Planning for Your Success

Plan ahead but be flexible. Sometimes, maximizing growth in your current role is the right development goal. But, often, moving across areas to other divisions, departments and roles will open new doors for your career. Be open to those moves — especially if you’re feeling comfortable in your current role. This is a sign that it’s time to stretch. Career growth is almost never in the straight line we envision.

With a target area or role in mind, examine your current skills and experience. What experiences and strengths do you already have? What do you need to learn?

A variety of self-assessments on topics such as emotional intelligence, networking, inclusiveness, active listening and the Edward Jones Competencies are available in the Development Library (for home office associates) and on JonesLink (for those of you in the field). Search for “assessment” and review the options for learning more about yourself.

Learn about branches and all of the firm’s divisions — how they work separately and together, and where your work connects. Are there particular divisions you may want to move into? Are you interested in exploring branch team roles? Look at open roles posted on this site. Consider the skills and experience required and begin developing in the direction you would like to go.

Explore what’s possible

Hiring leaders look for people with specific skills and experience that enable them to hit the ground running in a new role. Look at current job postings that interest you. What skills do you already have that are similar to the skills required? How might you talk about those skills in an interview? What universal skills, such as communication or presentation skills, do you have that any hiring leader would value?

Once you’ve identified the skills and experiences you need to grow, build your development plan around them. Work with your leader to identify stretch opportunities to help you grow your knowledge and skills. We expect our leaders to support you in achieving your development goals — so don’t be shy about asking for help.

“Many of our home-office associates start in one division and move to another. We encourage it, and we expect our leaders to help identify opportunities for your growth — and support your success with mentoring, coaching and training along the way.”
– Roger Ramchatesingh, Canadian Branch Team Performance

Developing a relationship with a mentor, coach or career sponsor is a great way to experience new perspectives and navigate career growth at the firm. While we have a formal mentoring program, you might already know someone who could mentor you in certain aspects of career growth.

• Learn more about Home Office Mentoring
• Learn more about BOA Mentoring
• Learn more about Financial Advisor Mentoring

“The leaders I have worked for and with over the past seven years have provided me endless opportunities to expand my skillset – and that is how I progressed quickly into leadership. I was provided the right mentors to help me develop, given stretch projects to further enhance my skillset and was provided with candid feedback along the way.”
– Alexandra Marifian, JonesLink

Reflection can be a valuable way to learn about yourself and the types of roles you want to pursue. Consider journaling for a week about what you’ve tried, the skills you master with ease (and enjoy), and the skills that challenge you. Do you see any trends? Can you identify some aspects of work you want to focus on or do more of in a future role? Do you have a “superpower” that sets you apart?