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Best Companies rank: 2
Number of job openings*: 1,040

Advice from Managing Partner Jim Weddle

Why are you hiring now?
There's still a demand for what we do [financial advice]. Right now our market share is only about 2%. But because we are a private company, with about 11,000 limited partners, we can plan long-term. We're going after that other 98% of the market.

What do you look for in new hires?
First and foremost, we want someone who has already been successful, who has that fire in the belly. With new college grads, we look at grades but also at extracurricular activities like sports. At all levels, we want people who can work independently, because each of our advisors works in his or her own branch office. Sales experience is a plus, but it could be any kind of sales from pharmaceuticals to farm equipment, not necessarily financial products.

Are there any "red flags" that would cause you not to hire someone?
Yes. A lot of people only have experience working with a team, and that's okay, but it means you can be a bit of a specialist. We don't want specialists - we want GPs. Also, we don't pay signing bonuses to get people to join us.

Is there anything unusual about the hiring process at Edward Jones?
Well, I would say one unusual thing about us is that the average person who signs on and joins our training program is about 35 years old and is already employed, as an accountant, an engineer, a professor or what-have-you. They are what's called `passive jobseekers.' We prefer them because they have had to give something up to pursue this. Someone who is unemployed and looking for a job probably would not succeed here.


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