My EDJ Journey Begins
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Greetings Everyone!
This is the first of what I hope will be a long series of posts on this forum.
I am in the beginning of a (hopeful) transition to a Financial Advisor position with Edward Jones and I hope to make some friends hear and get a little help as I navigate through the process.
I was approached by many life insurance companies… and I am very turned off by the common business model of approaching my friends and neighbors and trying to sell them life insurance. The training at most places is minimal at best, and the commitment/investment in new employees is virtually nonexistent.
Then I met EDJ. I find them very professional and am impressed with the training program in general. For those who wish to post non-specific flames against the company, please don’t bother. I have spent a pretty good deal of time reading the forums and am aware that there are people who hate EDJ (and other companies) and want to vent their general hatred.
Does anyone have any helpful advice on how to best handle the interview process?
Any EDJ advice in general?
Thanks in advance for your help!
MBA2FA
1. Your MBA will be utilized perfectly in this career
2. You can basically "create your own calendar" so you will be able to spend as much time with your family as you want. 3. You'll easily be able to "replace your six-figure income" immediately. 4. EDJ's business model is developed around the idea of having offices in busy metropolis's, so using EDJ's prospecting methods in downtown Chicago will work great.[quote=3rdyrp2]1. Your MBA will be utilized perfectly in this career
2. You can basically "create your own calendar" so you will be able to spend as much time with your family as you want. 3. You'll easily be able to "replace your six-figure income" immediately. 4. EDJ's business model is developed around the idea of having offices in busy metropolis's, so using EDJ's prospecting methods in downtown Chicago will work great. [/quote] ... good one.Is this some new marketing thing? “the Edward Jones Journey”?
Btw- I noticed you said that most employers don’t care about your MBA - neither does Jones.
For some advice. Phone interview is cake. They ask you about specific things you’ve done, and hypotheticals. Pretty easy stuff.
If you can speak without a tele-prompter you should get hired.
Hey Guys, for a change of pace, why don’t we just say “good luck” and give the guy a few good ideas. Everyone seems to agree that Jones is a great place to start your career, so rather than turn this into another Jones punching-bag thread, just give the guy some tips. He seems to have his head on straight, and waht are his alternatives? BAC? Morgan/SB? WFA? Not many clear-cut options right now, and starting your advisory career with an indy firm is not always an option. Just a thought…
I don’t think anyone thinks this guy is real…seeing as there have been like 4 “I just got hired by EDJ, woohoo!!!” threads started in the past 3 days. What fun is giving tips when we can act like blowhards to a fake screenname?
[quote=Borker Boy]
The majority of Jones FAs were fired from their previous jobs, so you'll be at home here. The only problem is that very few have college degrees - much less MBAs - so don't use those $5 words around the GPs or you'll be job hunting again.[/quote] I know you might just be playing the pile on game, but I would challenge you to find more than a small handful of people in your region who ended up at Jones because they got fired from their previous jobs. In my own region I know of one guy who came to Jones after his company laid him off. The rest sought out Jones while they were gainfully employed, or right out of college. Actually the majority of Jones FAs have college degrees. In my own region I know of only one for sure who doesn't have a college degree. There may be more that I don't know about. I'm sure my region isn't all that different than any other region out there. More than a few of the GPs have their MBA, especially the ones who have moved to the home office. ALL of the GP's bios I looked at said they at least had their bachelor's degree. Now, I didn't search all of them, but I took enough of a sampling to know that you are full of it.I’d like to thank the people who have been helpful. I appreciate your comments.
1. Is the training at EDJ really that good? I used to be a sales trainer in pharma and knew full well, that there was a huge difference in reality between the way we trained and the way we actually sold. Is this the case with EDJ?
2. Does anyone have the list of questions you are supposed to go around and ask people around town for the “pre-employment surveys” or whatever it is they call them?
3. Is the failure rate for new FA’s at EDJ as high as everywhere else? Anyone know what it is?
4. How many posts do I have to make before people think I am real? Then again, does it really matter so much? How do I know that the people who flame me are real? Ok, those are rhetorical questions. I’m not really looking for an answer…
Thanks for your help!
You're probably 100% real. I'm sorry for offending you. The reason I thought that way was the link to click on this thread has that winking smily face, you have a giant smiley face as an avatar, you put smily faces at the end of your posts, and it seems odd that a former military officer with an MBA makes posts that seem so fruity. Again, my apologies.
