is being a personal banker a good career move financially

hahahhahahha, yeah right, maybe when it was wachovia and you could really make money as a SR fs pushing 140k a year, best you can hope for as a personal banker at wells is pretzels and cheese. LMAO>

to FXtrader: why be such a douchebag? it was a simple question, no need for your arrogant and cocky attitude

Hi,
I'm moving from Dallas to Phoenix soon to be with my fiance. I've been the finance director of a Ford dealership the last few years, but want to get out of the car business due to slow business and long hours (about 65 hours per week). I've been making $42,000 plus commission (which is another $1000 or so per month), and that amount of money isn't really enough to make a good living. I've been offered Personal Banker positions at both Chase Bank and Bank of America. I understand the base salary will be much lower but I am curious to see how much I would make in commissions??? I feel like making a little less money may be worth it if I am working only 40 hours/week. How many hours should I expect to work a week??? Does anyone know if Bank of America's commissions are capped at a certain amount??? To be honest, being in the car business has gotten me used to trying to cram products down customer's throats, so I don't really have a problem with that. I'm sure my sales would be great if I took the job, but reading these posts have me thinking that I there just isn't much money in this career choice. I have a few years of sales and finance experience, and got my business degree at Texas Tech. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for me? I'm not sure what bank to work for, if either. Thank you for your input, and sorry about the length of this.

Magicmaker in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania said: Wells Fargo is possibly the worst company I have ever worked for. The base pay is low, and the expectations are absolutely ridiculous. They make it nearly impossible to earn the commissions they promise. There is a good reason they have traning classes once a month - it's a revolving door position. There is absolutely no upside to working here. Management doesn't respect your personal life - They will hire you from M-F, 8-5, with "occasional" nights and weekends. Then once you're stuck they mandate work every Saturday and then spring "call nights" (telemarketing!) until 9pm with no notice. No matter how well you do with sales, they want more blood. If you're happy having no personal life, making low pay, and pushing high-fee accounts down the throats of senior citizens on SSI and high school students, then this is the job for you!

Very well said!

Does anyone know which bank is the best to apply as a personal banker?, Who pays the most and who pays the worst in NJ?

With my little knowledge, your best would be JP Chase (35k+ def below 42k!)before you apply make sure that...

Do not work for Wells Fargo, it is the worst place ever! I worked there before, my life was just too miserable. Never is good enough!!! You do good, they want more, and the way they structure the commission, you can really never get it. You are not human being, you are a machine! Do something else. Plus, for the people still have coscience, do not touch this dirty job.

Wow! I have been selected to attend a group interview next week for Wells Fargo. I have seen many forms about being a PB. It seems like many do not like Wells Fargo. Is there anyone out there that has a good comment to say about Wells Fargo? The phone interview for me was very good! I was talking to a real person! Someone who wanted to find out about me vs passing a test.

I just want to hear some good comments about Wells Fargo. It's easy for someone to post a bad review. Usually, when something goes wrong people post to vent and a target some revenge. Thank you for that information! That is good to know. And I do understand. But before that moment of stress, you had the job for some period of time. What was good? How long did that last? Did you learn some good information? Where you spoiled? Again, I'm feeling good about the thought of becoming a Personal Banker and using this as a tool to move up and advance inside the financial industry. What happened and how did it go bad? Why was it good for you? (at the time LOL!)

La Shawn Thompson in Pasadena, California said: Wow! I have been selected to attend a group interview next week for Wells Fargo. I have seen many forms about being a PB. It seems like many do not like Wells Fargo. Is there anyone out there that has a good comment to say about Wells Fargo? The phone interview for me was very good! I was talking to a real person! Someone who wanted to find out about me vs passing a test.

I just want to hear some good comments about Wells Fargo. It's easy for someone to post a bad review. Usually, when something goes wrong people post to vent and a target some revenge. Thank you for that information! That is good to know. And I do understand. But before that moment of stress, you had the job for some period of time. What was good? How long did that last? Did you learn some good information? Where you spoiled? Again, I'm feeling good about the thought of becoming a Personal Banker and using this as a tool to move up and advance inside the financial industry. What happened and how did it go bad? Why was it good for you? (at the time LOL!)

Wells Fargo is managed by Community Presidents, District Managers, and Store Managers. They have autonomy how they manage their respective stores and many position it relative to execution of the incentive plan.

