Latest / Financial Planner Life Podcast / Career Accelerator For Financial Planning - Part 2 of 4

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Career Accelerator For Financial Planning - Part 2 of 4 · Financial Planner Life Podcast

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome back to the Career Accelerator program here at Financial Planner Life, where if you have experience or if you don't have experience, we're gonna help you get ahead within your financial planning career.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_03: Last episode was all about are you where you want to be?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_03: Today is we've assumed you're not.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_03: Therefore.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_03: Therefore, how do you go out and approach finding that new job opportunity?
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_03: And we're gonna cover that for those that are currently in the profession, employed or self-employed.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna try and wrap that up.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_03: We're also gonna look at it if you're in a second career, right?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_03: Or this is gonna be considered a second career.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_03: So maybe you're moving over from another profession, or maybe you're a graduate, you don't have experience, because your job hunting is gonna be vastly different to somebody who has experience.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_03: So off we pop, ladies.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_03: Here we go again, sharing the absolute gold knowledge to help people progress in their careers.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_03: So, Elena, let's kick things off then.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_03: What do you think?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_03: What do you think?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_03: You know, what have you got to add to this discussion?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we've listened to the first episode, you've sat down and you've thought about your drivers, you've gone through that period of deep self-reflection, and you've decided, look, I'm still looking for a new opportunity, I'm gonna look for a new opportunity.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you're within the financial planning profession, whether you're an administrator, a power planner, a financial advisor, or you know, loads of the different avenues that sit in between that, I would definitely recommend approaching a financial planning recruitment specialist.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, someone like ourselves at Recruit UK, definitely recommend that.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I would definitely view that as the first step within your journey of looking for a new job.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's lots of benefits with working with an individual like ourselves.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: We have all the market knowledge, but first and foremost is that first conversation you have with a recruitment consultant.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: We can talk through all your drivers, you know, validate what you've sort of thought about yourself and your period of um self-reflection, and then we can place options in front of you that align with what you're looking to do moving forward.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, 100%.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_03: I'd agree.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_03: You know, connecting with a good recruitment consultant within your specific niche, within your specific sector that's been around for quite some time, that has evidence that they have helped other people um propel their career forward, move ahead.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_03: And a great way to do that, I think, is to check things like the Google reviews, to check Trust Pilot, to go onto their website.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_03: Do they have the type of job that you're looking for?
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_03: Are they writing good job descriptions?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_03: Have they got some good articles?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_03: And obviously, as well, it's about reaching out to that recruitment consultant.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_03: Now, if you had done that in episode one, because you were doing a bit of research into salaries and expectations and role profiles, etc., you might already have a relationship with a recruitment consultant.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, connecting with that recruitment consultant is absolutely one of the key things I think you should be doing if you have experience within the financial planning profession, most definitely.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_03: And we're getting to reasons, we'll dig a bit deeper on that as well.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_03: I want to go a little bit further ahead, uh before that, I think, okay?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_03: Because I think one of the things that we should also do if we're looking for a new job opportunity is put yourself in the mindset, is I do this, I put myself in the mindset of the power planner or the administrator or the financial advisor.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_03: And the first thing I do is I actually go to Google and I type in Google financial planning job, power planner job in Bristol, whatever it might well be, right?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_03: Because I'm gonna look at who are the ones who come up first.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm gonna do a bit of a recce myself.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna do a bit of market research because I'm gonna take a look at the websites of these companies within my local area, and I'm gonna establish first off, do I connect with their brand?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_03: Is their brand something that I'm interested in?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_03: Are they talking about the things that I'm passionate about, those non-negotiables that we wrote down, the things that I want from an employer?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_03: Do they care about positive impact investing, whatever it might well be?
