eFinancialCareers

Networking – the very mention of this word is enough to make most people shudder. The first few months in business school taught us that having a stunning CV or a stint in Iraq just wasn’t good enough to get you shortlisted for banking interviews. We were taught the nuances of networking – start with an icebreaker (complaining about London weather – check), have an interesting story about yourself (self-deprecating... Read more

A very wise manager of mine once said to me, “There will always be those who should not have been let go, but were, and those who should be let go, but weren’t.” I didn’t realise then that one day I would have to draw strength from his words. In 2004, I came to the USA from Singapore for college, and like many others from Asia, I was extremely... Read more

2008 is over from a recruitment point of view. December is going to be a very dead month. I get the feeling that there is a general mood of exhaustion in the market and that many people are going to wait until the fresh new year before reassessing things. I did an ugly calculation this week. I divided the amount of cash I now have readily available by my monthly... Read more

Even if banks’ share prices were miraculously back up at the highs of early 2007, the sorry state of revenues means they wouldn’t exactly be doing a lot of hiring at the moment. But, with the stock of most large institutions a 10-year low, what little recruitment might otherwise have taken place in the current conditions is being discouraged. This is because with stock options underwater, no one can afford... Read more

The Gulf region is currently viewed as an alluring destination for those looking to change jobs or who have recently been made redundant as a result of the recent bloodbath in the world’s financial markets. Visions of huge tax-free salaries, an enviable lifestyle and the opportunity to perform again in a region awash with petro-dollar liquidity means the GCC countries are seen as a new Eldorado in the eyes... Read more

There are two good reasons why people flock to business school – one, the network and two, because it opens doors. The career services team in b-school provides you with a great platform to interact with recruiters from different industries and ample opportunities to shift careers – you can walk in as Gordon Ramsay and graduate to become a Gordon Gekko. However, once you are out of business school and... Read more

People who've lost their jobs often feel uncomfortable about networking. You may have been content operating behind a brand name and networking in a business capacity, but networking on behalf of yourself is a different issue. Loss of a job can result in feelings of loss of identity. There is a tendency to shy away from what you may perceive as "self promotion". It's worth remembering, however, that it's estimated... Read more

I got a chilling reminder this week of just how competitive things are in the job market at the moment. Although I’m in a short-term position, I’m still applying for roles that are better suited to my long-term career aims. A headhunter sent me a job spec for a role in the structured credit risk team of a bank. It matched my skill set and experience very closely, and... Read more

Proprietary traders are firmly out of fashion, as confirmed by JPMorgan’s decision to close its prop desk and eliminate some of the occupants. What does a former prop trader do? Away from financial services, the options seem limited. Corporate financiers can reinvent themselves as strategy consultants, in-house M&A advisors, and accountants. But prop traders’ skills are arguably more suited to hanging out at William Hill. In the downturn of 2001-03, redundant traders... Read more

Over the past year, it has been nearly impossible to ignore the barrage of negative headlines about the financial world. Regardless of this, many of the best and brightest MBA students choose the finance sector post graduation. Banking is an exclusive, competitive world, and banks have always been eager to snap up young talent. The individuals who went into banking were often highly compensated in comparison to other industries. But... Read more

If you’re interested in finding a new job in the current market, you need to approach the situation just like any sensible business faced with a decline in its traditional customer base: you need to find new customers and they need to understand the benefits and value you offer – your return on investment (ROI), in fact. Stage One: What is your ‘core product’? You need to define from a... Read more

I was approaching my 40th birthday when I was laid off by Bear Stearns. By that age, investment bankers are supposed to have made enough money so that they can leave the industry if they want to. I’d been able to pay off my mortgage and was financially secure enough so that a huge salary was no longer essential. The long hours I’d been working – leaving the house... Read more

A fat sign-on bonus and a contract to join one of the world’s most prestigious investment banks – what do you call that, a sweet deal or a passport to hell? A year ago, as a first-year business school graduate, I thought it was my dream come true. In June 07, I started my 10-week summer internship at Lehman Brothers in their capital markets division. On the penultimate day... Read more

The announcement by Stephen Jennings, CEO of Renaissance Capital, in January 2007 that his firm was setting up operations in Africa with an upfront investment of $500m was a landmark moment. It signalled the continent’s attractiveness as a home for investment dollars to the developed markets in Europe and North America, as well as the cash-rich sovereign investors in Asia and the Middle East. With returns often outstripping those in... Read more

Qualification stage is one of the best times for trainee accountants to make a career move and, despite the credit crunch, newly qualified accountants should still see the financial services industry as an attractive proposition. There continue to be opportunities for high-calibre accountants within the sector, particularly at boutique investment banks, asset managers, wealth management houses and hedge funds, both in London and abroad. Aside from the types of organisation... Read more

The first few days back in an office felt extremely odd. After virtually six months of doing whatever I fancied, it feels strange to be tied to someone else's timetable. The role I find myself in is a bit more eat-what-you-kill than I’d been led to believe. It will probably provide a fairly volatile income, but at least it means I’m focusing on financial things again. The business is a new... Read more

Most City trading floors have at least a few grey-haired old men hanging around – people like me – who, given half a chance, are only too willing to share war stories with a generation of youngsters who have never known hard times. Until recently, nothing really bad had happened in the City since the 1998 debt crisis, which old Russia hands would wax lyrical about. In my case –... Read more

The public sector has always been seen as the poor relative of every other sector, with high levels of bureaucracy and less ‘sexy’ roles. This has now changed. Of course, there are still ‘steady’ jobs, and ‘steady’ candidates are needed to fill those jobs. But with the increase in PFI and PPP funding and European Union changes (not to mention the £40bn the Government has just promised to inject into... Read more

A new era in the banking industry started this week. Globally, banks have been pumped full of government funds. Nationalisation is flavour of the month. What will government involvement or ownership mean for the banks? For banks with large investment banking arms, I would imagine the new owners will be keen to distance themselves from the kind of headlong risk-taking that has taken so much of the blame for the current... Read more

This is the usually the season to start dropping subtle hints that unless your bonus meets expectations, you’ll be looking for alternative employment come the New Year. Blatantly, the annual bluff won’t work any more. Not only is banking recruitment likely to remain depressed in early 2009, but threatening to leave for a hedge fund – a big driver of traders’ compensation for many years – no longer carries any... Read more