Employment

Recommendation
Report

Opportunities for a Career

in Banking.

George Schuler
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Employment Recommendation
Report: Opportunities for a Career
in Banking

English 320: Unit 2 Part 3

By. George Schuler

October 15, 2010

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 Executive Summary
Alex Chaput is a recent Agriculture Economics graduate of North Dakota State
University. He currently has three job offers right now in three different locations in
the upper mid-west. The job opportunities consist of a Mortgage Consultant/Loan
Officer for American Equity Mortgage in Minneapolis MN, a Loan Officer for Farm
Credit Services of North Dakota in Williston ND, and a Personal Banker at Wells
Fargo in Fargo ND. After reviewing a questionnaire I had Alex fill out, and also after
sitting down in an interview, I was able to come up with a set of criteria to help me
advise Alex on what job and in what community would best suite him. The criteria I
used for the job was schooling needed, work experience, and office size. The criteria
that I used to evaluate the communities were population, distance from Alex’s
hometown of Langdon ND, and also what the community’s economy is centered
around.

Below are the results of my findings.

Jobs:

Schooling needed: In reviewing over the qualifications expected for each job, I
found that with the schooling Alex has the best job that would suit him best would
the Loan Officer position for Farm Credit Services of North Dakota, who is
specifically asking for a Bachelors degree in Economic, Marketing , or Similar
experience.

Work experience: When it comes to work experience the American Equity Mortgage
is asking for motivated graduates who want to learn, which means experience is not
there number one criteria. This I feel is would be perfect for Alex, he is both
motivated and also is a quick learner.

Office Size: Since in the interview Alex stated he would better excel in a smaller to
medium office setting I feel that once again that the position with Farm Credit
Services of North Dakota would be best for him.

Community

Population: When it comes to population of the city, where Alex will be living in I
feel that the town of Williston would be the best fit for him. It is a smaller town of
about twelve thousand, much like where Alex grew up.

Distance from Alex’s hometown: For this criteria I would say that Fargo ND would
be the preference for Alex.

Type of Economy: The economy that I feel would best fit Alex would be an
Agriculture based economy, so this city that would best suit him would be Williston
ND. They are both agriculture and also oil.ii

ii

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My final recommendation to Alex would be take the Loan Officer position in
Williston ND with Farm Credit Services. I feel Alex would really be able to excel in a
smaller office in an agriculture community. Even though he is about three hundred
miles from his hometown and family farm, he would still be with in driving distance.
I also feel this would be the best job for him because him being from a small town he
knows how to relate with other people from smaller towns and really be able to
provide the services they expect.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary..............................................................................................4

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List of Figures.......................................................................................................8

Introduction............................................................................................................9

Job Opportunities...................................................................................................11

Criteria.........................................................................................................11

Jobs..............................................................................................................11

Communities...............................................................................................12

Conclusion and Recommendation.......................................................................18

Final Recommendation..............................................................................18

Works Cited.........................................................................................................20

List of figures
Figure 1…………………………………………………………………………17

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 Introduction
On September 22, I was approached by a fellow class-mate by the name of

Alex Chaput who had been offered three jobs and was having problems deciding

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what job he should take. He has asked to me to make a recommendation for him. In

doing so I had Alex fill out a questionnaire for and I also sat down in an interview

with him to find out a little bit about Alex and what he really wants in his career.

After reviewing his questionnaire and talking with him for a while I found

out that Alex is very interested in the banking industry. He told me that it was an

interest that he acquired from his father, who a lot of knowledge in banking and had

taught many skills that were taught to Alex. I found out that Alex is a fourth

generation farmer, which led me to conclude that Alex has a conservative way of

thinking and really strives to treat people how he would like to be treated. Knowing

this knowledge it made me conclude that Alex wants to work for a company that

treats his customers like family and goes the extra mile for them.

Being that Alex comes from a farming back round I found out that it was

important to him that he would be able to get home on weekends and on vacation

days to help out around the farm during the planting and harvest seasons when his

help would be much needed. This piece if information made me conclude that Alex

would not be able to take a job that out of the state of North Dakota and that it had

to be with in reasonable driving distance.

Alex had told me in the interview that he would not mind living in a larger

city and that he would be able to adapt, but he would prefer to be in a smaller

community, much like where he grew up. He told me he like the fact of everyone

knows everyone and that smaller communities make better places to raise a family,

which he hopes to do one day.

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 Alex has many goals that he wants to achieve in his life, I am not going to

touch on all but I am going to touch on a couple that stuck out to me. One was to

build a strong customer base, the second was to advance through the company, and

his long-term goal was to essentially be a president of a bank. Having these goals

means that Alex would have to work for a growing company that has many

opportunities for him to excel. Along with these goals Alex has a Bachelors of

Science degree in Agriculture Economics for North Dakota State University, which

gave him knowledge and also very good skills in finance, business, and also decision

making. Having the knowledge that Alex has gained through his studies will help

him achieve these goals.