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm gonna do a deep dive on there, and that's my advice.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: Go and do that.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_03: Now I'm not saying then, oh my god, they're fantastic.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_03: I should reach out to that individual company straight away.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your horses, don't get too excited, because you don't want to ruin your candidature in the market by putting your C V4 to the wrong company or a CV or a profile that really doesn't match the expectations of what that company actually are looking for, but also that doesn't sell yourself because we all have a real difficulty in selling ourselves, right?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: So when it comes to things like your profile, your LinkedIn profile, your CV, that's when that recruitment consultant, if they're worth their weight in gold, will actually sit down with you and again we start to dig on establishing your whys.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_03: What are you looking for?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_03: What is your skill set?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_03: What is your experience?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_03: And that recruiter with you will build a profile that makes you incredibly marketable.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_03: So don't get too excited.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_03: But my advice would actually be go and check out some companies around your local area.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_03: Go online.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, it's a digital shop window, right?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_03: You want to go and look for some clothes, what do we do?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_03: We go and browse the shops, right?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_03: We some of us don't anymore down the high street.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_03: But we go onto websites and we look at clothes shops, don't we?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_03: And we browse first to see whether or not, you know, that wicked new t-shirt is gonna look good with those trainers over there.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_03: But actually, there's a shop over there that's got the whole outfit.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so super duper excited about that.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_03: So find that, build that connection online because guess what?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: So are other employees, but also so are clients, and clients are gonna be seeing them because there's a lot of Tosh websites out there, there's a lot of Tosh branding out there in the financial planning profession, right?
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: And it's it's scary because I phone up these companies and I'm like, hey, how you doing?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: Look, I've got a financial advisor who's looking for a new job opportunity.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: Can I just talk to you about your company?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and the website is like some grey-haired old dude like shaking hands with a somebody else, you know, in a suit and tie.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: And when I get to the crux of it, the company's got about a billion under management.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, what the you know, but they but values-wise and what they look like from their website is completely different, and that kind of feeling isn't there.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: So, again, another reason why when you don't judge a book by its cover sometimes, and that's where things like tapping into a recruiter who's got that experience and the relationships with those companies is also um incredibly uh vital.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_03: What do you think about the profile CV approach?
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_03: Why is it so difficult for people to big themselves up?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_03: And what is it you do, Charlotte, to really kind of make people stand out and shine a bit and to ensure that when you do make that introduction to the client, that they are specifically aligned with what that individual company for se are looking for?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think it does come down to how well you know your client.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, every client will have different values.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes, you know, now I can look at a CV and go, oh, this company's gonna love them.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's just you can connect the dots in your head of what's a good fit culturally, what's gonna fit that person in terms of career progression.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I think when it comes to a profile, like I've sat down with so many people to do their CVs, like friends, family, and it is hard to sell yourself.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: But if you don't back yourself, who will?
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to progress, you need to, you know, put those things on your CV that are gonna grab attention.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Say that you're someone who, you know, you've got the experience, put down the softwares you use, put down all of the extracurricular things you've done in that job.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a member of the investment board and you're really passionate about sustainability, put that on there.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Fly the flag for yourself because when people look at a profile, you know, I don't know for other people, but how long do you think we look at a CV?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: Seven seconds.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: Something like seven seconds.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: Probably about ten.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: I look for the key buzzwords, and it's about, you know, yes, you can say you're organized and you work well in a team and individually, and that, you know, you you have a good work ethic, but you need to look at the job that you and the career you want and make sure that your CV connects the dots to that and has those skills and has those experiences under your belt, where the person who the hiring manager then looks at the CV and goes, okay, yeah, they've ticked every box and more.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: And outside the box, let's speak to them.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_03: And our job is really to pull that information out and develop it.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's the right, it's open questioning.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's you know, I can't just sit there and say, Okay, so you're looking for this job.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, why are you leaving?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: We get to the why, like we did in the last episode.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: You dig deep, and once you also get to understand that there is a human being on the other end of the phone, they have a life outside of work, and work takes up so much of our time.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: We genuinely want people to have the best option in front of them.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it's about when you speak to the recruiter and you say what you're looking for, we have those relationships that can connect those dots for you.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_03: There is also this period there again where we almost create a barrier to entry into a new role to protect both candidate and client.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_03: Are they making the right decision?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_03: Whether the client is hiring for the right reasons or whether the candidate is moving.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_03: So you've checked your thinking because episode one told you all about checking your thinking, right?
