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Your Money

June 20, 2025

Real career advice from real financial advisors

From personal finance to networking to philanthropy, here are four tips to help you get ahead at work and in life.

Jennifer Garcia, Senior Private Wealth Financial Advisor:

Pay yourself first. Now that you’re in the workforce, there are a lot of things you’re going to want to buy and new expenses that you have. But get in the habit of paying yourself first every month.

John Marshall, Senior Financial Advisor:

Definitely stay in touch with your close friends. We get caught up in life and work and tend to let those great relationships slip by over the years. Tomorrow isn’t promised, so make sure you’re taking advantage of today.

Sarah Schweppe, Senior Financial Advisor:

Some advice I would give my younger self is to build a strong network. Having a good network of friends, colleagues, and former classmates who can motivate you, challenge you, and inspire you to improve will really take you far in your career.

Jennifer Garcia, Senior Private Wealth Financial Advisor:

Oh and one more thing. Try to find a mentor at work. Somebody either in your role or a role that you aspire to be. Interview them. Ask questions. Be curious.

Watch: These experienced financial advisors share what they would tell their younger selves. (0:55)

Credit: Hector Batista

What career advice do you wish you’d gotten when you were first starting out? We asked these experienced financial advisors from Wells Fargo Advisors for honest answers they would tell their younger selves. These four tips, insights, and guidance are great for college graduates entering the workforce or wherever you are on your journey.

1. Pay yourself first.

“Once you know what your budget is, paying yourself should be one of your expenses,” said Jennifer Garcia, a private wealth financial advisor and managing director – investments in Encino, California.

What does it mean to pay yourself first? It’s about prioritizing saving and investing by routing income to designated accounts before paying bills and making other purchases. A great byproduct of this strategy is it can help you limit spending.

Here’s how to do it: After you figure out how much you can set aside, determine if the money will be before-tax dollars from your paycheck to a 401(k), or after-tax dollars that transfers from your checking to a savings account. Garcia recommends making it easy and automatic, “just like paying a bill.”

 

“Paying yourself should be one of your expenses.”

Jennifer Garcia

Private wealth financial advisor

2. Build a strong network.

Sarah Schweppe, a financial advisor in Charlotte, North Carolina, suggests surrounding yourself with people who have a success mindset. “If you have a network of folks who are motivated, supportive, and encouraging, that can really drive your own personal and professional growth and inspire you to achieve and set your own high standards.”

“Surround yourself with people who have a success mindset.”

Sarah Schweppe

Financial advisor

Schweppe warns about only taking withdrawals from your networking bank; you’ll want to make deposits too. “Look for opportunities to help and advocate for others,” she said. “It can be a symbiotic relationship that you can carry with you and build over time.”

College can be a great start to your network. “Stay in touch as your contacts move into different industries and careers so you can have a broad and diversified network,” she said.

3. Find a mentor.

Find a position that you aspire to have, or if you’re new in a position, connect with someone who is already in that role, recommends Garcia.

“Interview them, ask questions, be curious.”

Jennifer Garcia

Private wealth financial advisor

So you can learn from them, connect with them on a regular basis. Track your progress so you’re accountable to them and to yourself.

“Interview them, ask questions, be curious,” Garcia said.

Read more
Why you should book informational interviews

4. Stay in touch with friends.

“This is my 25th year as an advisor, and I see people who are doing everything right,” Washington, D.C.-based Financial Advisor John Marshall said. “They save, they invest, they work, they get promotions. Next thing they know, 20 years have gone by, and they’ve lost the great relationships they had from their childhood and college.”

“Just calling friends. That’s the one thing I wished I’d done a better job at.”

John Marshall

Senior vice president – investment officer

Marshall’s career advice is to keep it all in perspective: “People don’t remember the promotions you’ve received, the deals you’ve closed, or the great years you’ve had in the business. However, they do remember the moments you’ve shared and the adventures you’ve had together,” he said. “I’m great at calling clients, but not great at just calling friends. That’s the one thing I wished I’d done a better job at.”

“Now I pick up the phone and say, ‘I just called to check in on my friend to see how you’re doing and what you’re up to.’ That makes both our days.”

Investment and Insurance Products are:

  • Not Insured by the FDIC or Any Federal Government Agency
  • Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or Any Bank Affiliate
  • Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of the Principal Amount Invested
1.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“the Bank”) offers various banking, advisory, fiduciary and custody products and services, including discretionary portfolio management. Wells Fargo affiliates, including Financial Advisors of Wells Fargo Advisors, may be paid an ongoing or one-time referral fee in relation to clients referred to the Bank. In these instances, the Bank is responsible for the day-to-day management of any referred accounts.

2.

Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, is not an FDIC-insured depository institution. Deposit products provided by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. Deposit insurance only protects against the failure of an insured depository institution.

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors. Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, Members SIPC, separate registered broker-dealers and non-bank affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company.

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