Alex also has many hobbies besides his work. He enjoys playing baseball

with his friends and also watching the games. He has played baseball all his life and

even played two years in college for NDSU. Alex also enjoys the outdoors where he

enjoys camping and also being out and the lake in his boat with is family and friends.

Alex had told me that he would like to live in a community that he could enjoy a

baseball game on a afternoon or have to ability to drive and spend a weekend

camping out on a lake.

Job Opportunities

Criteria

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 After reviewing the questionnaire and interviewing Alex, I have come up

with two sets of criteria. The first set of criteria will be for evaluating the jobs and

seeing if they meet the needs of Alex and the second will be criteria for the

community that will be best suited for Alex. The lists are as follows:

Job Needs:

 Schooling needed

 Work Experience

 Office Size

Community Needs:

 Population

 Distance From Alex’s hometown

 Type of Economy

Jobs

Farm Credit Services of North Dakota – Williston, ND

Farm Credit Services of North Dakota is well known banking institution around the

State. The mission statement of the company as found on their company website

states “Our mission is to provide products and services that exceed customer

expectations” I feel that this mission statement is important in evaluating this job

opportunity for Alex because it shows that it is a company that cares about its

costumer and in talking with Alex I have found that he wants to work for a employer

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that expresses this quality. In looking through the company financial documents

the company has had an increase in Net Income of 512,000 dollars in the past two

periods meaning that the company is growing and is financially stable. This is

important to Alex because it shows that there is opportunity to progress through the

company, which is an important goal of his.

Schooling Needed

The position opening that is being offered through Farm Credit is a loan

officer position that desires the applicant to have a Bachelors Degree in Business,

Economic, or Marketing.

Work Experience

The work experience that is prefered for this job is 2-5 years experience in

agriculture lending. They are also looking for highly motivated inviduals with

knowledge of agriculture and possess effective communication skills.

Office Size

Being that this office is located in a smaller community the office size is going

to be one of a smaller to medium office setting.

Community – Williston, ND

Population

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 Williston in the past couple years has became one of the fastest growing

communities in the state. The current population of Williston is 12,641 people

which is up 1.8 percent from the previous year. The community has one college

located in it, which is important because Alex enjoys watching college athletics. A

concern that Alex had was the availability of housing. Williston currently has one

hundred three available housing units.

Distance from Alex’s hometown

According to mapquest.com Williston is located three hundred and eight

miles from Alex’s home town of Langdon, ND.

Economy

Williston’s economy is currently booming. The main focus of Williston’s

economy is Agriculture and Oil (city of Williston).

Additional Information

Williston has a current crime rate of 234 violent crimes per 100 thousand

people and 1607 property crimes per 100 thousand people (idicide).

Wells Fargo – Fargo, ND

Wells Fargo is a nationally known name in the banking industry. According to the

Wells Fargo website they are currently ranked number one in nation for community

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banking stores, number one lender to low and moderate income buyers, number

one lender to small business, and also number one in agriculture lending. The

mission statement of Wells Fargo is “ we want to satisfy all our customer’s financial

needs and help them succeed”. Just reading there mission statement you can tell

this company is very costumers oriented, which makes me say Wells Fargo would be

a good company for Alex. Wells Fargo is also a very financially strong company, in a

news release posted on the company website it was noted that Wells Fargo has just

ended its third quarter with a record net income of 3.34 million.

Schooling Needed

For this personal banker position at Wells Fargo, Alex will have to complete a

comprehensive training program that consists of a ten week class room study and

also on the job training. Alex will also be required to perform a variety of job

assignments to help develop skills and gain knowledge of duties by a personal

banker.

Work Experience

Work experience required by Wells Fargo for this position is one or more

years of selling a product and a minimum of one or more years of interacting with

customers. Skills that are preferred are previous experience in retail sales or the

financial industry and also previous experience meeting customer satisfaction goals.

Office Size

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 Wells Fargo has many locations around the Fargo area. The office size that

Alex could be working would range a small banking office to the larger regional

branch that is located down town Fargo.

Community-Fargo, ND

Population

Fargo is a city that is also growing very fast. The current population is

93,531 people, which is a 21.7 percent increase in population since the 1990’s (city-

data). In terms of housing Fargo has twenty thousand homes, twin homes, and

condos along with twenty two thousand apartment. On average Fargo is adding

250-300 new homes and 500 new apartments are added each year (city of fargo).