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_03: Now you're gonna go and take that thinking to a recruitment consultant.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_03: And if their recruitment consultant is actually a specialist within that field, they're gonna ask you some key questions as well.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_03: They're gonna dig a bit deeper and some emotive questions to ascertain whether or not you are in the right place, right?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_03: Because when it comes to searching for a new job opportunity, especially with an ultra-niche small profession such as financial planning, right?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_03: You hear this ability to um, if you put yourself out there in the wrong way and you don't have the right motives and the right reasons for going for a new job opportunity, you can look a bit of a wally if you start wasting companies' time within your area.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_03: So again, that recruitment consultant there is to really try to push back a little bit, test you a little bit, get to understand what your level of expectations are, around your earnings, what you're looking for, and then to make sure that you are approaching the right companies in the right way.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_03: Because whereas I, as much as I say go and do a bit of window shopping, right?
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we all do probably half an hour of it.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and I just want to do it now.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_03: I want to buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we do about half an hour of it, and that's about it.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_03: Recruitment consultants do it day in, day out.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_03: How much time do we spend trawling through company sites?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: How many times do we spend speaking to the client managers in those businesses, the employees of those businesses, what they like, what they dislike?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_03: Because remember, those employees can often come to us as candidates.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_03: So we build a really good understanding, really, of the pros and the cons and everything like that.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_03: So we know our market.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_03: So when you come, come speak to us, safe in the knowledge that it's private and it's confidential, and that we are not going to go out to the marketplace with your CV, with your LinkedIn profile saying, Oh my god, I've got a financial advisor, he's looking.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_03: You can have it, you can have it, you can have it.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_03: Because some people do.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's why it's important.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's important to mention that point because some agencies will.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: So we talk about trusted recruiters.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure that you're working with someone that you believe in, you're confident in their ability, and who is remaining confidential because there is nothing worse than an individual like myself sending a CV on your but um on your behalf and you've given me consent to do so, and then the client comes back and goes, We had that CV three weeks ago.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you're there, like, how?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_03: And it does happen.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_03: This leads me on to my other point, then, Elena.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so you've decided to work with a recruitment consultant, right?
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_03: You've got experience.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_03: Now, the reason maybe that you're looking to work with that recruitment consultant is you want to remain under the radar, you don't want everybody knowing that you're actively looking around.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_03: A good recruitment, a good recruitment consultant will ask certain questions, and a good recruitment consultant is is working with you and giving you the reasons, the USPs, if you like, as to why you should work with them.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_03: So if a candidate, like a power planner or an administrator, compliance manager, whatever, pension specialist, if they go to that recruitment consultant, what could that candidate do to qualify that recruitment consultant to ensure that they are probably the best person who has their best interests at heart and they're not treating them like a commodity?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'd um first and foremost be like, what's the way that you operate?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, one thing that's really aligns with Recruit UK's values is we won't send your CV without your consent.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: An opportunity can come in that I think absolutely like hits the bill, you know, and I've got your CV on file, but I'm not gonna send that CV until we've had a discussion on the phone, until I've sent you an email with the job description, you've gone, excellent, let's go for it.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I think, you know, understanding how that recruitment consultant operates and asking about the process gives you an understanding of the way that they work.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I just asked them some questions, you know, what does the market rate salary look like at the moment?
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: What kind of opportunities are you working on?
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: Are you working with, we've mentioned this before, you know, small firms, large nationals, but really sort of teasing them will give you an understanding of what they're working on at the moment, the way that they work.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think that then allows you to build a trusted relationship.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't need to take every recruiter that contacts you on face value.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can ask those questions and then proceed with that in mind.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Just because someone has given you a phone call and said, I've seen your CV on Reed, which I know we do, that doesn't make you obligated to work with them.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can say, I'm working with someone else, or I'm doing things, you know, on my own route right now.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Just because someone has contacted you does not give you an obligation to follow through with that process.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_03: You said something there about putting a C V onto Reed, okay?
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_03: So you know you're a specialist within your field, right?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_03: You're a specialist within your field, you're a financial advisor, right?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_03: You're a power planner, you're a compliance manager, okay?
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_03: And you're thinking about leaving and you're still remaining within your current role.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_03: There's a place for things like CV boards, like in Indeed, and we'll get onto that, okay?
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_03: However, why would you say to somebody or advise, say, somebody with really decent levels of experience to keep their details off of job boards?