In some markets, meeting the incentive program is a requirement, while in others it's a goal (big difference). In markets where making the inventive program is a requirement, it's a tough balance between servicing the customer and selling the solutions to existing and new customers. At the end of the day, it's a job. You will get a paycheck for the hours worked - don't expect anything more. If you meet the incentive plans at the highest levels or have a management sponsor, you will have the ability to move up. However, the high pressure metric monitoring continues up the the ladder in many customer facing positions.

I think that all people who complaining about Wells Fargo are just whole bunch of crying babies who doesnt know how to handle a job. Only unsuccessful people complain. Every job has bad moments, but theres a good moments as well. Wells Fargo is great company to work for. Its huge company and u have many many opportunities to move up. Before applying for WellsFargo jobs think clearly what u like to do. If u dont like customer service and sales - just DO NOT apply for such jobs. The ones who enjoys sales do really good. I started as a teller and i became personal banker with 5 months and now im going for assistant branch manager position. Everything within a year!!! Piece of cake.

I think that all people who complaining about Wells Fargo are just whole bunch of crying babies who doesnt know how to handle a job. Only unsuccessful people complain. Every job has bad moments, but theres a good moments as well. Wells Fargo is great company to work for. Its huge company and u have many many opportunities to move up. Before applying for WellsFargo jobs think clearly what u like to do. If u dont like customer service and sales - just DO NOT apply for such jobs. The ones who enjoys sales do really good. I started as a teller and i became personal banker with 5 months and now im going for assistant branch manager position. Everything within a year!!! Piece of cake.

Trigger in Denver, Colorado said: I think that all people who complaining about Wells Fargo are just whole bunch of crying babies who doesnt know how to handle a job. Only unsuccessful people complain. Every job has bad moments, but theres a good moments as well. Wells Fargo is great company to work for. Its huge company and u have many many opportunities to move up. Before applying for WellsFargo jobs think clearly what u like to do. If u dont like customer service and sales - just DO NOT apply for such jobs. The ones who enjoys sales do really good. I started as a teller and i became personal banker with 5 months and now im going for assistant branch manager position. Everything within a year!!! Piece of cake.

Can you give some info on the training for a PB? Do you go ssomewhere for tarining or is the training done in the store where you will be working? Any info on the training would be appreciated!

Trigger,

Are you bi-lingual?

kim08 said: Can you give some info on the training for a PB? Do you go ssomewhere for tarining or is the training done in the store where you will be working? Any info on the training would be appreciated!

Training usually takes place a training facility in your market. The length of training varies.

As Trigger noted, if you are applying for a customer facing position you should be ready for high expectation in sales quotas on a daily basis.

In some branches, you will be more successful on meeting daily solution selling if you are bilingual.

Trigger in Denver, Colorado said: I think that all people who complaining about Wells Fargo are just whole bunch of crying babies who doesnt know how to handle a job. Only unsuccessful people complain. Every job has bad moments, but theres a good moments as well. Wells Fargo is great company to work for. Its huge company and u have many many opportunities to move up. Before applying for WellsFargo jobs think clearly what u like to do. If u dont like customer service and sales - just DO NOT apply for such jobs. The ones who enjoys sales do really good. I started as a teller and i became personal banker with 5 months and now im going for assistant branch manager position. Everything within a year!!! Piece of cake.

Interesting how a person can claim that he/she is being promoted so rapidly without explaining what happen to the people from him/her? Sounds like burn and churn operation.

Magicmaker in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania said: Wells Fargo is possibly the worst company I have ever worked for. The base pay is low, and the expectations are absolutely ridiculous. They make it nearly impossible to earn the commissions they promise. There is a good reason they have traning classes once a month - it's a revolving door position. There is absolutely no upside to working here. Management doesn't respect your personal life - They will hire you from M-F, 8-5, with "occasional" nights and weekends. Then once you're stuck they mandate work every Saturday and then spring "call nights" (telemarketing!) until 9pm with no notice. No matter how well you do with sales, they want more blood. If you're happy having no personal life, making low pay, and pushing high-fee accounts down the throats of senior citizens on SSI and high school students, then this is the job for you!

