Thirty Years Old, Just Graduated with a Finance Degree. Need Some Advice.

[InexperiencedGraduate]

Hi folks. First I want to thank everyone for what a wonderful source of information this forum is. I have spent a number of hours here in the last few days trying to familiarize myself more with how the business actually works. On to the matter at hand.

I am thirty years old, and I just graduated in August with a degree in finance. I have always wanted to do financial planning, and my objective is to get a start in this industry right away. I want to get a CFP certification and all my series licenses in addition to the state mandated insurance license. My problem is this: I have no work history. None. I debt financed my education and lived within those financial parameters, and my credit score is around 730. I have a car, and I am going into this with my eyes wide open as to the level of dedication that this endeavor is going to require.

I understand graduating from college at thirty with no work history is my own fault, and I should have obviously remedied that beforehand, but at this point I can't change it. I have a job interview tomorrow with Modern Woodmen and I would be truly grateful if anyone had any advice for me, be it for the interview itself or just in general.

Thank you in advance for your help and once again I appreciate the efforts of everyone here.

 

[Focus LTC]

Try your big box life companies.

-North Western Mutual
-New York Life
-Met Life
-Prudential
-Ameriprise

Etc. Etc.

Theses folks recruit recent college grads pretty hard. If you can pass their personality profile tests you'll get some offers as long as your background is free of felonies/violent crimes/crimes of moral turpitude.

They'll get you licensed and trained. The rest is up to you...

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Try your big box life companies.

-North Western Mutual
-New York Life
-Met Life
-Prudential
-Ameriprise

Etc. Etc.

Theses folks recruit recent college grads pretty hard. If you can pass their personality profile tests you'll get some offers as long as your background is free of felonies/violent crimes/crimes of moral turpitude.

They'll get you licensed and trained. The rest is up to you...

I second this. Training is going to be your biggest need in the beginning. They will also help you to pursue your series licenses (in addition to your insurance licenses).

The CFP® will require 2-3 years of work experience (depending on the type of work you're doing and who is supervising you) to use the mark but you can still pursue the educational and exam requirements while you get that experience.

The companies listed above will provide you with a solid foundation. Good luck with your new career!

 

[Norwayguy]

In addition to those Life Insurance companies already mentioned you might take a look at Edward Jones. Unlike most of the Life companies financing plans which are really nothing more than additional commission on sales you make Edward Jones has a decreasing salary replaced by commissions over time. They also force their reps to do cold canvassing.

 

[azmedsupagent]

Hi folks. First I want to thank everyone for what a wonderful source of information this forum is. I have spent a number of hours here in the last few days trying to familiarize myself more with how the business actually works. On to the matter at hand.

I am thirty years old, and I just graduated in August with a degree in finance. I have always wanted to do financial planning, and my objective is to get a start in this industry right away. I want to get a CFP certification and all my series licenses in addition to the state mandated insurance license. My problem is this: I have no work history. None. I debt financed my education and lived within those financial parameters, and my credit score is around 730. I have a car, and I am going into this with my eyes wide open as to the level of dedication that this endeavor is going to require.

I understand graduating from college at thirty with no work history is my own fault, and I should have obviously remedied that beforehand, but at this point I can't change it. I have a job interview tomorrow with Modern Woodmen and I would be truly grateful if anyone had any advice for me, be it for the interview itself or just in general.

Thank you in advance for your help and once again I appreciate the efforts of everyone here.

Find a good company with good training and competetive products. Don't be afraid of the phone or the door bell, when your starting out they will be your best friends. Always remember, Babe Ruth not only held the record for the most home runs but he also held the record for the most strike outs. The more you step up to bat the more you will score, no matter how much you strike out. 5 years ago I was in your exact position. Now im 31, I live in an affluent suburb and my garage is full of toys. The dream is possible, good luck man! Oh and by the way, dont waste too much time getting all kinds of different certifications most of them wont make you any extra money.

 

[pcbinsurance]

Great advice from everyone.

 

[xrac]

I second EDJ. Also look at Guardian, Mass Mutual, and AGLA.

 

[Pete Cormie]

I third the motion. NYL called me last week looking to interview me. They're obviously desperate. Call them first.

 

[ctg]

...and don't bust yourself up about "graduating from college at 30" Shoot, you're young as far as I'm concerned.

Nice work and good luck!

 

[InexperiencedGraduate]

Here's a quick question. I understand most companies start you off with your so-called warm market. You set appointments with friends and family, and then the manager goes with you to help you close a sale. I dislike this approach for two reasons.

#1 These are the people I will have the easiest time selling to in any case, so they are the situations the manager will have the least amount to teach me.

#2 I fail to see how working with these people helps me with real world situations where I would instead be dealing with relative strangers.

So, because of those two facts, would I be out of line to start of with a captive and decide not to utilize my warm market? It seems to me that the sooner I develop the prospecting skills that will be required to succeed in any case the quicker they will start to provide a return. I would much rather bang my head against the wall learning how to do the job well in the beginning and then provide my services to my "warm market" when I am 100% confident that I can provide them with excellent service so they can honestly refer me to other people than burn all those connections in the beginning when, lets be honest, I may make a mistake or two.

Any thoughts on this? I'm sure they have most people start out with their warm market for a reason, but my approach makes a lot more sense to me.

The other concern I have right now is that, while I enjoyed meeting the manager at MWA, he just switched to this industry himself about fifteen months ago. He seems a competent enough guy, but I wonder about the training I would receive. He is on the "Pathway to Leadership" they provide, which is supposed to make you a district manager in three years. Essentially it's year 1 as a representative, year two as a manager, etc.

I am very intrigued by the Edward Jones opportunity, but I don't think they would hire me to open my own shop and at this point I don't think I am ready for that. Does anyone think it would be feasible to try to contact some of the local Edward Jones advisors and inquire about getting started with them, or are those shops usually smaller operations?

I guess that wasn't really one quick question, but there's a lot of factors to weigh in this I have learned heh.