What you should find is that there are many unexplored opportunities in your workplace, in your business, in your career and in your personal life.

Here’s how it works:

1. Set aside 10 minutes–no interruptions, no distractions.
2. Grab a piece of paper and a pen.  Make a list of all of the things you can do with only what you have–your intellect and abilities, your finances, your time, your interests and talents, your education and experience, your personal and professional networks and your personal support structure (friends, family, others).
3. Don’t edit the list!
4. Just write for 10 minutes without interruption.
5. Let it sink in…YOU HAVE LOTS OF POSSIBILITIES…YOU CAN DO TONS WITH WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE.

I’ll be back with with my answers, and some from my coaching clients.

Career Question: What Can You Do With What You Have Now? is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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Also Known As: Financial Analyst, Financial Adviser (Advisor), Financial Consultant, Financial Planner, Investment Consultant or Wealth Manager
What is a Financial Planner?

A Financial Planner is an adviser that helps clients figure out how to best invest their money in order to achieve their financial goals.

What does a Financial Planner do?

Financial Planners help their clients determine the right mix of investments that will yield enough of a return to allow the client to achieve whatever goals s/he has set.  For example, some clients want to retire early, or just comfortably.  Others want to go to graduate school or pay for their children’s college educations.  Still others just want to protect their savings while letting their money work for them, not just the bank.

Financial Planners gather their clients’ financial information, help them clarify their life goals, examines the clients’ financial status and tells the clients’ what they will need to do in order to achieve their goals.

Financial Planners may look at all of their clients’ needs–from budgeting and saving, taxes, investments and insurance and retirement planning.  Or, they may specialize on a particular area of planning, say estate planning for the super-rich or retirement planning.

In addition to advice, some financial planners can provide financial statement preparation and analysis, investment planning, tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning, education planning, and risk management services. Others may only be able to recommend a limited number of investment products, i.e. stock brokers and insurance representatives.

For whom might a Financial Planner work?

Financial Planners may work for investment firms, financial services firms, banks, insurance companies, or stock brokerages such as Prudential Financial, Citibank, Ameriprise and Edward Jones.  They may also work independently or with partners in a private practice.

How much does a Financial Planner earn?

Ultimately, Financial Planners are salespersons.  Their product just happens to be financial advice.

New Financial Planners earn an median salary of $47,000 per year, while better than average salespeople may earn up to $65,000 in their first year.  If you add bonuses, which most financial advisory firms offer, your pay could inch up a as much as $8,000 per year.  Of course, this assumes that you hold basic certifications (series 6, 7, 63, at least).

More experienced (3 years), certified (ChFP) Financial Planners earn an average of $58,000 per year, or up to $80,000.  Edward Jones, a leading financial advisory firm, estimates that I might earn $108,000 in my first year, if I meet my sales goals.

Financial Planners are typically paid in one or more of the following ways:

• • An hourly fee ($150 to $300 per hour for basic financial planning)
  • A flat fee ($1500-$5000 per year)
  • A commission on the investment products they sell you (average is 39% of sales)
  • A percentage of the value of the assets they manage for you (This is called the Assets Under Management model and usually amounts to 1-1.5% of the total value of the assets being managed)
  • A combination of fees and commissions.

They may receive additional compensation or financial incentives based on the products they sell.

Ultimately, the financial planner career is a sales career.  And, like other sales careers, your income depends on your effectiveness as a salesperson.  The bad side of this is that if you aren’t a great sales person, or you simply have a slow month, your pay will plummet.  But, the good side is that if you sell enough and land enough good clients, you don’t have to sell every day for the rest of your days; you will receive residual income from invested assets or your flat fee, and your clients will refer you to friends and family.

Search for more salary information

To break in, you’ll need…

There are many practitioners who may call themselves financial planners–from debt counselors to accountants to benefits administrators.  A college degree is not required, though most financial planners earn one, and most larger financial services firms require one.

To get around the degree requirement, you can pass the NASD exams on your own.  This will impress potential employers because usually the first year or more of a new financial planner’s career is dedicated to studying for and passing the series 6, 7, 63 and other exams while shadowing a more experienced financial planner.  Employers usually pay for the on-the-job training, the test fees and the study time.
Another way around the college degree requirement is to take an entry-level job as a stock broker or an insurance agent.  In both these positions the firms for whom you work will provide you with training and help you study for the appropriate exams.

