I had originally applied for a business analyst role of which I was told I wasn't selected. Three months after that application I was contacted for the Junior KYC Analyst position.
The first interview was over the phone,it lasted about 15 minutes and was behavioural in nature. Questions were basically asking : tell me about yourself, your greatest achievements, your knowledge of the field, the company generally, your experience with different tools (excel etc).
Two days after the phone interview I was invited to take the online tests. They mainly consisted of some basic math questions and multiple choice questions regarding knowledge of excel and some basic programming/coding. This was also followed up with a video recorded interview.
A week after I got a reply stating I had passed it and they would like to have a final interview (I wasn't able to make it into the office but they accommodated me via Skype). Two persons interviewed me, they asked the same sort of questions as above.
I was told I would receive an official response in two weeks’ time. Three weeks after they called me on a Friday afternoon 3:45pm saying that they would like to offer me a placement. They wanted me to sign a background-check waiver and sign the agreement papers immediately and scan it back to them as they wanted me to start the following Monday. This last-minute process didn't sit well with me as they didn't give me any time at all to properly receive and read through the documents sent.
I asked for the weekend so I could review the documents thoroughly as they called me very late and had me rushing to make a decision. They agreed to await my official acceptance by the Sunday morning.
There are two different contracts. The first one that you are sent is the training contract. Apparently, you are only sent the placement contract once your training is done. I was told over the phone that I would be training for 2 weeks followed by an immediate placement with RBC Capital Markets*. The issue I have is that the training contract states they can place you wherever they choose to and they can change their mind. Therefore, although I had verbal acknowledgement I might get placed with RBC, there wasn't a guarantee. Also, they won't let you see the other contract until you sign the first one.
There are many restrictions within the contract not limited to: very low pay and high exit fees (around 35K). The contract also noted that any creations of your own (coding or programming wise etc) would be under their license, so you would be giving up your right to claim your own creations in a way while working under them. There are many different clauses that restrict the worker to the company.
You're basically bound to the company for 2 years doing whatever job they place you in. The pay is very minimal and also depends on the placement (note: if you aren't able to be placed with a firm you will have to work with FDM indefinitely until you get another placement or until they see you as no longer "manageable" and let you go). The pay does vary but starts out around $14.00 per hour.
In Toronto your monthly take home salary before taxes would average $3,333.00; after tax would be 2,600 which really can't support a person. You would have to be living with your family or with roommates to be able to scrape by with that pay.
I believe it would be a great opportunity for recent uni/college grads that already have a family living in the city they plan to work at so they can live at home. If you're a person that will hope to live on their own you better have some money stowed away for living expenses. You wouldn't be able to live on your own, save and afford basic utilities and expenses.
Note: A Junior KYC Analyst working directly for RBC Capital Markets makes on average 58,000-62,000. The yearly 40K salary offered in the first year of work with FDM is equivalent to working as a bank teller who usually makes 41K with RBC.