Banking may be about numbers, but it’s definitely a people first business.
That means our Financial Advisors are at the very heart of our customer relationships. Helping customers and their families to financially plan for the big (and small) milestones of their lives is highly rewarding. Whether that’s buying their first home, becoming debt-free, saving for their children’s education or planning retirement, a Financial Advisor is a valued partner who helps their customers achieve their goals and dreams.
This is a dynamic role that combines it all – planning, advice and service with a deep human touch, tailored to each customer. From students to retirees, newcomers to multi-generational Canadian families, no two days are the same, making for an interesting and challenging career.
To learn more about this role, we spoke with three of our Financial Advisors, each with unique journeys and perspectives to share:
- Samantha, a Financial Advisor who joined us shortly after graduating University
- Armando, a seasoned Senior Financial Advisor who recently joined Scotiabank
- Renita, a Financial Advisor, Investment and Retirement Planning - a long-time Scotiabanker who immigrated to Canada early in her career and advanced through the Financial Advisor career path.
What makes a career as a Financial Advisor so rewarding to you?
Samantha: “My customers! I love when they walk out of my office with a smile on their face. It makes me feel like I did my job right and put their needs first before anything else.”
Armando: “It brings me a lot of satisfaction to develop strong relationships with my customers and to help them achieve their financial goals. It’s one thing to set up goals, and quite another to share in their life journey with them. Whether I’m helping them buy their first home, seeing their kids go off to school, or enjoying retirement, it’s an amazing feeling to know that I’ve helped play a part in that customer achieving their goal because of advice I have provided.”
Renita: “What I love the most about my job is working with unique customer circumstances everyday and bringing my experience and knowledge to each meeting. There is gratification in knowing that I could support the customer to navigate critical financial options and help them get ahead in their journey. I’ve met customers from different stages of life, some just starting a career and others approaching retirement; some with inadequate credit history and others with dreams to own a home. The ‘thank you notes’ I get when they reach financial milestones or feel the impact of little but important changes we made to their financial plan are really rewarding. I also love the team buzz in the office and sharing of ideas and learning from each other at work.”
What interested you about becoming a Financial Advisor? Has it changed over time?
Samantha: “The thing that always drew me towards this role is that my everyday routine is never the same, and I get to put a smile on someone’s face. This has never changed.”
Armando: “I was originally interested in the Financial Advisor role to work with more complex investments and financial planning. I have always enjoyed the investment conversation with customers and helping them save towards their goals. It really hasn’t changed over time; it’s something I have appreciated throughout my career as an Advisor.”
Renita: “The Financial Advisor role is a great opportunity to understand the different departments within retail banking and specialize in your area of choice. Given my experience, I thought it was a good starting point. My learning curve was shorter because of my overseas banking experience, and I found it easy to adapt to the role. It turned out to be a great fit for me. I feel passionately about what I do and would still choose to specialize in my area.”
Why did you decide to join Scotiabank?
Samantha: “I joined Scotiabank because it was the first bank I ever banked with, and I had a great experience as a customer. I wanted to know what it was like on the other side, providing that excellent customer service.”
Armando: “The Scotiabank Recruitment team reached out and asked if I was interested in moving my career here. The Recruiter sparked my interest in learning more about Scotiabank, so I contacted a previous manager who was now a Senior Manager here. She shared more about the company and its values along with her experience. I came to realize that Scotia would be the right fit to advance my career. What stood out were Scotiabank values; every bank tries to put customers first but not every bank is committed to investing in their employees. Here at Scotia I feel they are just as committed to the customer as they are to the development and success of their employees.”
Renita: “As a newcomer to Canada, I was looking for guidance to integrate into the Canadian workforce and happened to join an Immigrant settlement services program. I was fortunate to complete an induction to learn about the big five banks. Around the same time, a friend introduced me to one of the Financial Advisors at Scotia. He asked me to forward my resume. I received an interview call in the next two days and was given an offer to join after my panel interview. I was impressed with the speed of the interview process and also the warmth I received during the process. I accepted the offer and am very happy to still be with Scotia today.”
What was your career path to your current role?