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_03: Why would you say that would be a good idea?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: It depends if you're lonely, if you want lots of calls and public money, then go for it.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: But I think you will get peppered, and like you could have someone pinch your CV, ping it off, and then you could speak to a great recruiter like ourselves, we could talk to you about the opportunity, and then you've kind of fudged it already because your CV's there, but it might not be geared up in the way the client wants it, and then that's off them off the board for you.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I think job boards do hold so much value, but if you are somebody like a power planner or a financial advisor, you're qualified, you've got your level four, or you're almost breaching it, and you've got lots of experience, you are a hot commodity.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: You are going to be found by every recruiter who's looking for you, and it's probably gonna make it a bit overwhelming as well.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: You're gonna speak to a lot of recruiters, and it it every recruiting recruitment company operates differently, and there's a lot of different cultures within that.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: And finding one that fits for you, you might have a really bad experience and then think, I'm never using a recruiter again.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: And then you might shoot yourself in the foot again because you you actually could get a really good opportunity through speaking to us.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I think putting your CV out there on a job board like Reed, which I think inadvertently kind of happens, if you sign up to Reed and you've got your CV on there and you just simply look at a job on there, we can see that you've been active.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: We know how many hours ago you were last on there.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we will then pop you a call because we know you're looking.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: And it just opens up the floodgates almost where you don't know what's going to come through to your phone, your inbox, you don't know where your CV's gonna go, and it gives a sort of lack of control.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: And you've spent already the time thinking of why you want to move, you're looking at the market, you're doing your research, and you just bring in a whole load of uncontrollable factors which could really like take the journey in a way you don't want.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_03: I want to add something on that as well, right?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_03: Is you are publicly putting your details out there.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, on LinkedIn it's slightly different, okay, because you can put your details out there, it's a it's a LinkedIn profile, and there's a private message that might well come across from a recruiter offering you something, or you can send a private message to a recruiter to communicate with that individual.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_03: Job boards, okay, one two things you've got to think about here.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_03: One is they there's the jobs advertised.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_03: You don't have to, you know, you can apply for a job on a job board, right?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_03: Or you might see the recruitment company advertising a job.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_03: My advice probably just look, search on the job boards, they come up on Google, Indeed, etc., right?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_03: If there's jobs you're interested in, then reach out directly to that recruitment company and maybe find a recruitment consultant.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: Uh you don't have to set up a profile on that uh ecosystem of dumping your CV in there where everybody can just take your details and ping it out to anybody that they see fit and destroy your candidature in the market before even having a conversation with you about your wants and your needs and what your values are and what you want from your next role.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_03: So, my advice I don't even bother when you're an experienced individual because you need to put the best foot forward, you need to be marketed in the right way, you need to be represented by a professional in the right way.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I'll tell you why.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_03: Because again, it goes back to us understanding your value in the marketplace, what your skill set dictates in respect of a salary, what are the best options in respect of packages like um well-being packages that we talked about, employee benefits, paternity lease, holiday maternity lead, yeah.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_03: Where the direction of the company are going, do they invest in technology or not?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the advisors looking to sell their business and you're gonna be there for a couple of years.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_03: Perhaps, you know, the the the reasons are endless to avoid that and to connect with a consultant who actually has that um deep level of experience.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_03: So I think you know that's uh something that when you're looking, when you're out there, you're then looking for that job opportunity.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_03: You really need to take into consideration if you are employed uh within a financial uh planning profession.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_03: And we will lead on as well to the added benefits that a you know a good recruiter will have when it comes to the following stages, which is things like interview preparation, right?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: I love interview prep.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_03: We love giving interview prep.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_03: We've done a few interviews, right?
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_03: We've done a few interviews.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_03: We know what the interview process is like for firms.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_03: We understand the stresses, the difficulties that you might have, right?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_03: You may have had one, two, three interviews in your lifetime.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_03: We've gone through and through and through.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_03: We've heard negative feedback, positive feedback, and this is information that we can then pass on, train, coach, and develop you to absolutely put your best foot forward.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_03: And again, if we know a little bit about that company, the culture, you're not going in there completely blind and making yourself look a bit foolish, right?
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_03: And we're not gonna put you forward to a company, for instance, where your values are not aligned to that business.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna put you off that.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_03: Because guess what happens again if you're not doing that on that interview stage?
