A Day in the Life of a Financial
Services Representative

Arrive at work; and greet my colleagues. We exchange stories about our evenings while we prepare to log into the phone system for 9:00 a.m. Before I am ready to take calls, I need to make sure I don't have any outstanding items left unresolved from yesterday.

A client is following up on a request he faxed in yesterday. I search the client account but I don't see the request. I kindly ask the caller to re-fax the document to my attention so that I can personally take care of it. A few minutes later I receive the fax - I am notified of this via email that contains a link to my fax inbox. I read it over and make sure everything is in good order before submitting the request to be processed by our Administrative team. I call the client back to let him know it's being processed. Then, I get back on the phone and take calls for the next hour.

My supervisor joins me at my desk for side-by-side coaching time. Every month, my supervisor spends a few hours with each team member providing coaching tips to improve on the job performance. Today, the focus is on providing value - added service.

I continue to take phone calls. Most of the calls today are commonly asked questions such as "How much would it cost me to cash out this policy?" "How can I order CI marketing materials" and "Did you receive the document I sent you?"

I head up to our roof top patio for a break. I need to check my Facebook account using one of the computers provided. I have also arranged to meet some of the other FSR's for a quick game of pool.

I return to my desk feeling refreshed and find that a cheque has been delivered. The money is for a client's Home Buyer's Plan and they need it before the end of the day. I arrange to have someone take the cheque to the client's bank for direct deposit. I call the advisor to let him know the client can expect to see the money in his account within the hour. I continue to take more calls. On a really busy day, I handle an average of 80 calls.

I am scheduled to attend a short training session. Today's topic - Preparing for RRSP season. While this information is not new to me, it's a great opportunity to refresh my knowledge before one of the busiest times of the year.

I check my watch and see it's 3:45 pm. Since the markets close at 4 pm EST, I do a final check to make sure I don't have any outstanding financial requests that need to be submitted before the deadline. It looks like there is nothing urgent requiring my immediate attention, so I continue to take calls while keeping an eye out for any new and potentially trade-date sensitive faxes or messages.

It's the end of the working day, but I've got plans tonight. I participate on CI's Softball team so I grab my suit jacket and gym bag and head out to attend practice.