Samantha: “Early on I was working part-time in retail and had initially wanted to become a general manager of a store. During my undergrad I worked as a Teller and became a Financial Advisor after I graduated. The transition was quite smooth as I was familiar with the service side. I was very lucky to have landed a full-time position because all of this happened during the pandemic.”
Armando: “I started my career in banking part time during my first year of university. I worked as a Teller for a couple years and enjoyed the day-to-day interactions with customers. I was interested in learning more about investments and borrowing so I began to job shadow the Financial Advisors. I later moved into an Advisor role and was successful. Afterwards, I moved into a people manager role but came to realize that my passion was working one-on-one with customers as opposed to managing a team.”
Renita: “I started my corporate life in India right after my post graduation. I had my MBA and started at a large private bank. Almost a year after landing that job, I got married and our family moved to Dubai. I worked there for 11 years in the field of investments. We decided to immigrate to Canada and reunite with our siblings in North America. We landed in Ontario and have not looked back!
I started my Scotia journey as a Financial Advisor Trainee 5 years ago. I still remember my first day. My colleagues were extremely warm and welcoming. I felt like I belonged to a loving and caring team. I was training in Burlington for the first few months and then requested to be posted closer to home in Mississauga. Management was kind enough to accommodate that.
The initial months were a big learning opportunity to get to know Canadian banking. With the help of supportive managers and colleagues who were willing to share their knowledge and coach me, I was able to overachieve the objectives of the role. I moved to a Senior Advisor role within 1.5 years. In 2019 the Elevate program was launched. We were thrilled to know that we could grow into senior roles while remaining at the same location and working with the same set of customers. In 2021 I cleared all of the milestones and certifications and was promoted to the Investment and Retirement Planning role.”
How has your experience been at Scotiabank? Why do you choose to stay?
Samantha: “There is an open-door policy like no other. I truly believe that when you can speak to anyone without a sense of fear or retribution, you are in a place where you can really flourish.
Scotiabank has an endless supply of tools and resources to help employees grow. For starters, the Elevate program not only provides the means for promotion, but our customers can continue to see us. They don’t have to worry about sitting in that same chair again after a year and getting to know a new face. This helps with customer retention. In addition, the courses we take and the tools we receive equip us to become Financial Planners while we are Financial Advisors.”
Armando: “I’ve been with Scotiabank for about four months and the training programs and support have been outstanding. It’s a very open and inclusive culture, and this is so important to me when considering an employer. Everyone is unique in their own way and deserves to be treated with respect. Scotia is very committed to the development and wellbeing of their employees, and they offer great workplace programs and benefits. I’ve even had one-on-one career development talks with my District Vice President.
When you stand back and look at the expansion of Scotiabank globally, we are differentiating ourselves from the rest of the banks. Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that journey?!”
Renita: “I appreciate the work-life balance and focus on inclusion at Scotiabank. The guidance has always been to bring your best to work and not on sales push or products. I also think the compensation and benefits are one of the best in the market. I’ve had extremely supportive managers and been presented with many opportunities to know other teams and share ideas.”
What do you think that someone considering a career as a Financial Advisor should know?
Samantha: “If you enjoy working in a culture that supports personal growth and relationship building, then this role is for you. Creating a positive customer experience is one thing, but developing a long-standing relationship and trust is something else, and the Advisors here at Scotiabank are instilled with that morale.”
Armando: “There are a couple of things that potential colleagues should know when considering a career as a Financial Advisor. This is a relationship management role. You have to build strong relationships with your customers and earn their trust. Once you have earned their trust your advice becomes more impactful. The other important quality for a Financial Advisor is to be results-driven.
From the perspective of an external hire into the Senior Financial Advisor Trainee role, I would recommend the Financial Advisor Career path with Scotiabank. They have excellent training and development programs for Advisors - the support is at your fingertips. Coming from the competition I can confidently share the Scotiabank difference: they are committed to the success of their people.”
Renita: “I have personally experienced a good work culture, great guidance from managers, and a clear career progression path at Scotiabank. I place a lot of importance on work-life balance, team environment, and opportunities to perform to your best and I found it all in this role at Scotia. We are a dynamic team, and we are growing.”
Interested in joining our team? Take a look at our open opportunities here.