients have benefited. And I'll add this to ice's post ... it's probably the one source you can get the perspective of all those groups all in one spot.[quote=Leverage]What’s the knock on Edward Jones? Seems like everyone on this board has it in for this firm. Someone give me the short story.
To restate a Patton line, "if everyone is thinking the same thing, somebody's not thinking."
[quote=workinhard][/quote]
I've come to the conclusion that only a handful of folks that stay in the financial services industry stay with the firm they first started with. Most folks transition on to other firms for multiple reasons.[/quote] I thought the exact same thing. I feel like branch of MSSB I just started in is quite different (surprisingly so!). There are 4 guys that have been with this firm, IN THIS BRANCH for 40+ years. Pretty wild and uncommon from what I've heard.[/quote] The thing is (at least on the insurance end), check to see how many guys are there with tenure between 5 - 10 years. Most of the 20+ guys that are still in the business have huge books, started obviously when the business was not quite as tough, competition was not as much of a factor, etc. From what I've seen, you typically have the under 5 year guys and the over 20 year guys. Those in between years seem to be where there is a void.I have a question, studying for the series 7 and 66 test how much does edward jones pay you?
[quote=Leverage][quote=Moraen]ice the peacemaker.
In my case, I'm just sick and tired of selling insurance. I was given the whole "were a financial planning outfit" from the jump and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. Slowly but surely, I realized that life for under 5yr producers at a captive insurance co. is all about insurance premium. Investment planning, advising, consulting and selling is virtually non-existent. I'm sure Jones has its share of flaws but at least I know what I'm getting into.[/quote] Leverage, I'm not sure which mutual carrier you're with, but I am also with one too. Yes, you are expected to sell life insurance, but who cares about expectations? Sell enough to meet the GA/firm minimum and build your practice however way you want to. We have people here who do only 70k FYC/year and manage $100 million in assets (mostly fee based accts). I'm also relatively new as a producer, but other than hanging a wirehouse name brand over your head, I can't see why someone would leave the 80%+ investment payout + insurance payout.