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      Financial Advisor Trainee Interview

      Oct 26, 2010
      Anonymous employee
      Accepted offer
      Neutral experience
      Easy interview

      Application

      The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Merrill in Oct 2010

      Interview

      I found the job posting on the Bank of America website, and I applied through their portal. The application was simple enough with very generic questions. About 1 week later I received a phone call from the Resident Director's Assistant in my town. He invited me to take an aptitude test, referred to as the FIAT test. The test was 55 questions and covered basic math (i.e. divide and multiply simple fractions) and some general economic theory (i.e., if government spending increased, what would you expect to happen to GNP?). All 55 questions were formatted in multiple choice. After the test was complete I was given some background investigation forms to fill out. It took longer to fill out the forms than to take the test. I returned the completed forms to the RD Assistant and he informed me that I passed the FIAT test. Two days later I received an email link to a personality test (which turned out to include some very standard questions). Not more than 15 minutes after I submitted my results for the personality test I received a call from the RD Assistant. I was asked to come in for an interview with the Resident Director. This is where it got strange. My interview with the RD lasted for about 6 minutes with him, and about 45 minutes alone with a Financial Advisor. The 6 minutes with the RD was uneventful, and all I did was talk about myself. The 45 minutes with the FA, however, I liked. The guy I was talking to had only been and FA for about 2 years, and was nearing the end of his training program. He seemed to enjoy the job very much, but made no attempt to hide the tough parts. I was able to ask him questions that I wouldn't have felt comfortable asking the Director (work/life balance, flexible schedules, time off, and of course we talked about pay). When I sat back down with the Director he asked me one question only. "Do you still want the job?" I was still there wasn't I? The he said I should call his assistant during the following week to proceed in the process. I called the following week and said I was ready to proceed in the process. Initially, I was told that hiring would not take place for about 2 months. The following week I was informed that I should be ready to start in 2 weeks. The RD Assistant asked what my salary expectations were and I spat out a number, he countered with a lower number and we settled in the middle. In retrospect, I should have held firm to my original number.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      Do you still want the job?
      1 Answer
      4

      Other Financial Advisor Trainee Interview Reviews for Merrill

      Financial Advisor Trainee Interview

      Apr 3, 2023
      Anonymous employee
      San Mateo, CA
      Accepted offer
      Positive experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I interviewed at Merrill (San Mateo, CA)

      Interview

      Easy process, 3 round interview. Aptitude test based like logical reasoning questions. Easy interview with hiring manager. General questions, asked about career goals and aspirations. Overall it was a good interview.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      How will you use connections to build book of business?
      Answer question

      Financial Advisor Trainee Interview

      Aug 19, 2022
      Anonymous employee
      Accepted offer
      Neutral experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I interviewed at Merrill

      Interview

      I was interviewed by one senior advisor and the market executive. They played good cop bad cop. One said I was under qualified and the other laid out the job description as if I had already been given an offer.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      Why do you think you would make a good advisor?
      Answer question

      Financial Advisor Trainee Interview

      Nov 8, 2022
      Anonymous Interview Candidate
      Palmdale, CA
      No offer
      Negative experience
      Easy interview

      Application

      I applied online. I interviewed at Merrill (Palmdale, CA) in Aug 2022

      Interview

      Preliminary recruiter treated me like a number with “the opportunity” to interview for the role. Once I passed to the next step, the actual manager spoke of how he treated his own employees when a customer would personally attack the employees. He said there is always a reason the customer is dissatisfied. I disagreed and said I didn’t want to work under a company that threw its employees under the bus for the sake of appeasing a customer

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      Can you relate a time when you went above and beyond to deliver maximum service to the client. What did you do and what was the outcome?
      Answer question

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