Do not, I repeat do not work for this company. They are evil, evil evil! A lady that has spent five years working for them, finally got to the point where she would bonus. They walked her out the door, stating that she was gaming ,which is cheating. Then they recanted and stated that she did not give proper attention to her customers and was lacking "benefit" words which are required for sales. This was done so they did not have to pay her the one thousand dollar bonus she was entitled to. They are now monitoring every single call and will harrass you from the time you enter the building to the time you go home about little things you did not do which was expected of you. Then when you finally do go above and beyond and make 9 grand a month for these greedy pigs they fire you and blackball you so you can not get another job where you need to be bonded. Stay far far away from these thugs!

mimi in Berkeley, California said: Do not work for Wells Fargo, it is the worst place ever! I worked there before, my life was just too miserable. Never is good enough!!! You do good, they want more, and the way they structure the commission, you can really never get it. You are not human being, you are a machine! Do something else. Plus, for the people still have coscience, do not touch this dirty job.

I think people are just complainers when it comes to Wells Fargo. Try working at Target like I do. 8.00 an hour (CA minimum wage) while trying to take care of a family and barely affording college. We have a high turnover rate. The hours suck with hours getting cut and working every weekend including holidays. You never stick to your job description because you do everybody else's job plus your own. Still, I don't complain on the job because it only makes it worse. Thankfully I'm going on my second interview with Wells. It's an upgrade for me.

Jeanine in Reno, Nevada said: Do not, I repeat do not work for this company. They are evil, evil evil! A lady that has spent five years working for them, finally got to the point where she would bonus. They walked her out the door, stating that she was gaming ,which is cheating. Then they recanted and stated that she did not give proper attention to her customers and was lacking "benefit" words which are required for sales. This was done so they did not have to pay her the one thousand dollar bonus she was entitled to. They are now monitoring every single call and will harrass you from the time you enter the building to the time you go home about little things you did not do which was expected of you. Then when you finally do go above and beyond and make 9 grand a month for these greedy pigs they fire you and blackball you so you can not get another job where you need to be bonded. Stay far far away from these thugs!

It took 5 years for this lady to bonus? Wow, that took a long time! Your story is bs because $1000 is more than you can make in one quarter for sales.

Trigger in Denver, Colorado said: I think that all people who complaining about Wells Fargo are just whole bunch of crying babies who doesnt know how to handle a job. Only unsuccessful people complain. Every job has bad moments, but theres a good moments as well. Wells Fargo is great company to work for. Its huge company and u have many many opportunities to move up. Before applying for WellsFargo jobs think clearly what u like to do. If u dont like customer service and sales - just DO NOT apply for such jobs. The ones who enjoys sales do really good. I started as a teller and i became personal banker with 5 months and now im going for assistant branch manager position. Everything within a year!!! Piece of cake.

FYI- I worked for Wells Fargo for 5 years after working for BofA for 9 years and its true. WELLS FARGO SUCKS!!!!! People who are saying good things are the ones who probably blow their managers everyday to go up in the company. It's not that people are crybabys, it's that they know it's a job not worth putting your life and energy since the commission sucks. People in Wells practically sell their souls to the devil and if you dont beleive me go on YouTube and type "district manager meeting". People who have worked their put nothing but the truth on the comments and if that dosent open your eyes then good luck getting your vision back.

Steven in Sylmar, California said: FYI- I worked for Wells Fargo for 5 years after working for BofA for 9 years and its true. WELLS FARGO SUCKS!!!!! People who are saying good things are the ones who probably blow their managers everyday to go up in the company. It's not that people are crybabys, it's that they know it's a job not worth putting your life and energy since the commission sucks. People in Wells practically sell their souls to the devil and if you dont beleive me go on YouTube and type "district manager meeting". People who have worked their put nothing but the truth on the comments and if that dosent open your eyes then good luck getting your vision back.

You are right. I couldn't agree more. this is the truth with your years of experience and mine.

I'm brand new to Wells Fargo, but I've been in the banking business for eight years, and all banks are in business to make money....period. You know when you get hired the pay, bonus potential, and sales requirements. If you're willing to do the work, it will pay off...no matter what line of business you are in. And if Wells Fargo was such a bad company, they wouldn't be consistently recognized by Forbes, Working Women, Diversity, etc.....

What impact will this have on hiring external candidates? www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2011/08/19/struggling-bank-of-america-slashes-thousands-of-jobs/?partner=yahootix

Roger Dodger in Loveland, Colorado said: Interesting how a person can claim that he/she is being promoted so rapidly without explaining what happen to the people from him/her? Sounds like burn and churn operation.

