This Development Program Changed My Career—Now I Get to Help People Reach Their Goals

A business doesn’t have to be a giant corporation. Some businesses are places where people in a community can go for advice, for help, and for real connections with people who care about them. That’s the kind of vision Edward Jones has for its Financial Advisor offices. And it was the same desire to become a part of her community that drove Dalsey to study business in college.

Less than a year out of college, the Financial Advisor Career Development program at Edward Jones gave her the opportunity to do just what she set out to: help others while building a business of her own.

Here’s a look at Dalsey’s journey with Edward Jones, from development program to financial advisor with her own branch, and how she uses her new position as a platform to help her community and the people in it.

From New Grad To Investment Professional

The FACD program at Edward Jones aims to take new grads, with less than five years of professional experience, and turn them into the type of knowledgeable, genuinely beneficial Financial Advisors upon which Edward Jones has built its reputation.

The FACD program has two paths: In-Market or On-Campus. The On-Campus program provides training at the Home Office either in St. Louis or Tempe, Arizona, and the In-Market program enables participants to experience their training with an actual Edward Jones Financial Advisor in their branch.

“I heard about the In-Market FACD program from the person whose office I would actually end up learning and working in,” Dalsey tells us. “I was in the first group for the In-Market program. The In-Market program worked really well for me; having a tie to the community and building my business while training meant so much.”

With either program, everyone starts with six months of intensive training. You start by studying for the SIE (Securities Industry Exam), Series 7 and Series 66 licenses. During your study period you are partnered with an academic training leader, a class of other program members, and a variety of resources designed to help you pass your exams. Once those are squared away, you head to in-person training to master a variety of skills from understanding client needs to building and analyzing portfolios.

“The beauty of the training aspect is that you get to focus on exactly how to do the job,” Dalsey says. “We got to talk to actual people every day. Learning about products and how they work was one part of it, but we really got to dig deep with people.”

And the mission of all this training, she explains, is to accelerate the growth of Financial Advisors at the firm. Edward Jones wants to prepare them to take on their own branch, start building their own practice, and to make them the most effective partners to the clients in their community. As lofty as that goal may sound, the program has seen a lot of success doing just that.

Building Her Own Business—And Becoming A Pillar Of Her Community

After the completion of the program, Edward Jones gave Dalsey the opportunity to open her own branch.

“My role now is a Financial Advisor here at Edward Jones,” Dalsey tells us. “I have my own branch office that I run along with my Branch Office Administrator, Sarah. Together we really strive to provide deep and meaningful service to clients in our community. We meet with them face to face to understand what their ‘why’ is, their unique situation, and how we can help them accomplish their complex goals.”

Dalsey’s branch is now a part of her community. And she has a ton of freedom not just to grow her business, but to connect with her clients in the way that she sees as most effective.

“From the very beginning, I refuse to talk financial-ese with them. I love when people walk away from our meetings feeling like they’ve been heard and listened to rather than just instructed,” Dalsey explains.

With this approach—and the types of human-centered, growth-centric investments offered by Edward Jones—Dalsey’s business has truly blossomed. In fact, they hit a major milestone goal just last week. And to Dalsey, that’s not just a sign of personal success. It’s a signal that her community is growing—and she’s a part of that.

“What we do is really so much more than just investment,” Dalsey says. “We partner with them to help them achieve their goals and their dreams.”

What could you make happen for your community?

Ready to become a pillar of your own community? Check out open opportunities at Edward Jones on WayUp!