A financial advisor can be the provider of a service or be the provider of guidance to people that want to invest money. Financial advisors take their education, research, and experience to advise investors on how to get the goals they want. These transactions can be savings, budgets, insurance, tax strategies, and financial investments.

When is a good time for a recent college graduate to start a financial advisory career?  There are different styles of financial advisor education, but some do not get very specific on the needs for each client.  There is also the fact that advisors want to invest with little risk and just without experience the risk from a new graduate as an advisor increases. 

• Financial Advisor Type

Recent graduates need to look at the courses they took and decide if they are a specific type of financial advisor goal in college or was it generalized. The current employment may not be for the major from college because there are different careers in financial advisors, such as planning advisors to investment advisors. Some advise on business development and others advise on client service of current clients or looking for new clients. These are different advisors and so are choosing their different investments.

• Speak Honestly

Clients admire honesty, but they also want to see the truth, good or bad. It is more difficult to speak honestly about the lack of experience when it comes to advising with little experience, so show the work. Show how the information that is being proposed is put together, with the calculations, sources, and any references that will make them more comfortable.

• Don’t Over Think

It is difficult to trust your new capabilities and education without having seen any results. That is not a reason to over-analyze everything that is done. If a client has come to a new advisor, they are looking for something different, so take some chances and present them and then show them more secure ones too so they know of both capabilities. Show confidence.

• Listen to the Client

Clients know what they want and it is difficult to stop and listen once there is an idea or strategy in mind. However, clients may have their own set goals and may know how they want to get them. Don’t try to persuade them to something else, just listen and present to them what they want and follow their traditions. Some have been investing for years and are not up for a change from an entrepreneur. 

• Proof Reader

Have someone that is a fellow advisor look over the first few proposals. Check to make sure that needed information is not forgotten or that it may need to be specified better. There is a lot to remember in the beginning and until a template and habit are created, it is easy to forget or move so quickly it is thought to be included and isn’t.

• Invest

As soon as possible, make some investments for yourself. These investments will allow confidence to be built up for yourself and give some presentation information. It will give experience in how to accept, present, and make changes to investments with the knowledge of what the client is expecting.

• Support

Develop a support team until you feel the desired confidence. Find other new flourishing advisors or even other college graduates in other fields that are just starting in their majors that also would like to talk. Knowing others are also working longer and harder, are also willing to listen, and will help to sort things out in your mind and give the self-assurance.

• Achievements

For each successful piece of advice achieved, make a mark of it and keep it as a trophy. Add it to a resume or portfolio and celebrate. These will help self-confidence levels and with new clients. Use these reminders of successes when feeling in a rut, and also give bragging rights with proof. You need to be driven by success, not dollar-driven.

• Breaks

Don’t feel that because it’s the first year that breaks and vacations from work are not allowed. The mind needs time to refresh, and a break can help to look at things differently. Some time off away from repetition to change can stimulate insights on investments, strategies, and even social perspectives.

• People Not Numbers

When people hear the title Financial Advisor, they think of an investor or number cruncher. However, financial advisors spend more or at least as much time with people as they do with the number crunching. Listen to the customers and their stories, strategies, goals, and keep track. Make it a long-term relationship by showing interest in them, not just their money and investments.

• Problem Solver

Be prepared to be more than a financial advisor to some clients. Some clients come to an advisor after they have a problem and want it fixed. However, that problem may not have a direct impact on the finances. It may be some kind of addiction, trauma, or communication problem that caused poor investments or decisions. Now they want help with that and the money invested because of it.

• Mentor

Find a successful financial advisor for mentorship as soon as you can. They have the experience, suggestions, and are willing to look over what practices are being suggested before they are suggested to new clients. They know how to develop deep relationships with clients and have priceless pointers that are better to know early than to gain later.

Starting Your Fulfilling Career

There isn’t one specific type of Financial Advisor in today’s financial settings. There also are many ways to invest, so taking the time to decide how to become a financial advisor and what to do for the first year can seem very difficult. However, with the right strategies, practices, and both time and financial investments, it can be a promising, enlightening, fulfilling career that doesn’t become stagnant.