What kind of referral? Just any sort of internal employee? Or someone with a high position?

Seriously, you don't need referral to get a CSR position.
Just be smart at interview.
Be Talkactive, show your confidence.
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She got the referral from an internal employee

But the higher the position, the better chance you'll get an interview

Good luck
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How would you get an interview without a referral in the first place...

AFAIK you don't just walk into the bank, hand your resume to a manager and get an interview

you would need a referral / reference from an employee who works there from my understanding

A referral's great, but many people get the job w/o one.
You just apply online...

You'd feel much better getting any job without a referral. You'll know that you got the job on your own, and have proved yourself in the interview.

Find ways to get yourself in the door for an interview.

I started at $14.50 at RBC 5.5 years ago. I would say anywhere from $12-16 depending on the bank and experience.
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My brother in law started out at RBC as a teller and turned it into a career. He posts here but I won't mention his name, he can talk about it if he wants. If your an extroverted and outgoing person who can kiss ass like no other and make people like you a nice career can be made from the banks. I know he has no post secondary at all and worked his way through the different positions in the bank and now manages his own branch. He's not rich but he makes a nice living, supports his family, 4 kids ect.....

^ yeah, i've seen people work from teller to doing reception then doing personal finance. Once there you get to do mutual funds and if you're lucky, and elite get to manage a branch. You can then also become different levels of branch managers etc. I would say ~ 60k is comfortable for some people. If you're aiming high, you can work for corporate / wealth mgmt type jobs.

Seriously? ever heard the quote 'its not what you know but who you know?'

Many people get their jobs through someone they know.

That's the kind of crap that someone without any connections would say to make themselves feel better.

if you're a student I highly suggest to work in a call centre instead of banks as long as you work in a big company. Flexible hours, great benefits and depending on your role you could make from $22 -25 per hour or worst $17 bucks :)

^ that's a great call. i started my sales career at a call center. i made easily 16 dollars back then but that was like 13+ yrs ago. now, the call centers are filled with young kids and they all sleep around.

lastly, the rebuttal skills you learn from the call center makes it easier to find jobs whereas bank teller are everywhere when you apply for your next job, just my 2 cents.

i apologize for not having 2000 connections on LinkedIn.

your claim is spot on...getting a position the old fashion way can feel more rewarding than asking someone under the prospective employer to vouch for you. I'm sure most of us have been on both end of the stick.

I know someone who worked at Vancity Banking and made $12/hr
Flip side, I know someone who worked at RBC Banks making $16/hr

I get your sarcasm but I would venture to say that if you did hypothetically have 2000 friends on linkedin and you weren't a top dog, I'd seriously be questioning whether you treat the site as a popularity contest :rofl: Even the high level executives I know only have a few hundred connections at most.

Instead of 'if you got it, flaunt it', it is 'if you have connections, use them to your advantage'. There is nothing wrong with this. You prove your worth by being able to get the job done and doing a good job. I don't know about you but I don't vouch for people I don't believe in or who would make me look bad.