Specific places for my fiance to apply at

November 16, 2013 11:04 AM

So my fiance is very smart, hardworking, great with people, courteous, etc and so forth. He's currently working as a lead teller at a large banking corporation. He's been there for a while, and the management staff over him have all rotated and gone from being pretty good managers to people that make working there frankly awful for him. He of course wants to leave, but both of our experience has been that looking at places that post lots of classifieds from different sources is that you may as well mail your application to the void. SO! What are your recommendations for specific employers whose job postings we should keep an eye on?

1. We live in the Uptown area of Minneapolis and he doesn't drive.
2. I know that, given our relationship, I would seem to be biased, but believe me when I say that he's an exceptional employee, and his employers are lucky to get him in the positions he's working in.
3. He has experience with retail management, including hiring and firing decisions, sales and customer service, he speaks French well enough to help francophone customers at the bank on a daily basis, he's probably the only person at his branch that actually knows and follows all the federal banking rules as well as the bank's own security practices, he's one of I think two people at his branch trusted with foreign currency, and he's also one of the few that doesn't ever at all game the sales and incentivization system.

We need to find him a full-time position with an LGBT-friendly employer, paying $14/hour or more. Assume we're already keeping an eye on the other banks and credit unions in the area.

Suggestions?

posted by kavasa to Work & Money (9 answers total)

For retail, Costco and Trader Joe's are known for treating their employees very well.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:24 AM on November 16, 2013

Can he apply for one of these management roles and be one of these managers himself, or is this something he is not qualified for? Sounds like he'd be a good candidate with his experience and skill set.

He should create a LinkedIn profile if he hasn't already and start building his network. Afraid I don't know the region so can't recommend Employers in the area.
posted by arcticseal at 11:25 AM on November 16, 2013

Could he shop around at rival large banks in your area? This might especially be the thing to do if he's looking to jump into management himself and his current workplace is too toxic or won't hire from within for whatever reason.
posted by Sara C. at 11:57 AM on November 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Aiming for specific employers is like hitting a bullet with a bullet. The question is, where does he *want* to work? Identify 10 places and ask for a coffee meeting.

This works for me. It's a slow time of year for my industry, so I sent out an email intro to a town in company I would like to do some contracting for, and they offered me contract work on the spot.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:30 PM on November 16, 2013

He doesn't have the background to be a Librarian, but libraries also need people with good customer service skills to work at circulation desks and other service areas. You are lucky to live in a city with both a public library system and college and university libraries. I would think a bank teller would transition to library work very well.
posted by Biblio at 2:12 PM on November 16, 2013

With his banking background and your location, he could look into jobs at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. There are a number of different types of things that the Fed does from banking regulation and supervision to fancy pants economic stuff and all the pieces in between. His familiarity with regs may really work to his advantage there. They pay extremely well and have quite an impressive benefit package and they offer those benefits to both the employee and domestic partners.
posted by teleri025 at 2:44 PM on November 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

My daughter moved from being a personal banker to being a payroll specialist at Paychex and is very happy with the company, her co-workers, and her opportunities for advancement. Paychex has two offices in the Minneapolis area, but both are in the suburbs.
posted by Joleta at 6:58 PM on November 16, 2013

He has great people skills and management experience. How about moving to corporate? US Bank, Wells Fargo, need customer service reps, transaction processors in their Home Offices. From there management is a possibility. I worked one of these entry jobs 15 years ago and the pay started at $14/hour and quickly went to $16 with lots of overtime/shift pay possible. Financial services companies need paraplanners. So if you are good with software programs, organized, like people, you could send some job inquiry letters to local financial advisors. Minneapolis has a low unemployment rate now, so not a bad time to be looking. Good luck.
posted by Sonrisa at 9:58 PM on November 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

I'm late to this thread, but I work at a large bank in your area. If you want to memail me with some more of his details, I may be able to help.
posted by triggerfinger at 3:29 PM on November 20, 2013 [2 favorites]