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_03: You might go to three or four companies and get negged the hell out.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_03: You might be like, I don't want to leave my company because everybody around me is terrible.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_03: And it's like, no, you're just looking at the wrong companies because you've just gone at it like gun-ho, um, perhaps got, you know, dazzled by the glitz and the glamour of some marketing or some branding, thought it was gonna be absolutely exponentially brilliant when in fact it wasn't.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_03: It's knowledge, it's understanding the culture, it's the people within the business, and that's where we come in handy.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_03: And we come in handy at that stage.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_03: We come in handy at the stage of um how to accept an offer, how to deal with counter-offers, and we'll get onto all of that information as well.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_03: So, of course, us as recruitment consultants are gonna say user recruiter, right?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna say that because we get paid to place you, right?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_03: But we do get paid a fee to place you because we need to give you a damn good service, a damn good level of service, and also the client a good level of service.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_03: We don't make money, we don't stick around in recruitment if we give bad service either side.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_03: And we've been going for a good 15 years.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_03: Go and check out our Google reviews, they're absolutely off the chart.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm super proud of the culture that we built here, of caring, kindness, and uh the deep levels that we go to support people through that process.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_03: So that's looking at the people then who are employed, yeah, or possibly self-employed.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_03: That works both the same way.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_03: If you're a self-employed financial advisor, it's the same kind of concept, really.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_03: But what about this need for new people in the profession, right?
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_03: So let's say graduates, let's say second careerists, these individuals that are hearing about the profession is in need of new new advisors or uh new power planners or new new administrators, right?
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_03: Now, you don't have any experience of financial planning, right?
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's a different approach.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_03: Completely different.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's a different approach, right?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_03: Because I'll tell you the reason why.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going to sum this up very, very quickly.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_02: One of them is financial planning firms or financial services firms are looking for experience, right?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_03: And they are willing to pay recruiters a fee to find individuals that have that relevant experience.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_03: In their heads, they don't need to pay a fee for somebody that doesn't have relevant experience.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_03: That is changing because we are now with Financial Pala Life Academies working with companies that are taking on second career risks, and we are uh commercializing that because we want to pay the bills, you know, enjoy my cup of matcha from Society Cafe for five quid a pop.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, we want to be paid.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: So that is slightly changing.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_03: However, we're not quite there yet with the small to medium-sized enterprises, right?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_03: So let's talk about that.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_03: Charlie, what can somebody do?
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_03: Let's say they're a graduate, let's say they let's start with graduates first of all.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_03: Graduate.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_03: So, graduate, what can a graduate do?
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_03: What should they, what should they, what could they do to get themselves a job within the financial planning profession?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_03: Get some hints and tips.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_03: Are you an experienced financial planner, power planner, administrator, perhaps or a compliance manager, or even working in marketing?
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_03: Whatever you're doing within the financial planning profession, if you're looking for a career change, check out Recruit UK, where we have all the leading financial planner job opportunities at your fingertips.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: If you need to speak to somebody in a bit more detail about your career aspirations and what you're looking for, reach out to one of our consultants who'll happily help you today.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_03: So that's recruituklimited.co.uk.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I've spoken to a lot of graduates.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it actually starts before you graduate.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: If I have, you know, loads of different graduates come through to my inbox and they want to get into an investment admin role.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: If they've been a member of the Trading Society, they've been extracurricularly adding things on, they've done a Bloomberg qualification, they did a summer internship.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Instantly, you're head and shoulders above everybody else, and you cut that noise out and you stand out.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Put everything on your CV, know your modules, put down your dissertation, put down all of the intricacies of your degree because you don't have the experience.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: It is your degree that will be getting you through the door.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I think in terms of graduates, you need to do your market research.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's obviously grad schemes which are hugely competitive and they come out at different times of the year.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think usually it's around like September and January.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's about, you know, listening to recruiters in a way.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, speak to a recruiter, see what they have.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: They might have a job for you.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: But actually doing your own due diligence, going out to the market and seeing what there is, you'll have it off your own back then.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know what's out there.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: And when you find something which gives you that progression and gives you what you're looking for, then you can pursue it.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_03: Fantastic advice there for a graduate, and very much so at the beginning of the actual journey.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: It starts before you graduate.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: It starts before you graduate.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_03: Research to me is massively important.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_03: We built the financial planner life, right?
