Financial consultant interview

Hi everyone. As some of you may remember, I’m a senior majoring in Economics at the Univ of Michigan, HOPING to get into finance (preferably equity research), but without relevant working experience, it’s been tough. I’ve been applying to various positions, including those posted on my career center website. I finally received an on-campus interview (this Monday) for a “financial consultant” position at the Hantz Group. Here’s the company and position description: Who We Are: Hantz Financial Services, Inc. (HFS) is a full-service financial consulting and investment firm established in January of 1998. HFS is a subsidiary of HantzGroupsm. Our goal is simple – To help individuals reach their financial goals by recommending and implementing strategies using preferred products and a variety of services to meet investment needs. Our mission statement is simple: Personal Growth…not only for us, but for our clients as well. Hantz Financial’s Operating Philosophy We believe that having access to a variety of services, products and providers, presents us with an opportunity to offer our clients with what we consider to be the “best of breed”, at any given time, as we are not a product manufacturer and do not sell our own proprietary products. Responsibilities: • Develop and maintain client base • Analyze investment opportunities and client needs, and recommend appropriate strategies • Market and sell appropriate investment products • Prepare and deliver presentations to clients and prospective clients • Attend meetings and continuing education sessions • Comply with all industry rules and regulations Job Requirements: • Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience • Must be able to obtain required licenses • Must be highly motivated • Strong written and verbal communication skills • Ability to work well under pressure with multiple priorities and deadlines • Have leadership qualities and an entrepreneurial spirit • Must have a strong work ethic Anyone have any tips for preparing for this interview? Thoughts on the position? I’ve never had any big interview, and so I decided to accept the interview offer to at least get more comfortable with interviews.

“Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 10:51PM by kp824.” Thats all I’m gonna say. Willy

Sorry for the editing, Willy. I’ve been crushing Natties like Daj. :slight_smile:

kp824 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > I’ve been crushing Natties like Daj. :slight_smile: nice, i just crushed some during the debate. then cocktailed with coors light and a dutchy ok, in all seriousness, to OP 1. fin consultant = great way to get foot into the field…equity research in this market, with bulge brackets very tight on hiring, only way you will get into ER is with a contact…you may want to search your alum database for analysts working in thie field. send em a model and report and maybe even see what stocks they cover and shoot em some questions about your fave name in their universe 2. you should come prepared with an opinion on the markets, some general ideas, and a passion for helping people make sensoe out of irrationality. clients clients clients, that is what you have to present yourself as thinking about 24/7. looks like you have a oslid education, so good luck

Looks like a sales job to me…just pushing their products perhaps. If you are wanting into research I imagine you will be miserable in this role.

kevinf12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Looks like a sales job to me…just pushing their > products perhaps. If you are wanting into > research I imagine you will be miserable in this > role. hence i told the guy “foot in the door” - if you cant to rsch, you need to start somewhere. and you get valuable skills pitching. havent you seen boiler room?

daj224 Wrote: > nice, i just crushed some during the debate. then > cocktailed with coors light and a dutchy Nicely done, Daj. During the debate I was busy stepping up my game to 151. > ok, in all seriousness, to OP > > 1. fin consultant = great way to get foot into the > field…equity research in this market, with bulge > brackets very tight on hiring, only way you will > get into ER is with a contact…you may want to > search your alum database for analysts working in > thie field. send em a model and report and maybe > even see what stocks they cover and shoot em some > questions about your fave name in their universe I’ve tried hitting up alumni in equity research. So-so response. Couple of them offered to talk about the industry, their job, and general things of that nature. I didn’t come right out and ask for a job opportunity, rather, let the email/phone convo with a couple ER analysts play out and see if it would head in that direction. Didn’t happen. I don’t want to come on too strong and ask for job opps, but I don’t want it to be a dead end, either. Any advice in that regard? Or is it really just the market is that bad? > 2. you should come prepared with an opinion on the > markets, some general ideas, and a passion for > helping people make sensoe out of irrationality. > clients clients clients, that is what you have to > present yourself as thinking about 24/7. looks > like you have a oslid education, so good luck Thanks. My concern was I had never heard of the firm (I checked their site, seems like retirement planning/insurance. Not sure how much I’d like the role, and if it’d be beneficial to use as a stepping stone.

kevinf12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Looks like a sales job to me…just pushing their > products perhaps. If you are wanting into > research I imagine you will be miserable in this > role. That’s my concern as well. But I figured, if nothing else, I wanted to at least get interview experience. Still, I’m not sold on this role, but I’m trying to be realistic with my options in this market.

