Worst Professional experience I've ever had or even heard of
Pros
There are some areas of Jones that are decent places to work if you can ignore the horrid pay and even worse benefits.
Cons
The following represents my personal opinion and events that took place are as I remember them. To say working at Edward Jones was one of the worst life experiences I've ever had is a severe understatement. I suffered emotionally and physically for years working for this thankless slave driving partnership. I more than anyone wishes the following didn't take place, but sadly it did and I was forced to bare it through the worst recession since the great depression. Edward Jones is great at one thing.......propaganda. They are CONSTANTLY requesting their employees fill out positive reviews in order to attract talent that would otherwise scoff at their insanely low pay and absolutely horrid benefits. I fell for this and it was why I ended up here. I actually believed all the stories and accolades, but let me tell you......its a huge show. The pay is absolutely ridiculously low....even for low standards. The benefits cost me LITERALLY thousands more than at other companies. A financial firm that only matches $500 TOTAL to your 401K? No, I didn't miss adding a zero to that number. Given the pay/benefits, Edward Jones seems to lure in very few well educated people from what I saw. Many leaders didn't even have college degrees or completely unrelated degrees before coming to Jones. The training, or should I say lack there-of, consisted of very basic computer commands. There were NO manuals and FEW well trained associates. The training "awards" come from the sales side of Edward Jones. Definitely not in operations. They constantly tout the partnership structure as a benefit when in my opinion nothing could be further from the truth. Instead of 1,000s of greedy shareholders, you have hundreds of greedy general partners trying to squeeze blood out of pennies. Even worse, where greedy shareholders can't directly influence the business.......the partners can. The result is lack of investment in needed areas. Who makes up for that? You guessed it, the employees. I worked nights, weekends, holidays all UNPAID overtime dealing with volumes exceeding 10x the norm. This is a SALES focused company.....every other place that costs money seems to be a nuisance. The result of this is overworked/under appreciated staff. I personally missed out on weeks of vacation every year. I would plan two days off and literally get pulled aside and accused of not being a team player. When two days off were approved, they were subsequently denied due to volumes. The results of this slave labor mentality literally ruined my life. I suffered from consistent physical health issues and depression. it was horrible experience I feel embarrassed writing about, but I feel people have the right to know. When the economy hit the skids, Edward Jones stopped ALL financial incentives to be there (not that there were many to start with). While remaining profitable, Jones stopped bonuses and ALL pay increases. Edward Jones is so cheap, I was constantly bullied into covering work related expenses. Paying for breakfast out of my own pocket for the team on a Saturday I was not being paid to work on, buying hundreds of dollars in gift cards as a thank you from Edward Jones, the expenses I incurred never ended. It literally COST ME to come into work for Edward Jones on many occasions. The management responsible for these work place atrocities have since been promoted. You tell me what Jones stands for.