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_03: Because there was nothing out there that gave an insight into the career of a financial planner.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_03: And with that in mind, of all these advisors leaving the profession, the profession crying out for new entrants, we didn't see enough being done to shine a light on the career of a financial planner.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_03: So we created the Financial Planner Life podcast.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_03: We wanted to bring to life the careers of those individuals.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_03: Now, some of the most successful graduates that I've spoken to who've come to me and said, Thank you, Sam, so much for the advice that you have given.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much for the podcast that's taught me so much, right?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_03: Is they've taken some time out to listen.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_03: They've taken some time out to research what the role of an advisor is by listening to the podcast and understanding from those that do the job, whatever position it is, administration, power planning, financial advice compliance, all the different routes that someone's gone down to become a financial advisor and run their own business or whatever it might well be.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_03: So research, I think, at that stage, double up on it, right?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_03: Go and find that content.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_03: There's some great communities out there.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_03: You've got next-gen planners that have the fam group in there, say financial advisor mentorship.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you've got Octo members, although that's a bit sort of further on down the line.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_03: But go and check out Financial Planner Life in your first instance, right?
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_03: It's basic for a reason.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_03: We ask simple questions and you will learn a hell of a lot.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_03: And when you have that information, when you gain that information and knowledge, when it goes to you actually sitting down or approaching financial planning firms about the opportunities that they might well have, they will be super duper impressed when you tell them that you understand the roots into advice, the different roles, what to expect from the job opportunity.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_03: So don't go bloody thinking to me, so I'm gonna go and get a job in financial planning because I'm a grad and because I've got this and because they're crying out for people, they should give me the job opportunity.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_03: Don't go pestering recruitment consultants, you know, we're all looking at me, you know, saying like you go and find me a job.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_03: Understand, right?
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_03: We want to help you, which is why we're creating content like this to help you get into the profession, which is why we're partnering with firms that have academies and entry-level routes, which is why we're gonna raise the profile of the profession through our podcast.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_03: We want to help you, we can help you, but we're limited on our time in being able to do that, aren't we, Elena?
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_03: So, right, there we go.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_03: Bit of research there, look at the podcast.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_03: Now, what else do you think, Elena?
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think when you're going from an individual with no experience, may that, you know, a graduate or second careerist, the job search is completely different because you've got to be proactive rather than reactive.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: When you're an experienced individual and you have that conversation with a recruitment consultant, you can be reactive in the sense that they'll bring you opportunities, you know, you're looking for XYZ, you know, this matches you UAPs, and you can react on the information they give you.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: When you've got no experience, you've got to be proactive.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to do that research, as you said, research in the industry, why you want to be part of the financial planning profession, but then you've got to be proactive in contacting firms directly.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: It actually breaks my heart.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: I get so many people message me, and they do get sometimes on the more pestering side.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and they've graduates and they really want to land a role within financial planning.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: As Sam explained, I'm probably not the best resource or tool to do that, unfortunately.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: So what you've got to do is do your research, look at the companies within your local area, what aligns with your values, you know, what gets you excited when you look on their website?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: Is it the culture, or is it the kind of advice they provide?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: And contact them directly.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: And there's loads of different ways you can do that, picking up the phone, contacting directors on LinkedIn.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: I know people have had success from doing little videos about themselves and sending them to firms, but you've got to follow a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely love that advice without a shadow of a doubt.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, one thing I always say, and again, I like the fact that we're talking about graduates here and we're talking about second careerists, okay?
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_03: Second careerists do have that level of experience of work, right?
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_03: A graduate might have been, you know, might not, might have had a summer job, or they might have done a bit here and there, or whatever it might well be.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_03: Love the fact that it's like dig deep on your extracurricular activities.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_03: Do you do any charity work?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_03: How can I bring to life what my degree is and what it's actually taught me?
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_03: Now, one of the most effective and um positive ways of getting yourself out there on social media isn't Instagram.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_03: It's not TikTok when it comes for job opportunities.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: Although I did hire two people who've joined my business through TikTok when I put out that me impersonating Tom Cruise on there.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_03: So, what does that say about recruitment?