Understand that. Even if you arent sold it cant hurt to do the interview and see what you think. I would caution you though, go into it like it is your dream job. A lot easier to turn down an offer than to get one…so come across with energy and act like this is something you want, even if you dont.

kevinf12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Understand that. Even if you arent sold it cant > hurt to do the interview and see what you think. > I would caution you though, go into it like it is > your dream job. A lot easier to turn down an > offer than to get one…so come across with energy > and act like this is something you want, even if > you dont. That’s good advice, thanks. I’ll definitely try to put on my “game face” and go into it like it’s a wonderful job. I actually have another on-campus interview next week, but since this one was Monday, thought I’d ask for tips on this position first. The other interview is for “portfolio analyst - University of Chicago”. That actually seems really interesting, but one thread at a time! If you don’t mind me asking, any tips on how best to talk to alumni? I know Daj and others have mentioned contacting alumni, but I’m trying to figure out how best to utilize that network. As I mentioned, I’ve emailed/talked to a couple, and while I wasn’t expecting a job offer, just trying to gauge how to maximize those conversations.

For me, whether it be alumni or even friends of friends, I have had better success to try and get some type of face to face meetings if possible. Offer to take them to lunch, etc. If it isnt logistically possible, I am not sure. But usually when I have discussed things over the phone, it is hard for them to have a reason to help you on a job (other than advice and discussion of their situation). If they can meet with you, see some real interest and even knowledge, they may be more swayed. It can be a way to show you have worked hard and done your homework, you know what you are looking for etc. I dont know, I always felt that is what people want, more so than having someone coming to you and just saying I want XYZ and not knowing all that much about it. Keep in mind, things are so tight on hiring right now, especially in that field, there may not be much they can do other than tell you, here is how to prepare for when things turn.

i think you are doing the right thing. it is not easy. you are right that you never want to ask for the job there, but after 2-3 convos, I think it is okay (this is debatable) to tell the person that you have been trying to break into rsch for a while and will be more than happy to send him/her a model so that they can lend thier advice. Then, assuming your model is ok and not error filled, you can ask if they know if anyone in their rolodex is hiring an associate…then they can pass your model and resume along if someone is looking. dude, I am telling you - the market is insane right now. job numbers @ 7yr low and likely to get worse - good luck man. i know one guy out of undergrad, he got the analysts coverage universe, and did like 2 or more reports and models on stocks the analyst covered. he kept on asking the analyst questions after the companies reported EPS and finally, the analyst gave in and hired him. sometimes, squeaky wheel gets the grease. and this kid did CFA level 1 in undergrad, so it showed he was hungry. i would put your resume on efincareer, google it.

Thanks for the advice, fellas. Daj, I posted my resume on efinancialcareers ~1 month ago, no views yet. :frowning: No doubt that the job market is terrible right now. A friend brought up the possibility of trying to get a gig as a financial analyst at a tech company. Not sure how the hiring is for those types of role, and how to prepare for it. With ER, I at least know my basics and a generally good idea of what I need to know, how to prepare for the interview, etc.

The description of this position is registered rep. Hope you enjoy cold calling and in most cases if you have a pulse you can have the job but expect to call everyone you know and those taht you don’t trying to build a book while studying for your series 7. Your role is to get a person on the phone not to hang up on you and then pass them to your sponsoring broker. Once you have you licenses you can start to build your own book (continued cold calling). Isn’t the life :wink:

i started in a job pretty much identical to this one. be ready. its basically like, “yay! your hired! now go produce!” like sailor said, cold calling and generating your own book of business the pro is that they typically pay for series 7,63, and other advising licenses and this does count towards experience for the CFA. the con is you will prolly start doing this and be motivated at first and then lose steam in your second year. they also love for you to push annuities onto your clients. i was lucky enough to land a non-commissioned advising position (only because i already had my licenses and experience) and am chilling here while i get my CFA

Dont be fooled by the fancy name financial consultant. Now I am only assumong here but its mostly a sales job I believe. So basically about getting clients and getting comissions. I used to work with the client advisers at goldman sachs, although they are probably a bit less salesy, it has its positives and negatives On one hand you get to deal with clients, maybe go to meetings and learn about strategies ideas etc. On the other if its just cold calling clients its gonna be tough work. And that part of the job is just like selling vacuum cleaners or any crap. And will be especially hard in the market environment. If they give you somewhat of a client list to start with that would be great but I cant see this happening. If you know a large network of people and are willing to network a lot to get clients you can do very well in a job like this. You have to join every kind of social, business, charity etc out there to try and get yourself out there meeting people and obtaining clients this way. All that said, tough job market and may be worth a crack at this job if nothing else interesting presents itself.

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