The final work-around is to establish yourself as a top salesperson in another field then switch to financial planning.  If you have a great rapport with people, top selling skills, a rolodex of potential clients and a good reputation, you are the perfect catch for a financial advisory firm looking to recruit career changers.

While a college degree is not required, it is advisable to earn one, if for no other reason than to create credibility.  Clients want to know that they are entrusting their hard-earned money to someone who is learned enough to do the research and formulate an investment plan that won’t squander their life savings.

Having a college degree can also help you to better understand all of the legalese and economic and financial terms and instruments with which you will have to deal.  And, if you plan to specialize in wealth management, it may pay to have a deep understanding of foreign economies, government regulation and taxation.

Many financial planners begin their careers as accountants and analysts, jobs that require a degree in economics or accounting.

Most clients want to know that you are registered with NASD, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or a state insurance or securities regulator.  Most financial planners need to register as investment advisers, investment adviser representatives or brokers (registered representatives). Others may only be licensed to sell insurance.

There are actually 25 certifications, each with different education and experience requirements, for financial planners.  At a minimum, you will need to complete a few distance learning courses, agree to abide by a code of ethics, take at a least one exam and gain work experience.

What about this career do(es)n’t suck?

Financial Planning scores well on the WorkYourWay Index based on its high earnings potential, paid training, flexible work arrangements and the growing demand for financial planners, especially those who can help Boomers and new tech millionaires to make the most of their fortunes.  This career also scores well for its potential to help people achieve their personal financial goals, a very satisfying bit.  Finally, the financial planning career suffers a few deductions for its low earnings potential (sales jobs can be feast or famine), and the stress that may create.  Ultimately, the financial planner career earns a score of 76%!
Who might love this career?

• Anyone with a knack for sales
• Anyone who wants the opportunity for uncapped earnings (you can earn as much as you can sell)
• Anyone who wants to work for him/herself but be connected to a big company
• Anyone who wants to help people realize their personal goals

To find current openings…

financial planner jobs

Need more information?

• Journal of Financial Planning
• NASD
• Edward Jones

Search for other career profiles

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Career Profile: Financial Planner is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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What is it?

A Human Resources Director is someone who is responsible for managing a company’s personnel functions or department. This might include benefits, leaves of absence, payroll, employee relations, recruiting, policies, management training, performance management and strategic planning.

A Human Resources Director is generally a mid-level or higher-level manager who supervises a staff and leads the human resources or personnel function for a business unit (either a geographic region or a division of the business–Retail or Government Sales, for example).

The Human Resources Director position is usually one step below a Vice President of Human Resources, though some companies may have positions titled Sr. Director of HR or Executive Director or Divisional Director of HR.

What does a Human Resources Director do?

A Human Resources Director works closely with managers of other departments to help them manage all things related to supervising their departments’ staff. This includes helping managers to recruit, hire, train, resolve conflicts, decide upon disciplinary action, develop leaders and build skills in preparation for promotion.
The best way to fully describe what a Human Resources Director does is to divide their responsibilities into categories.

• Strategic Planning -Working with management and executives to figure out what might and should happen when the company makes changes in the way they operate. For example, if the company is going to expand into a new state, the HR Director would help executives figure out how many new employees the company might need, what type of employees they might need to hire, which employees should be transferred to the new locations to help with the transition and what types of training those employees might need in order to make the transition.

• Compliance -The HR Director ensures that companies comply with employment laws. For example, making sure that all managers are trained on anti-discrimination laws and that managers don’t do or say things that violate state or federal employment laws.

• Policies & Procedures -The HR Director advises managers on policies and procedures to make sure that they understand the policies and that they are following them. Some HR Director’s write policies and procedures, others help revise them when the company changes something about the way they operate. Finally, the HR Director makes sure that policies comply with the law.

• Recruiting, Hiring & Staffing -HR Directors help managers to recruit new employees by helping with writing job specs, figuring out where to post the ads (a newspaper or online?), figuring out what other companies might have employees that might fit into their company, creating interviewing guides or questionnaires, supervising a team of recruiters to source candidates and/or conducting the actual interviews and making the offers.

• Employee Relations -HR Directors advise managers on how to deal with difficult employees, how to get the best performance out of their staffs and how to evaluate staff performance. HR Directors are also available to employees who want help with resolving issues between other employees and management, or with balancing their personal lives with their work demands.

• Supervision -As above, HR Directors usually supervise a staff comprised of any or all the following: HR generalists (HR professionals who do a little bit of every one of the HR functions), payroll and benefits, compliance and employee relations specialists, trainers, administrative staff and recruiters.

