Couple of questions regarding CSC exam

I was talking to a friend of mine who is a job counselor, and she said it's highly recommended to take the CSC (Canadian Securities Course) as it increases the chance that any finance-related employer will hire me. I just graduated with a Honours BA in economics this June, and I'm trying to look for work in the personal financial planning/investing area. I have a few questions about CSC:
- Should I take it before or after hiring? $1000+ isn't exactly cheap for a new graduate like me and there's a chance an employer may reimburse this. But on the other hand wouldn't it decrease the chance of being hired if I don't already have CSC?
- Do I need to take the course from CSI to take the exam? Or can I just take the exam itself and pay an exam fee or something? Seeing as my major was in economics and I took lots of courses on banking/finance I think self study with some books and practice tests would be no problem?
- What books/practice tests are recommended? I did not find any useful information on this...
- What are the career paths after taking CSC? I'm more of a "communications" type of person, so I prefer talking with clients, rather than pure research/analysis. I heard that CIM/CFA are more for the pure research/analysis paths, while PFP/CFP are the more "front desk" sort of thing?

Thanks.