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_03: Anyway, it's it's about utilising and using LinkedIn to your advantage, whether you're a grad or whether you are a second careerist.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_03: And what I mean by that, okay, you can grow your network.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_03: LinkedIn is networking on steroids.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_03: So if you're working as a marketer with a completely different profession, right?
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_03: But you want to get into the financial planning profession, here's what you do: you connect with and follow financial planning firms that are within your location, financial planning firms that are putting content out.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_03: Search hashtag financial planning.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_03: Search hashtag financial advice.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_03: Look at the individuals who are constantly putting content out there.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: Start liking that content and start commenting on that content.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_03: Now, the reason you do that is because the more you do it, the more content you see is relevant to financial planning and the career that you want to get into.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_03: But also as well, if you are comment on it and you are following it, you are going to be seen by the hiring managers within those firms.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_03: And if you're showing an interest and you're commenting with interesting comments, right, and be confident here, put some interesting comments, ask you'd like to know more, go at it from a client perspective, whatever it might well be.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_03: The more you interact, the more you're going to be seen by those companies.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_03: And they start to familiarize yourself.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_03: And guess what happens?
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_03: People start coming out of the woodwork.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, hello.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_03: You're interested in the profession.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_03: Would you like to get stuck in?
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_03: Would you like a conversation with me?
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_03: I've seen so many people, second careerists, that are coming in their way.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_03: I've gotten with them really, really well.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_03: Next thing you know, I've put them across to MNG and they're on the MNG Academy.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_03: They had no idea there was an academy or route going into St.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_03: James's Place or MNG.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_03: But also the handful of companies that we work with that are IFA that have got some fantastic trainee routes, but they look for a specific type of individual with a specific type of background, and uh we were able to connect them in the right way.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_03: So my advice is use LinkedIn to your advantage, right?
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_03: You will be seen, you're seen by the content you follow, the content that you like.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_03: So get on Financial Planner Live, follow my articles.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_03: You can sign up to the newsletter, right?
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_03: Because 99% of the people that follow that are actually either interested in financial planning or are within the financial planning profession.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_03: Comment on my posts, comment on the the company page that we've got, follow Recruit UK, follow individual financial advisors that are influencers within that space.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_03: And I guarantee you, because if you put yourself out there, right, you you put yourself out there, we're gonna get all manifesty here, aren't you?
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I can see it coming.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we're gonna get all manifesty here, right?
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, if you genuinely believe that you're gonna become a financial advisor, if you genuinely believe that that's a career for you, right?
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_03: A, believe it and trust that the universe is gonna provide that.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_03: But sure as shit, mate, it ain't gonna land on your lap.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_03: You have to get out there and find those opportunities.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_03: And you do that by putting yourself out there on the comments, on the likes, following companies, sending messages.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_03: My final piece of advice on this, right?
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_03: You've got no experience, right?
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_03: You've gone to recruiters and they're batting you back.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_03: Understandably, you understand why now, right?
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_03: Simple as this take a spreadsheet, go on to Google, list the companies that are interesting to you within your local area.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_03: Google Business, if they're worth their weight in gold, they'll be on there.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_03: Put all those companies on that list, go onto their websites, grade them out of one to five of companies you're interested in, take down some email addresses and take down some telephone numbers.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_03: Go on to LinkedIn, cross-reference that, start following, start liking, start connecting, start asking.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_03: Start asking, can I come and see you?
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_03: Can I come into your business to shadow a financial advisor?
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_03: Can I um possibly take 15 minutes of your time to ask you some questions?
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_03: I promise you this, right?
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_03: You will get a positive response from these individuals, and you'll get a way bigger positive response if you go at them with some knowledge, not tell me everything.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know anything.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_03: Go in there with I've listened to the Financial Planner Live podcast and I thought you were a really interesting guest.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_03: I liked it when you talked about the trainee route within your business.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_03: And I was hoping I could talk to you in a bit more detail.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_03: It could be that you've seen on their website, there could be some news articles, new model advisor, the FT, whatever it might well be.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_03: Don't go in there without anything that shows that you have a genuine interest in the profession, whether that's a news article, whatever it is, go in there with something that's gonna get a reaction and that shows that you have taken time and energy into understanding what the role is and what the profession is all about.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_03: If you do that, you are not doubling your chances, you are quadrupling your chances of having a face-to-face interview.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_03: Do that 20 times, right?