ANSWER, crappy employees get let go. PERIOD. If you put in 100% effort and are good at what you do, you will never get "let go", employees that are laid off are in a different category. Either way, I have worked at many sales jobs, people that are lazy, unsuccessful, and have poor attitudes either quit or get "let go". And they never take responsibility for their actions when they do, they always say that "he/she (manager) didn't like me". They always cause drama and talk smack, companies are better off without them. Are you one of these people "Rodger Dodger"?? Because you sure sound like it.

From what I hear a lot of PBs are wanting to move to Chase because of all the bad press and changing fees happening within BofA, Wells Fargo, and Citi. Also the general consensus seems to be that you will get a lower base pay at Chase ($30k-$35k), but there is much more opportunity to commission. They have their bankers comp every month vs. every quarter or half year. I have also heard that they are less product pushy, and more relationship oriented in their expectations of their employees.

I got hired as a part time reller at wells I'm not sure if I should take it or not I also was hired by a small bank with less pay I worked at a previous bank were I led my branch for referrals there so think I might do good but not sure if I want to work at wells because of what everyone says I also want to stay in banking after college

I enjoy working at Chase, but you have to understand that the sales goals must be meet. The focus now-a-days seems to be on the quality of relationship and new accounts opened. It's not very hard to do well as a banker, i feel like the atmosphere will be largely dependent on your own manager. It doesn't hurt to test the water.

Sk Ponnumala in New York, New York said: With my little knowledge, your best would be JP Chase (35k+ def below 42k!)before you apply make sure that...

Bank of America pays more hourly but commission. Is no as great . Chase pays less hourly but commission is more. At Bofa there' is a cap in your commission. I used to work my ass off to make 100 % (hit goals is kinda hard) and that was 1500 quarterly before taxes.. I know people at chase that makes that much in commission in a month. When it also comes to family , chase is open late in Chicago while Bofa
Close regular bank hours 5pm. Vs chase 6pm. Pressure is the same you gotta hit goal no matter what. Is very competitive.

John Kite in Dallas, Texas said: Wells Fargo is managed by Community Presidents, District Managers, and Store Managers. They have autonomy how they manage their respective stores and many position it relative to execution of the incentive plan.

In some markets, meeting the incentive program is a requirement, while in others it's a goal (big difference). In markets where making the inventive program is a requirement, it's a tough balance between servicing the customer and selling the solutions to existing and new customers. At the end of the day, it's a job. You will get a paycheck for the hours worked - don't expect anything more. If you meet the incentive plans at the highest levels or have a management sponsor, you will have the ability to move up. However, the high pressure metric monitoring continues up the the ladder in many customer facing positions.

what do you mean by sponsored"? a manager helps you get higher?

La Shawn Thompson in Pasadena, California said: Wow! I have been selected to attend a group interview next week for Wells Fargo. I have seen many forms about being a PB. It seems like many do not like Wells Fargo. Is there anyone out there that has a good comment to say about Wells Fargo? The phone interview for me was very good! I was talking to a real person! Someone who wanted to find out about me vs passing a test.

I just want to hear some good comments about Wells Fargo. It's easy for someone to post a bad review. Usually, when something goes wrong people post to vent and a target some revenge. Thank you for that information! That is good to know. And I do understand. But before that moment of stress, you had the job for some period of time. What was good? How long did that last? Did you learn some good information? Where you spoiled? Again, I'm feeling good about the thought of becoming a Personal Banker and using this as a tool to move up and advance inside the financial industry. What happened and how did it go bad? Why was it good for you? (at the time LOL!)

La Shawn, just curious, how did you make out with your interview? If you were hired, Is all true about how terrible WF treats employees? I have an interview coming up soon for a PB..am a little nervous because of all the terrible postings..thx!

wmacv said: i've been in sales for 7yrs making $60-70k can i make that being a personal banker and if so how long would it take and if not what type of income could i expect before i make a career change

If you're making $60-$70k a year, stick with it. As a PB 1, you'll start off around $16-17 an hour. Bonuses are a joke!

I made my way up to manager lvl 5 though and make six figures after bonuses, but YMMV. To be honest though, Wells Fargo is a joke when it comes to banking (they have retarded sales goals that don't equate to what you really should earn on bonuses and are capped)

Tara in Providence, Rhode Island said: La Shawn, just curious, how did you make out with your interview? If you were hired, Is all true about how terrible WF treats employees? I have an interview coming up soon for a PB..am a little nervous because of all the terrible postings..thx!

That all depends on your boss. I was a good one to my employees and had 0% (yes you read that correctly) turnover and managed to get the right people promoted. But I will say this, there are better banks/CU's to work for.