Don’t Ask - Don’t Tell!!
It sounds like you could do well at Jones. They like military experience, as it shows one likely has discipline and can follow the recipe (rules). One thing I notice is that you want to replace a 100k job. That will likely take years. Yes, there are some who've done it quickly but I've never worked with one. I have, however seen many drop out or fail out. While I don't know the statistics I would guess that Jones is no better than average on the success rate. The difference may be that Jones will let you hang on much longer than other firms because the hurdles are lower. Good luck and thanks for your service.I was trying to replace a 100k a year job also. I would say on average it takes 5 years to get there at EJ.
trainer in pharma and knew full well, that there was a huge difference
in reality between the way we trained and the way we actually sold. Is
this the case with EDJ?
They will teach you to prospect – doorknock and make phone calls. You will learn the basics of investing. You won’t do very well with sophisticated investors, but luckily there are very few of them. Generally they hire good people, so your peers and colleagues will help, provided you reach out to them. You will need to learn a lot more than they teach you.
2. Does anyone have the list of
questions you are supposed to go around and ask people around town for
the “pre-employment surveys” or whatever it is they call them?
Non-issue. This is just a test to see if you are able to DK strangers.
3. Is the failure rate for new FA’s at EDG as high as everywhere else? Anyone know what it is?
It’s higher than they let on. My advice is to fail early, rather than late. You can easily make enough in the first year to support yourself; then make an honest assessment of whether you like the business and have the momentum to succeed.
4.
How many posts do I have to make before people think I am real? Then
again, does it really matter so much? How do I know that the people
who flame me are real? Ok, those are rhetorical questions. I’m not
really looking for an answer…
You sound real to me.
I’ll take it under advisement that smileys = homosexual. Fortunately, I am already married, so I am not in the dating marketplace. FYI, I was in the military while we were still in the “don’t ask, don’t tell” transition. I remember when the order came down that we had to quit using certain “potentially offensive” terminology. We used to use these canvas map cases that were referred to as “fag bags” because certain people thought they resembled purses (note that the Infantry is all male). When the mandate came down to stop using the term, everyone began referring to the map cases as “alternate lifestyle bags.” I think they were missing the point… but I digress.
Yes, I realize the FA job is hard starting out… but so is leading 30 soldiers through a minefield. I know I will survive… not because I have all this great skill, talent or education. I will succeed because I HAVE TO. There is no other option.
To those who can offer advice, I truly appreciate it. To those who want to flame me, please go ahead. I mean… you have to face tons of rejection in this business, right? I might as well get used to it. Actually, your scorn will help motivate me.
A friendly word of advice.
If and when you become registered, you will realize that in this industry anonymity on online forums like this is essential, if for no other reason than the regulators - and hence your compliance folks - can come down on you like the proverbial ton of bricks.
You have already given enough personal information to allow someone within EDJ (or any firm you might work for) to identify you, and that is something you do not want to do. If you are serious about this business, I would urge you to make a fresh start here with a new username, and fight the urge to share such personal information.
FWIW, even though the vast majority of new news fail, you sound to me like someone who has the potential to be among those few who beat the odds. I wish you the best of luck, and I thank you for your service to our country.
Thanks for the advice. I took some info off my posts… am i still revealing too much about myself? I guess I’m not used to the need for anonymity because I have nothing to hide… but I clearly understand your point.
I guess I should start over with a new profile… but I don’t look forward to having to prove my existence all over again.
Well, it’s live & learn i guess!
Cheers!
I would still delete some of the stuff particular to you if you want to be safe rather than sorry. If you do that quickly you should probably still be OK with your current username.
The regulation/compliance part of this industry is probably unlike anything you’ve experienced before - it’s not a matter of you not feeling you have anything to hide, it’s that NO ONE wants to be identifiable to their compliance department. Period. And how long do you think it would take someone who WANTED to determine your identity at your (soon to be) firm given the particulars you have mentioned about exact experience and background? Not long, I can assure you.
It’s stupid - no doubt - but you need to stay under the radar from a compliance standpoint in this industry.
Besides, you can make your points and ask your questions while remaining more vague about your precise details. Need to know basis - roger that?