By Maribeth Kuzmeski

Internships and well-run intern programs have proven to be a successful way of hiring. The internship takes away the bias we may have of those who interview well, or have a showy resume. It will actually indicate how someone will perform. You find out what they are willing to do, work ethic, capabilities and moreover – their social intelligence.

At one large financial firm, they found that 33% of their interns transition into fully employed financial advisors. Additionally, those same former interns are often in the top performance group. It is a significant improvement in the odds as less than 15% of advisors who start in the industry typically make it beyond 3 years.

Before hiring a young person to start a career as a financial advisor, it may be helpful to start with an internship program in coordination with one of the local colleges. Once there is mutual agreement on the job fit, then the person can be hired, get fully licensed, and complete further training in products, selling and service. And don’t forget about university sales programs. These have proven to be especially successful in hiring advisors who are not afraid to sell and have a pre-disposition to this type of career.

If we want to change the results of recruiting and retention in the financial services industry, we have to change the methods. Meet with your team and begin discussing how you might structure an internship program to begin building on your team of successful advisors.