I worked at WF for almost a year as a pb. First off, they pay piss poor. it's embarrassing seeing how much the customers make compared to you. You will never get a bonus unless you speak Spanish or do unethical things, period. The idea is to get teenagers into credit cards and make sure every asset someone owns has a lien on it. Yes, it is sales, but you won't get paid like in other sales positions, such as car or mattress sales. They made me the small business specialist, yay! I was making 35k in a major metropolitan area. Get ready to piss people off and lose all respect for yourself when you are telemarketing during call nights. The customers will be like, wow the employees change so much here I was working with Debbie, then tom, then I think it was Ralph, or was it roscoe...? anyway, nobody stays here very long. They definitely push the sales minimums and pick out every fault that you have to explain why it is your fault that you can't get 1.5million in equity lines in a quarter, not the fact that everyone is underwater in their mortgages. Bottom line, take this job if you have nothing else and milk it and try to b.s. hour way to keeping the job long enough to get a real job. Otherwise, its only good for college and high school dropouts with low self esteem.

Of all of the companies I've worked for WELLS FARGO SUCKS! It IS all about NUMBERS! not about employees!!! The top executives are not clueless the just CHOOSE to IGNORE what many employees have stated! Whenever we have a town hall meeting, questions about the working conditions, environment, & culture gets brushed off like it doesn't exists! There's a whole lot of B.S. that goes on that aren't addressed. Those who believe/feel that Wells Fargo is a great place to work are in a minority! It's bad enough when Wells Fargo employees know how bad it is working for the company, it's even WORSE when people on the outside know how BAD it is!

Those who like working here probably work their standard 40hrs with maybe little after hours or weekend work. But those who constantly work 16 to 20 hour days knows how bad it is. How bad is it? Well when you have a process for a process and process to make sure you're following the process and know one really knows process how can an employee work efficiently? Wells Fargo hired offshore personnel then why in the world am I still working 16 to 20 hours/day?

Wow I have an interview with wells fargo as a pb. I really had to check the url to see if I was under a WF review page, because this is the only bank I'm hearing about. I came from Chevy Chase, to Capital one, then Suntrust and I have to admit that the whole banking industry is focused around numbers. Not just WF! If you work for a competitive bank you will have to work like your a machine to make sure your meeting your goals! But you guys are really scaring me about WF because this is the only bank I'm seeing with bad reviews

DO NOT WORK FOR WF! Period! I worked there for 5 years as well and was a nightmare!Crazy...DM was nuts, pushing for numbers every morning , every evening...I went to Credit Union and am much happier :) and WF love to tell you that you will move up on the ladder but will can ve stuck in the same position with you do not suck the DM or manager everyday like same people that I knew that was at the manager's office every single minute sucking his balls!!! WF will suck your blood and life and do not care about customer service! AT my current job they focus at customer service and caring about the customer needs!WF just care about making the sales PERIOD!!!

As a current personal banker for Wells Fargo, I will tell you this is the most stressful job I ever had in my life so far. I love what I do on building my cliental and relationships with customers, but I feel like the company so called want to concentrate on the customer, when really I feel like we are being selfish on trying to meet a goal that exceeds our limits. They have recently raised our metrics instead of hitting 3 out of 5 metrics, now its 4 out of 5 metrics plus hitting atleast 70% on on the 5th metric. Don't hit any of those, you can kiss your hard work goodbye and not comp at all, but get a lovely write up. I honestly feel like they do this on purpose so they don't have to pay us bankers at all, but only our hourly. I just wish they would change the commission structure to monthly instead of quarterly and something reasonable compared to chase's commission structure for what we do. You might as well call yourself a personal b*tch instead of a personal banker, because your always being micromanaged all around. I'm sure its like that at all banks, but they over do it at wells fargo.

Just got of the phone with a recruiter. She told me that she loves WF so much she sees herself retiring there (she sounded scripted as hell). She told me the interview will be at a "Store" in Wayzeta, MN. I said you mean at a brick and mortar kind of banking location and not at a grocery store bank, she said they like to refer to banks as stores. Seriously, a bank is a place that offers financial services not packaged goods. This kind of mentality is the reason why they suck as a bank and as an employer. Also ever wonder why they utilize Careerbuilder so much, cause they are cheap to pay outside recruiters to find the most qualified candidates. I honestly think that their ideal PB candidate would be a used car salesman.