The interview

It went well. I got there super early and waited in my car forever. I was incredibly nervous but thinking about how over Target I am and how close I am to graduating so I kept myself reasonably calm. Pam, the woman I'd be working for interviewed me. It was really casual; she told me about the firm, and herself, and how she got into the financial planning business, as well as a bit about the job I'd be doing, where I could go with it, and why her previous assistant quit.

First off, it was clear that the office is business casual, and actually only 7 people work there: three planners, and a few assistants. I'd be the assistant at the door with a desk in the "lobby" but otherwise I would just work for Pam. They don't share clients or employees, but they all have similar philosophies about planning and all have their CFP designation.

She seemed really nice and she was impressed by all the courses I have taken that relate to the field. UMSL is one of the few colleges in the state to offer a program for financial planning, and is the only one in St. Louis. Needless to say, I think she liked the fact that I wouldn't have the learn that part of the business from the ground up.

She didn't really ask me too many of the stereotypical questions, and actually she didn't even really write much down at all. But she was very friendly, and seemed really down to earth. All in all, I think it went really well. She is interviewing this week and next, but she asked when the earliest I could start would be, and I told her all I needed was two weeks notice.

We briefly discussed money, and I told her my range was $33,000 to $43,000 dependent on benefits and job responsibilities (it seems like there are a lot of responsibilities, with room to grow). She offers vacation days right away, retirement savings after a year, and no group medical, but they do have a plan I can join through which would probably be cheaper than going it alone. I think it's an HSA like at Target but oh well. She said she had to pay more because she didn't offer medical, which sounds great to me!

All in all, I have a pretty good feeling about it. I still have another interview on Wednesday in Clayton, and I think it might be very different that this one. It's also potentially for an internship but I am going to use the fact that I am interviewing for a full-time position at a similar firm as leverage if possible.

The only thing that would suck is of course, working in Chesterfield. Aside from Nina being nearby for a little while, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to work there or have anything to do with it. Plus my car doesn't like the idea of that commute...though I need a new one anyway. But I better be on the upper end of that salary range if I want to get a car, otherwise I'm gonna be paycheck to paycheck just like today. And I can't forget about all FOUR of my student loan payments that are gonna be due here in a few weeks and months. Yucko.

Well, wish me luck. I hope I'm offered a job, and I hope that I get to quit Target soon!