• Training & Development -HR Directors develop or facilitate training on basic to advanced management or leadership skills, job- , technology- or product- related information, company policy and procedure, performance management, employment law, etc.

• Workplace environment, Culture & Communication -HR Directors are responsible for ensuring that the workplace is a safe, comfortable environment where all workers have an opportunity to earn a living and achieve career goals. What this means is that the HR Director ensures that policies are in place, that management communicates changes that might affect employees in a way that doesn’t cause panic and lessens the disruption and is in keeping with what the company claims is its values and mission. HR Directors write a lot of the emails and newsletters and notices that go out to employees, or they help the managers with that. They are available to employees who have questions about the way the company works.

Who might like this job?

• Anyone who likes to work with issues related to people and to getting work done through people

• Anyone who has an aptitude for dealing with interpersonal issues, who can “see” and communicate resolutions to complex problems

• Anyone who enjoys training others and can communicate complex concepts to people of all backgrounds and levels (within the staffing hierarchy)

• Anyone who is a good communicator–both in writing and verbally

• Note: Human Resources is not a “touchy-feely” job where HR professionals are in it for the love of people. The truth is that if you’re not careful you can end up hating people because in your role you will see most people at their worst (when they’re complaining, unhappy or stressed out).

What does this pay?

• Entry-level—first-time HR Director, BA degree–$60k-$70k
• Mid-level—3-5 years experience, BA degree–$80k-$117k
• Sr. level—more than 5 years, MA–$120k-$175k
• Executive–10-15 years, MA or above–$200k+
• Note: You can earn more by becoming certified as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)

To break in you’ll need…

In general, you’ll need at least a Bachelors degree. The major isn’t that important if you have a fair amount of experience (5 years on average). If you are newly starting out in HR, employers generally prefer that you have a BA degree in human resources or a human resources related major.

If you are trying to make a career change into HR, and you’ve long since earned your degree in History, you can still break in. Getting certified through the recognized credentialing organization. Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) is the most recognized credentialing organization for human resources professionals.

However, there are other certifications for HR specialists in Compensation, Benefits and Work-Life. WorldAtWork is the most recognized certifying organization for these HR professionals.
So,who would you work for?

HR Directors work for employers in every industry, in businesses large and small, all over the world. Most HR Directors work for non-profit and for-profit businesses that have anywhere from one to hundreds of thousands of employees. There are also HR Directors who work as independent consultants brought into businesses to work on specific personnel-related issues. Finally, there are HR Directors who don’t work inside a typical business environment; Instead, they work for outsourcing or consulting companies that employ only HR professionals and contract their services out to typical businesses.

To find current openings…

HRLadder.com -Professional HR jobs with salaries of $100k+
Shrm.org -The Society for Human Resources Management is the largest human resources organization and a clearinghouse of human resources information

Pihra.org -Professionals in Human Resources Association, the HR organization for the majority of California HR professionals

More information?

SHRM is the most popular human resources website and the largest HR association in the US. Check out SHRM’s HR Career Guide.

YourHRBusinesspartner.com is an online information resource for HR professionals working in small businesses, and small business owners who are acting as their own human resources department

Other Info Sources:

Opportunities in Human Resource Management Careers

Real-Resumes for Human Resources and Personnel Jobs: Including Real Resumes Used to Change Careers and Transfer Skills to Other Industries (Real-Resumes Series)

What about this career doesn’t suck?

• Being in a position that allows you to work closely with managers and employees of all levels to figure out the best way to get work done through people and to help the company get its employees behind its goals.

• Since we all gotta work, it’s great to be in a position to influence whether or not a person has a good work environment and the opportunity to earn a living and grow their careers. You’ll also be able to help people balance work with the demands of home, provide benefits that help people to take care of their families.

• Finally, if you have a gift for working with people or working through conflict or arriving at compromise, you’ll get your fill here.

WorkYourWay Index:

This job scored 78% on our WorkYourWay Index. The HR Director job scores well for flexible scheduling, relatively high pay, work-life balance, good work environment, path to top jobs, barriers to entry and job growth (growing rapidly). The job loses points for some stress related to dealing with lots of employee “problems”, for the fact that the path to the top can be blocked by degree requirements and by working for employers that don’t invest in employee-related programs.

Still want more?

Ask Miss Cellanea, our career expert, for help with career planning, specific questions on HR careers (She is a senior HR professional).

Careers That Don’t Suck Profile: Human Resources Director is a post from: Careersthatdontsuck.com

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