Fargo also has four colleges that are located in Fargo and three colleges that are

located in neighboring Moorehead.

Distance from Alex’s hometown

Being this position is located in Fargo ND it is a little bit closer to Alex’s

hometown of Langdon, ND than the previous job. According to map quest Fargo is

located 194 miles from Langdon, which would be about a three-hour drive for Alex.

Economy

Fargo’s economy is made up a broad range of industries. Construction, food

services, educational services, finance and insurance, healthcare, truck

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transportation, and merchandising stores make up most of the jobs in Fargo, but

agriculture is also very present in the rural Fargo areas.

American Equity Mortgage-Minneapolis, MN

American Equity Mortgage is one of the nation’s leading mortgage lender and

home loan experts. The goal of AEM is “to give you the best chance to obtain a

money-saving loan that’s right for your individual needs and goals.” They achieve

this goal through the Three I’s of the company. Integrity, Intensity, and Impeccable

customer service (American Equity).

Schooling Needed

AEM is looking for experienced proved consultants that are looking for a long

term working relationship. They are very eager to attract recent college graduates

that are looking for success in mortgage industry, meaning a college degree is

necessary to be employed by this company.

Work Experience

Experience in the mortgage/ finance industry is encouraged, but not

necessary. They are encouraging recent college graduates to come work for them.

Office Size

Being that this position is being offered at AEM’s Minneapolis office, this

office setting is a larger office that consists of many consultants and office staff.

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Community-Minneapolis, MN

Population

Minneapolis, MN is by far the largest community all the communities.

Minneapolis has a population 382,605 people. Minneapolis currently has 168,624

homes in the community. Minneapolis is also surrounded by many suburbs and

other communities that would be within easy driving distance for Alex (city-data).

Distance from Alex’s hometown

Of all the locations this is the furthest distance from Langdon, ND. According

to map quest Minneapolis is 428.44 miles from Alex’s hometown, which would be

about six and a half hour drive.

Economy

The main industry for Minneapolis economy is manufacturing. The main

manufacturing areas are electronics, milling, machinery, medical products, food

processing, and graphic arts (city-data).

JOB CITY SIZE EDUCATION WORK OFFICE SIZE

EXPERIENCE
LOAN OFFICER Minneapolis MN Bachelors Degree in 2-5 years Smaller office

369,000 People Economics, Marking setting

FARM CREDIT
or similar work

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 SERVICES OF NORTH experience.

DAKOTA
PERSONAL BANKER Fargo ND Will train you on 1+ years of Medium to Large

90,600 People skills needed experience selling

WELLS FARGO
products and

interacting with

people
MORTGAGE Williston ND College Graduate Experience of any Medium to Large

13,014 People kind.

CONSULTANT/LOAN

OFFICER

AMERICAN EQUITY

MORTGAGE.

Conclusion and Recommendation

In conclusion, I have listed out two sets of criteria based on Alex’s needs in

the work place and needs in the community that the job is located. This criteria for

the work place consisted of schooling needed, work experience, and office size. For

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the community the criteria consisted of population, distance from Alex’s hometown,

and economy of the community.

All three job opportunities and also communities would be great for Alex and

he would be able to succeed in all three situations, but my final recommendation to

Alex would be to take the job with Farm Credit Services in Williston North Dakota. I

feel Alex would really be able excel his career in this company over the other three.

Working for Farm Credit Alex would get to work mostly in the agriculture industry,

where is the most knowledgeable. Alex would be able to use his past experience in

farming and his understanding of behaviors by farmers to gain good working

relationships between himself and his clientele that I feel he would not be able to

with Wells Fargo and AEM.

In talking to Alex he had stated that he would be able to adapt to any

community, but he would like to live somewhere relatively close to home and also in

a community much like where he grew up. This made me conclude that Williston

would be the best match for him. Williston is a community that is not to big, but not

to small. He would also be with in reasonable driving distance for home so he could

get back and help out on the farm on weekends when the busy times.

We all reach times in our lives that we have to make important decision,

especially when we are young and beginning our careers. No matter which job Alex

takes he will be able to excel and build a very successful career. I hope my

recommendation to him will help him chose his career path and help him obtain his

goals.

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 Works Cited

City Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. <http://www.city-data.com/>

epodunk. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

<www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/geninfo.php?locindex=52939#econ>.

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idcide. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

<www.idcide.com/citydata/nd/williston.nd>.

Map Quest. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <www.mapquest.com>.

N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. www.farmcreditnd.com

N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <http://www.willistonnd.com/>

N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. <http://www.ci.fargo.nd.us/>.

N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. <http://www.americanequity.com/Default.aspx>.

Wells Fargo. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. <www.wellsfargo.com>.

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