Question: I'm about a year and a half out of college, and in that year I've worked for and left an insurance company through which I got my Series 63 and my Life, Health, and Annuities license. Like most life insurance companies, this company paid me only commission, and so I had to leave it for a teaching position because of that uncertainty in my pay. 

I do not want to teach at all, but every time I apply for unlicensed banking positions (financial advisor training programs, private banking positions, financial advisor assistant positions, etc) I get rejected almost always within a day of submitting my application. 

I want to know what the issue could be. Is it a resume or cover letter issue? Should I apply to licensed positions, even though I don't have a Series 7, or should I explore other options in finance? 

For more background, aside from the licenses I have B.Sc.'s in math and physics, and have some experience in tax preparation. I would appreciate any advice that this board can offer.

Answer: 
You don't write where you are. I am sure the situation is different in many countries.

But in my experience there must be something seriously wrong with you or with the way you present yourself, or maybe with records about you.
In many countries almost anybody can get a job as a financial advisors - just with commissions.

I would ask someone, maybe a person who is working for years in a managements position, to have a look at your documents. Do you write in color? Lots of spelling mistakes? Is your resume different than standard (to the standard where you live)?

Do you have any bad entries for not paying the bank, a police record, etc.?
There's several factors at play I can see here.

You have one financial-related position, and it's at best tangentially related to more general finance jobs and it's hard to see that offering much in your favor. You were there less than 18 months, had to leave because (forgive me if this sounds harsh, I'm just trying to look at it as a hiring manager might) you couldn't succeed at it. Shifted to a non-finance job which you are now trying to leave to shift career *again*.

None of these are out and out deal-breakers, after all commission-only jobs are easy to get but often difficult to succeed in and it's not that unusual for people just starting out in their career to take some time to "settle" but they do have negative connotations and since your (limited) experience isn't hugely relevant to general finance jobs it's a tough sell to compare you positively with someone who is, say, just graduating.

So what can you do to make yourself a more appealing prospect?

Well, I would look to bolster your resume in the ways that you can, I'm not sure what college degree you have but perhaps some sort of relevant financial course, or look into taking your Series 7 yourself. This will not only improve your employability purely from a qualification and skills perspective but also will show a degree of commitment to the financial services arena that will help dispel the "can't make up their mind" impression.