If you can crank out the sales, you'll move ahead. Intellectuals will feel over qualified and passed over for promotion.
Pros
Branch management is generally fair, respectful, and accommodating. Colleagues usually fun to work with. Bank hours. Sales staff don't seem to be pressured to work overtime.
Cons
Bank has refocused it's sales staff on chequing accounts, Visa cards, and lines of credit. No incentive left to spend time talking about savings and investments. Pay is inferior to competitors; staff rate on products is average. Won't spell out what guarantees you a promotion. This is a challenging environment for intellectuals as there are no real intellectual challenges at the branches and only strong sales people move ahead - often without having any post-secondary education. Often takes 5+ years to get into Financial Advisor position. The systems or very old (80s), cumbersome, and full of glitches, it is an ongoing source of frustration and calls to the help desk. It's a shame that in this age of terabyte hard drives, reps often don't have access to account activity from even a day earlier. The main support line can also be challenging as they usually just send you links that often take 1/2 hour to read for yourself instead of guiding you through the process.