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_03: You do that to 20 companies, half of those companies come back to you, right?
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_03: 50% success rate.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_03: Fantastic.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, 50% of them come back to you.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_03: Let's say 5% of them bring you in to meet face-to-face.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_03: And let's say that half of those have actually got a job opportunity.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_03: 20 calls, it all goes down to the fact that there's two job opportunities, 50-50 chance of getting one.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_03: Make shit happen, do it.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_03: You are the one that has to do it.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_03: Whenever I've given that advice to somebody, right, and I give that advice for free, as I'm giving it to you now, okay.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_03: When I give that advice to people, the amount of emails I get back from the proactive ones banking me, so much so that I think I need to package this up and start charging for this advice, right?
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_03: That advice isn't advisable for if you're in the profession, by the way, because unless you know the company, you know the opportunity, I wouldn't advise that because really your job search needs to be um targeted and also as well, it needs to be managed, feedback needs to be managed, emotions need to be managed, negotiations around salaries, etc., need to be managed.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_03: It doesn't work for you guys, but it can work, and don't get me wrong, it probably has worked, right?
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_03: And you can do it yourself.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_03: However, are you gonna get the best based on your knowledge of what the market is actually like?
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_03: The rest of you, second careerists, graduates, be proactive.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: Proactive.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: And one side note, and I would put be authentically yourself, whatever, whether you're experienced or non-experienced, you know, within this industry, we are sales, a lot of it is a sales element.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: People buy into people.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: The amount of times I speak with clients and they're there, like experience is one thing, but attitude and attributes are another.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: So be authentically yourself because, especially as a you know, second careerist graduate without experience, being authentically yourself and showing that passion, that drive, your determination, because you have to have that to be proactive, that will land you in front of the right people.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_03: And make sure that your digital footprint is clean, right?
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_03: Because sometimes we'll search somebody if they apply for a job, up comes a Facebook profile picture.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_03: I once had a young lad with his tongue out with an ecstasy tablet on the tongue.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite, my favourite was financial advisor here for a long time, not here for a good time, not a long time, which as a financial advisor actually makes no sense.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think um digital footprint-wise, that includes your WhatsApp picture.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um because recruiters like myself are use a WhatsApp to message people, but also you never know, people might add your number, a hiring manager, and then go to WhatsApp view.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: And if you've got a picture of you sat there with your mates in the club on a Saturday night, like fair enough, but it might not fit their culture.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: They might go, oh no, we don't want that, that's not part of us.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: So just be conscious of your WhatsApp picture because we've seen some interesting ones.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_03: And we, you know, and again, as recruiting consultants, it was it's within our interest to feed that back and to do the digging and the research when it comes to digital footprints prior to you going out to market and looking for that job opportunity.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_03: But the ones that don't have that opportunity to perhaps work with a recruitment consultant will miss out on that.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_03: So you need to self-regulate yourself, you need to do a bit of compliance, a bit of due diligence.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_03: What do I look like?
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_03: How do I sound?
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_03: Is it time to make my Instagram private?
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_03: Big one, probably.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, because unfortunately, well, not unfortunately, for deep forensics on the internet is all part now of the recruitment process, and it's been plenty of job offers taken off of the table or interviews not even being arranged because of some pretty dodgy pictures and comments and articles.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_03: So, what does your digital footprint say about you?
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_03: Now, I'm hope that you found that uh interesting because are you where you are?
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_03: Are you where you want to be?
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_03: Leading to I'm not, now I'm gonna look for job opportunities.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_03: There's still things to think about, there's still things to put your best foot forward to get the best job opportunity that you can possibly get.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_03: Now, in the next episode, right?
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_03: You've gone out to the market, you have secured yourself some job interviews.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, this is where we shine, and this is what we're gonna do.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna talk to you about the interview process, what to expect, and how to put your best foot forward, and why working with recruiters such as these lovely ladies is gonna secure you your dream job with the right salary and the right career progression, and ultimately a happy and peaceful life.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_03: Cheers!