Negotiating Initial wage with Edward Jones
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Hey guys, first off I just accepted a position Edward Jones, and I had a very specific question. Does anyone know of anyone who has been able to successfully negotiate a higher hourly rate for the Study for Success Program, and KYC?
It seems to me like it would be negotiable since it is supposedly based on your previous work.
I scoured this forum pretty extensively and could not find an answer to this question, so if it has been discussed before I apologize.
Also, in my scouring I have realized that there are a few very vocal haters of Edward Jones in these forums. I understand why you hate them, and I respect it. But I am looking for some legitimate help, so if all you are going to do is trash talk Edward Jones you’re really wasting your time. I know why you hate them, and all you do is repeat yourselves over and over again in every thread.
I hope you are asking purely out of curiousity if you’ve ALREADY ACCEPTED…but yes, it is negotiable - or at least it was in my case. What wasn’t negotiable despite my attempts was the contract (i.e. the non-solicit covenant and the training costs, etc.). Thanks to this board I quickly learned these items were more or less common in the industry and decided to accept.
It's also important to note that you will be paid overtime 2-5 hours a week for the at least the first 8 weeks so that's kind of nice. If you' haven't accepted and are looking to increase your rate - good luck!Well I suppose I haven’t technically accepted. They sent me the packet, but I haven’t sent it back yet. So any tips on negotiating with them? I’m fresh out of college, so I don’t have much leverage.
Fresh out of college? Is that with or without work experience? I know guys that held legit 8-5 m-f jobs during college while going to night class and they got hired at a higher rate because they had PROFESSIONAL experience of some sort. If you didn’t work or just worked at Kinkos/Starbucks/Gas Station, I wouldn’t expect much. It also depends heavily on your location. Answers to the above variables are needed to determine if you’re getting a fair rate or not. Only you have the answers. Just having a 4 year degree isn’t that big of a deal because tons of GREAT salespeople (that’s what we are at jones really) are without “higher education.” If you truly believe you deserve X number of dollars per hour or year, then try to build a case and contact your hiring contact person in St. Louis. Doesn’t hurt to ask, just make sure you have something to back you up, you know?
No, I have no professional work experience. Do you think its worth it to ask? I’m getting $9.72/hr, and it just seems really low to me.
When I started in 2000, they paid 1500 per month while you studied for the series 7 and 63,now 66, and increased you to 2000 per month. When you got your can sell you got the salary plus commissions. In addition you received 50 for new funded accounts. The salary was taken away after one year. I thought that it was much better now based on some recent posts. you might research some old posts for more accurate starting salary info. I can't believe they still are paying 1500 dollars per month which is about what 9,72 per hour equates to for 40 hours per week.
You’re fresh out of college with no professional work experience and you think you deserve a higher pay than what they are offering?!?!
It's this exact sense of entitlement that causes so many young brokers to fail.I agree with SNAG, bottom line you are starting at the bottom. You are going to starve for a couple of years. This the reason that you need some serious cash stashed. They don’t care who you are unless you are coming from a major competitor, in which case they will find a significant office to give just to get bragging rights, You are a beginner so just accept it and plan on it.
One additional thing that I might prepare you for is that if you expect any classy treament during your training sessions, forget it. I almost quit when I went to KYC because the rooms were so tiny(and two in a room) and food was so bad that I could not believe I was working for a Wall street firm. I don’t know anything about Tempe, but be prepared for les than first class accomodations if you go to St. Louis. You really are a second class citizen until you reach at least segment 3.
Tell Jones that you will accept nothing less than a room at the Ritz for training, a salary of 10,000 per month and all the caviar that you can eat…
Come on man, no work experience and you are complaining about 9.72 an hour. Prove yourself and then make some money for the value that you provide. Good luck!!I started in 2/07…this is my second career…I worked in a Bank for 10 years but never was licensed or worked in the market…keep in mind that i also work in a very high income area…they started me at $37k (decreasing each quarter until 1 year when it disappears)…plus the bonus structure mentioned throughout this thread. Didn’t think it was negotiable but then again, I realized I was getting a pretty good deal…oh btw…studying was something like 12-14 bucks/hour…
Thanks for the replies. I never said that I deserved more, or ritzy treatment, but if I could get more, why wouldn’t I?
