Financial Advisor Job

[Sham11801]

Hello All,

I am in the middle of switching jobs from being at a large money center bank to the wealth management division of another huge financial institution as a licensed financial advisor. My discharge occurred in late 2009 and was wondering if anyone knows if it will affect my ability to get this job. I was bonded at my current job (before the BK 3 years ago), but now since the BK will it disqualify me by the employer? I know the state does not have any issues with getting licensed for Series 7, 6, 63, etc. but I feel I might run into an issue with the bonding process. Thanks for the help if anyone knows.

[Flamingo]

In your situation your BK will probably have an affect on you getting the job; there is no guarantee it won't. What I suggest you do is do your homework since it is apparent you have not applied yet for the job...investigate this company's hiring practices as best as you can - i.e., there may be a section in their website for employment. Once you sign your application for this job and provide your SS#, since it is a financial related company you can bet a credit check will be run on top of a background check. Your best bet is to be fully upfront and honest about your BK and state that you did not your BK affect your past job and that you are highly skilled and qualified for the position and that your filing BK will not affect your job performance in any way. The one issue you may run into is that this company may have a policy in place, for legal, insurance or other purposes, where they just will not hire anyone with a BK on their records.

[fltoo]

With a BK on your record, you most definitely can keep the series licenses and you can be bonded.

With the economy the way it is, many commissioned people such as financial advisors and real estate pros have left the business, so, jobs in these fields are plentiful.

But, unless you have a huge client base to tide you over, these jobs are not so lucrative anymore. Prospecting is hell right now.

[Sham11801]

In your situation your BK will probably have an affect on you getting the job; there is no guarantee it won't. What I suggest you do is do your homework since it is apparent you have not applied yet for the job...investigate this company's hiring practices as best as you can - i.e., there may be a section in their website for employment. Once you sign your application for this job and provide your SS#, since it is a financial related company you can bet a credit check will be run on top of a background check. Your best bet is to be fully upfront and honest about your BK and state that you did not your BK affect your past job and that you are highly skilled and qualified for the position and that your filing BK will not affect your job performance in any way. The one issue you may run into is that this company may have a policy in place, for legal, insurance or other purposes, where they just will not hire anyone with a BK on their records.

Thanks Flamingo; I actually put the application in Friday after doing very well on the pre employment assessment and there was a question on the application asking if i had "Compromised with a creditor or filed a BK petition in the last 10 years". So, naturally i checked off YES. So, we'll see how it goes.

[goingcrzy]

alot depends on the branch manager too. If he is being told to hire and needs to fill ten spots then it won't be such a big deal. (especially if you have a good story on why you filled bk)

If he has one spot to fill and ten applicants your chances are zero (unless you can show you have a great network already in place)

good luck!

[Sham11801]

With a BK on your record, you most definitely can keep the series licenses and you can be bonded.

With the economy the way it is, many commissioned people such as financial advisors and real estate pros have left the business, so, jobs in these fields are plentiful.

But, unless you have a huge client base to tide you over, these jobs are not so lucrative anymore. Prospecting is hell right now.

fltoo, Im not actually licensed but because my current job is with a bank (Commercial Banking), i had to get bonded. The licensing isnt my worry though, nor is the prospecting (yet), it's getting the job because of their internal policies. Thanks for the advice.

[fltoo]

Much luck to you. Let us know how it turns out.

[Flamingo]

Thanks Flamingo; I actually put the application in Friday after doing very well on the pre employment assessment and there was a question on the application asking if i had "Compromised with a creditor or filed a BK petition in the last 10 years". So, naturally i checked off YES. So, we'll see how it goes.

You did the right thing...note sometimes employment applications ask..."Have you EVER filed bankruptcy." Always be honest...if it should come up during an interview, be honest - if it was due to job loss, divorce, etc. that works to your advantage as the times now are tough and BK is quite common. The main thing is to sell yourself, your experience and your background and point out that you are there to make the company money and better yourself in the process. Let us know how you make out...

[Flamingo]

Note - I am a Notary (paid for by my job) and had to face the bonding process while we were still in Chapter 13. Absolutely no problem.

[jdbrew222]

Currently a commercial banker with Fortune 500 Co, with many of the same questions

Hi All -

I am currently in commercial banking with a Fortune 500 bank. I enjoy my job and will plan to stay with the bank as long as there are opportunities there for me.

I am somewhat concerned about losing my job if/when they find out I have filed (I will probably be doing so in the next couple of months). I am well liked and respected within my group, get consistently good reviews, and genuinely do well for the company. Does worrying about getting fired for this seem a stretch?

Of course, I am more concerned about limiting my prospects with other potential bank employers if I try to leave my current bank and go to another; although many of the responses in the post above are geared towards a securities-related position, they're still very helpful to me in this regard.

Flamingo, would you elaborate briefly on your comment re bonding? So you filed Ch 13, and after doing so, were able to secure a bond? Did/do you work in the financial services industry? I understand that, firstly, that the bankruptcy has been discharged is very important, in that it indicates the hardship is more likely to be behind the person. Secondly, the employer looks at the nature of the events leading to the bankruptcy (e.g. was it due to overextension of credit (ok), or did it relate to fraud, theft, etc. (not so ok)).

Thanks!

[imran93]

So what happened Sham did you get the job and got bonded?

[Sham11801]

Yes, actually. But it was a banking job. Ive been in banking and moved to a new bank who did a thorough background, drug and credit check. The company that performs the background check even sent me a summary of what they found and the BK was on there. The bank still hired and bonded me..i've heard so many on here say that a bank will never hire you with a BK. Totally not true. I actually found out that they cannot discriminate you for the Bankruptcy alone, there has to be other reasons to not hire you, such as current delinquent accounts, etc.