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They say that the first step in recovering from any addiction is admitting you have a problem. The same goes for the thousands of bankers addicted to the power and prestige of Investment Banking who are now out of the market and face a far less lucrative and influential future than the one they’d envisaged and had been promised.
As a recruitment consultant (or free counselling service), I am faced on an hourly basis with the frustration and anger of former bankers who would prefer to believe that the world hasn’t changed.
I know that it’s difficult to come to terms with. To borrow Tom Wolfe’s phrase, banks sold the dream of becoming a Master of the Universe. If you achieved a job in corporate finance, the implication was clear: the bank got their pound of flesh in the early years, but you would be in a position to retire early after spending a short and rewarding career reshaping corporate strategy at the highest level.
For many of the people now calling me, banks’ failure to deliver on this implied promise is a betrayal. So too is recruiters’ inability to smooth the passage into a comparable position.
The unfortunate reality is this: right now, very few financial services companies are hiring. Not long ago, it might have been possible to move to the buyside. Now, however, most buyside firms are waiting to see how things pan out, and if they do have a compelling reason to hire they want someone with buyside experience, not a former investment banker.
Even the most senior bankers, hedge fund PM’s and private equity partners don’t know when this will end and the consensus is increasingly that it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
In the meantime, you will need to adapt. If you’ve always been a top performer and have always achieved what you set your mind to, accepting that you can no longer dictate the terms of your employment is hard. But if you can reach this acceptance, it will help.
Now is not the time to chase dying dreams, but to think creatively. You are intelligent people. Use that intelligence to reshape your future. Take the former Goldman Sachs banker who set up a company to train truck drivers: he didn’t sit around berating recruitment companies for failing to find him a new job. Why should you?
For most of us, the world has NOT changed. I don’t get the stupid media articles suggesting we will never get paid good bonuses ever again.
FX continues to be booming and profitable. M&A is cyclical, experiencing a quieter time and will soon be back in business. Credit and equity have seen deleveraging so there’ll be less to play with, but less people involved so per capita it won’t be that bad.
I don’t mind not being paid much this/next year, its immaterial to the fact that the world has NOT changed in the long term. Banks will return to good profitability in due course – maybe not the same levels as 06/07, but with 20-30% less people in each bank the per capita profitability will be the same as before.
And even if we get paid drastically less, its still multiple times more than what you’d make in pretty much any other corporate profession (bar running your own company successfully etc etc).
THE WORLD HAS NOT CHANGED FOR MANY OF US!!!
I had a record year and got paid more in 2008 than I ever did.
2009 looks set to be even better with more responsibility and opportunities.
For those of us who have survived the recent trials and tribulations, we look set to a brighter future than before. Many, many less fish in a still ginormous (albeit shrunk) sea. SOunds good to me!
zzzzzz
Wake up people..the world is changing for MOST in the Financial markets..the writer makes a decent if laboured point
Things will certainly change, because we have a new set of regulations coming our way. The banking will never be as lucrative and prestigious career as it was in the last few years. That’s probably a good thing.
Bobby: it would be good to have an indicative idea which ares you qare working… thx
If the world has not changed yet for everybody, this is just a matter of time before it does… definitely next year for you bobby
All in all good article. and the world has changed guys for most people , and frankly for those of you who are doing good as well. This is because the bussines model has CHANGED. And actually thats a good thing. Finally not every bloody undergraduate with a degree in history will want to move into finance, finally a correction. One more thing, yes ex bankers stop harrasing HHs but also HHs stop being bullsh**ters big time, even a LOT MORE these days. If you have no position tell us and stop waisting our time,
The writer deserves praise for publishing the first head-hunter authored article that hasn’t been shot down in flames in the comments! Well done, well done indeed ! :)
To all you haters …. if you are happy in your job and making loadsa money what the heck are you doing on this web site ? Get a life.
This article is clearly aimed at the tens of thousands of financial services professionals who have lost their job in the past six months.
If you find yourslef unemployed in today’s climate and you have exisitng financial commitments to meet, then the world has definitely changed in a big way.
This recession will end lots of careers in financial sercvices as well as recruitment, as it did last time round.
If you are reading this and you don’t want your career to end then make sure you treat the recruiters you come accross with some professional decency. Recruiters will quickly remember the aggresive and unrealistic candidates as the individuals they don’t want to include on their shortlist.
If you are reading this and you been unemployed for longer than six months – start looking into alterntive careers.
“if you are happy in your job and making loadsa money what the heck are you doing on this web site ?”
Trying my hardest to combat the negative image portrayed by articles like these. On a daily basis I have people thinking I’m going to be fired / having a tough time / never going to get a bonus ever again when I in fact just had a record year. My image is being destroyed and people need to know the truth.
Bobby,
If I were you I’ll just take the money and keep quiet. Your attitude ain’t endearing you to the unemployed people in finance out there who are struggling. Its people like you that gave bankers a bad name in the first place. Hope you learn some humility. No wonder the man in the street has Schadenfreude with banks in troubles with punks like you around.
http://www.truewolrdhistory.info
Times up….
Guys,
For people with quantitative background. Contact your supervisors, there is still hope back at Alma Mater.
The article is being taken out of context ‘AGAIN’. Nobody is saying that the financial sector has caved in and people like the FX salesman are now busking on the street. The article is about ‘Investment Bankers’ who joined in an up cycle and now have to deal with the psychological issues of this. His comments were aimed at those who are out of work now and are still struggling to turn the tanker around.