DrayCoxx ,
Some ideas to perhaps review in your thought process. I am currently in the process of being interviewed by several Financial Firms. I am a Career Changer and currently have a Management and Sales fucntion with my employer. In all cases , if I was to accept a position , I would be earning less than my current annual income. Here are my thoughts/opinions : 1) Your interviewed with EJ , 2) You went throught the process and 3) A verbal offer was made and to confirm the firm forwarded the Offer Of Employment. Now you think is the time to see if you can squeeze a few more dollars from them????? Not a brillant career move or tactic. Let me review , you are just out of college , no professional work experience and you are bringing what assets to the firm? I do not want to sound harsh....this is very similar to new hires that I have been involved with: 1) Higher Income , 2) More Vacation Time , 3) Better Benefit Packages and 4) Perks....my comment to them is rather simple PRODUCE for the company and then we can discuss these matters. Do what you wish and I do wish you all the best BUT I do suggest that you produce results before asking for something that you have not yet earned.Many of these people have an interesting take when they are critcal of you expecting to earn more than $9.72 per hour. When I was just out of college, I would have had a difficult time accepting a wage that I could have made by working at a fast food restaurant as a high school drop out. Granted, you will have the opportunity to earn some commissions, but I can’t blame you for having a sense of “entitlement” since you have shown the ability to complete a task that many people have not been able to complete by successfully finishing school. I would think of you as a small cap growth stock. Just because you haven’t necessarily had recent earnings doesn’t mean that the market won’t offer you a higher price for your shares because of the potential growth opportunities you present in the future.
We pay our interns more then 9.72 per hour.
I don’t see how you aren’t making at least 30K a year base.
Interesting comments … Anyone new to a company such as EJ or similar should consider this as an apprenticeship … the rewards will come later on, when they prove they can made the grade. In my opinion, new inexperienced graduates are not entitled to the same as a seasoned professional who has a proven record of success.
The only thing a new graduate can show is that they managed to get through college, this is not the same as running your own business and showing a track record of success.What?! Tell me you're kidding. When you are fresh out of college, you are literally at the bottom. Your "potential" means nothing besides you just got hired. The failure rate is so high, it is what it is. So you did well in your sociology class...does that give you good potential? How does graduating college mean that you should have a sense of entitlement? If he didn't graduate college, his chances of getting hired are less than that of a sperm living in a hot tub. He has no experience. I'm really hoping your post was sarcastic.Many of these people have an interesting take when they are critcal of you expecting to earn more than $9.72 per hour. When I was just out of college, I would have had a difficult time accepting a wage that I could have made by working at a fast food restaurant as a high school drop out. Granted, you will have the opportunity to earn some commissions, but I can’t blame you for having a sense of “entitlement” since you have shown the ability to complete a task that many people have not been able to complete by successfully finishing school. I would think of you as a small cap growth stock. Just because you haven’t necessarily had recent earnings doesn’t mean that the market won’t offer you a higher price for your shares because of the potential growth opportunities you present in the future.
Dray,
I would negotiate. I wouldn't want $9.72 or some crappy first year salary. This salary stuff is so backwards to my way of thinking. We get paid to produce. That's it. Instead of asking for more salary, I would try to negotiate for less in exchange for a higher commission rate. This is the wrong business if you want to get something for nothing. You either have an employer mentality or an employee mentality. You need an employer mentality to succeed. You sound as if you are ready to think of yourself as a Jones employee. I hope that I'm wrong for your sake.[quote=anonymous]
Dray,
I would negotiate. I wouldn't want $9.72 or some crappy first year salary. This salary stuff is so backwards to my way of thinking. We get paid to produce. That's it. Instead of asking for more salary, I would try to negotiate for less in exchange for a higher commission rate. This is the wrong business if you want to get something for nothing. You either have an employer mentality or an employee mentality. You need an employer mentality to succeed. You sound as if you are ready to think of yourself as a Jones employee. I hope that I'm wrong for your sake.[/quote]Whoa, once the commissions start kicking in I have no problem working my ass for money that I EARNED. But this hourly wage that I am talking about is during the 4 month training period, where I CAN'T sell anything, or make any other income of any kind. This $9.72/hr is all I have to live on, and it does seem really low to me.
To put it into perspective, the minimum wage here is $8.07. I currently make $12.37/hr working at the university dining center. SO getting hired by Edward Jones, for my career I am taking a significant decrease in salary. I do understand that it will increase significantly later on, much more than I would ever make at the dining center, but still $9.72/hr for 4 months ridiculously low to me.
I don't think that because I have a college education I deserve more or anything. I think people with professional experience should definitely make a higher wage, and the only person I should be making more than is someone who dropped out of college, and has no professional experience. Regardless though, I still think $9.72 is low.
To people saying it is too late to negotiate, I am curious why you think that? I just got the hiring packet, and I haven’t signed anything yet. SO right now they have extended the offer, and I haven’t accepted yet.
I don’t know when a better time would be. They flat out refused to talk about an hourly wage before, saying that it is based on location, and experience, and they don’t calculate it until they decide to offer someone a job.
So there is no way I could have negotiated it before since I didn’t know what it would be. So I don’t see how this could possibly be too late since I haven’t had an opportunity to until now.