That Smith

As some of you already know, shortly before Laura and I got married I was recruited by a financial advising company in Emporia and went through licensing to become a certified financial planner. I no longer work for the company, but continue to be asked on a regular basis what the company was like. Also I have been receiving a number of visitors from search engines where people query “working for [financial advising company]”.

Here is an e-mail I received earlier this week from someone who visited the site asking the same thing. The name of the company has been removed because this is only one person’s account of working at the company. It is possible that if I stayed in Emporia and had a more time to dedicate to job, I could have easily succeeded.

Chad,
I was doing some searching about [financial advising company] and came across your blog. Just wondering if you still work for [financial advising company]. If so, how is it going? I am thinking about making the jump to a financial planner.
I currently have some investments with a [financial advising company] rep and it seems like a good company. I know it’s probably tough getting started so I was curious as to how you’re doing.

It is interesting because on multiple occasions I was applying for a job elsewhere and the individual interviewing me said they were considering quitting their job to enter a similar occupation. Here is the response I sent this visitor.

Sorry for not responding sooner. To answer your first two questions, I am no longer working for [financial advising company]. They are a decent company to work for, but it is quite difficult to get started.I was recruited by [financial advising company] during the last semester of my bachelors program, and can honestly say that it was a poor decision on my end. Before taking the jump I would recommend contacting other financial advising firms in your area (check your local paper or CareerBuilder listings). In most cities there is continuous recruitment going on in the industry.

The position itself is not so much of an advising position, but rather insurance sales that pays commission only. For [financial advising company] you will be required to receive a Life and Health insurance producer’s license, a Series 7, and Series 66 securities licenses. These cost upwards of around $1500 for materials and testing and have to be paid for out of your own pocket.

There is also very little actual training with [financial advising company]. Once you are offered a position you are pretty much given a strict time frame in which you have to complete your licensing (about 4 months max). If you are in school or plan to work during this period to make ends meet, you will probably need longer. Once you finish the licensing, you meet with the recruiter again and will go through about 3 or 4 hour long sessions to learn how to do everything. After this you pretty much run your own insurance sales office, pay monthly rent, and are responsible for all your leads and expenses.

While I was studying for my licenses I interviewed with some of [financial advising company]’s competitors and realized the first thing every recruiter mentions is how much their star performers made in their first two years. Making upwards of around $150,000 in your first year can happen, but is very rare. [Other financial advising company] actually offered me a position, but the manager told me it would be best for me to pursue my MBA because the turnover rate is extremely high. I was told that only 20% of the people that get into the business make it past their first year. If you are young or just out of college then your chances of succeeding are even lower because you can not relate to potential clients.

If you are keen on sales, more established in your career, and like a challenge then I would say go for it. Like any other investment however, I would recommend researching what else is out there before taking the plunge.

Good luck in your endeavor.

Chad Smith