Truly rewarding and highly respectable position.
Pros
Excellent support from Managers, NSL- National support line/EHD- Employee help desk, District representatives such as Mutual Funds Specialist, Lending and Mortgage Specialist, Insurance Specialist etc who help you in your role and your overall success. Overall hard work, dedication and motivation with desire to succeed is recognized by management and appreciated. Employee morale in the company is very positive. Targets are achievable especially with tools provided to succeed in your role. FSR is a highly respectable and professional role. You meet really interesting people from all walks of life. Helping clients make important decisions and guiding them through a maze of financial products and services is your role. FSR in reality a Financial Planner or Financial Adviser since you deal with everything such as chequing account, loan, mortgage, mutual funds and credit cards etc. Job stability is high, pay is great and the role in the bank is not a job but a career. This is a sales role so be prepared to sell with passion and confidence because at the end of the day if you are doing what's best for the client, it's not really selling but rather advising. Job is easier when you are in a big branch as there are lot of walk ins and you can capitalize each meeting to meet your sales targets (coming from someone who's worked both in the biggest branch and smallest branch).
Cons
As of 2016, the annual sales targets have gone up in terms of Bas unit sales which is mostly from opening new deposit accounts, ovedraft, credit cards etc. However at the same time CIBC is promoting Digital Migration that is any client that walks in to a branch, FSRs are expected to pretty much show them how to do everything online including opening a new account on your phone and applying for a credit card etc. Not too bad if for branch sales people including CSRs if you're in a big branch with lots of walk in but if you're in a small branch, it can make your job extremely hard. You will have to make a lot more calls in the office to get clients into the branch I'd say 2 to 3 hours daily in a small branch as opposed to 1 hour in a big branch.
