Oftentimes a job interview is positioned as the company interviewing YOU. However, this mindset can leave candidates wondering if the firm is truly right for them.
The success of Consolidated Planning is dependent upon finding the right financial advisors who believe in our mission.
If you know this career path is right for you, the only thing left to do is determine your ideal firm. Here we will help you understand the four questions that should be on your “questions to ask” list and why these questions and answers are beneficial in taking control and determining true alignment between you and the firm.
What Questions Should You Ask In Your Interview?
When interviewing to be a financial advisor, it’s important to ask questions that will help you gather relevant information about the role, the firm, and the expectations in year one and beyond. Your interviews are especially important in this role as your first year will dictate your career.
For better or worse.
Question #1: What is one word to describe the culture of your firm?
The culture of any workplace matters for the trajectory of your career. And we don’t just mean monthly team building or celebrating birthdays.
Financial advisors are an extension of their firm’s culture and vice versa. Because of this, cultural alignment is a necessary part of good client outcomes and good client outcomes leads to a successful practice. If culture attracts the right advisors and retains them, the same is true for an advisor’s clients.
Our recruiters think asking about the culture of the firm you’re evaluating is important because you know better than anyone else what kind of environment you will thrive in. The right cultural fit should include:
- Work environment
- Company values
- Leadership style
- Work-life balance
- Planning philosophies
Determining the firm’s culture allows for proper alignment between your values and the firm’s values. When misalignment happens when trying to choose the best firm for you, it shows.
It shows in your productivity, your client interactions, and ultimately in your ability to build a thriving practice.
Question #2: Will I have a mentor that helps guide me as I get my career off the ground?
Being a financial advisor can be viewed as a very siloed career path. The problem with this is the learning curve is steep in the industry and can feel even steeper if you’re going it alone.
But, this doesn’t have to be the case in your career.
As a new advisor, getting your career up and running requires someone in your corner that can build you up when you are having a bad day and share in your successes when you’re having a great day. And believe us, these days can shift like the wind. Even for the most experienced advisors.
Advisors at Consolidated Planning will be matched with a mentor who has been where you stand today. They’ve climbed the obstacles before you and even made some common mistakes that they want to help you avoid.
We want to be clear here that there’s a difference between having a mentor and having a Sales Manager. Unlike a mentor, a Sales Manager’s performance is likely dependent upon what you are or are not producing. Your mentor wants to see you succeed and will coach you along your journey, from learning the industry to navigating client conversations, and beyond.
Question #3: What support will I have with client acquisition and growing my book of business?
Finding your first clients as a new financial advisor can be a daunting endeavor. This is because you don’t yet know what you don’t know. But you can’t wait to begin prospecting until you know everything, because you won’t ever know everything in this industry.
For most advisors, finding clients is one of the hardest parts of launching this career and the biggest factor that they struggle with in this business. In fact, according to Advisor Perspectives, 80-90% of new advisors fail due to a lack of knowledge, confidence, and guidance. Overcoming this major component in your career requires a high level of support personnel and resources.
These areas of support include:
- Establishing your target market
- Prospecting efforts
- Case planning
- Navigating client conversations
- Marketing
Support to find clients and grow your book of business equips you with the right tools and knowledge to give you confidence in planning for your clients. This happens by learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable in your prospecting efforts.
For some of our top candidates, the Launchpad Program might be in alignment with your career goals.
Question #4: Are there opportunities for development and advancement?
Onward and upward. The best financial advisors are always looking to the future. They want to be more and do more, for themselves and their clients. Maybe today you find yourself in a position where there is no opportunity for advancement and you’re feeling stuck.
That is not a situation you want to be in…again.
Understanding what your opportunities for growth look like are important to the firm you choose, especially as your career develops. Your opportunities for development and advancement might include:
- Continuing education courses
- Joining a team
- Forming a team
- Adding business planning to your practice
- Planning for your ultimate succession
- Specialization and designations
Oftentimes advisors are unaware of the vast opportunities to continue their development once they’ve fallen into the swing of things.
We want to know what’s ideal for you and what the next level in your career looks like to you. You can expect this conversation to be the foundation of your interview process with us. Because there is so much to learn, it can be hard to look past becoming licensed or finding your clients but a firm with the right support for you will have a clear path towards reaching your goals, whatever they may be.
Choosing The Right Firm For Your Financial Advising Career
Being a financial advisor is a career path, not just a job that you’re trying out. To avoid job hopping as a financial advisor, it’s important that you do your due diligence in asking the right questions around:
- Culture
- Support and resources
- Client acquisition
- Growth opportunities
Getting the responses to the right questions can help you determine if a firm is best for you, or not. You don’t have to settle, and frankly, you shouldn’t settle, when your livelihood is on the line.
To find out more about the interview process or what makes us different, reach out to a team member.
Exp. 9/2027
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Consolidated Planning, Inc. is an Agency of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. Securities products and advisory services offered through Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS), member FINRA, SIPC. OSJ: 6115 Park South Drive, Suite 200, Charlotte NC 28210, Phone # 704-5528507. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. This firm is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS. This material is intended for general use. By providing this content Park Avenue Securities LLC and your financial representative are not undertaking to provide investment advice or make a recommendation for a specific individual or situation, or to otherwise act in a fiduciary capacity.
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