eFinancialCareers

As passage of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program failed to calm markets, the Treasury appointed Assistant Secretary Neel Kashkari, a former Goldman Sachs banker who joined the department in 2006, to temporarily lead the office overseeing the program. *** Congress enacted and President Bush signed legislation that will let the government spend up to $700 billion to buy banks' distressed bonds and loans. The law establishing the Troubled Asset Relief... Read more

While firms in the Boston area are proving resilient in the face of market turmoil, unfortunately for job seekers, they're not entirely immune. The future of the Merrill Lynch operations in the area is uncertain once the firm is acquired by Bank of America. State Street Corp. is under pressure, as indicated by a plummeting share price. And Fidelity Investments says parents are saving less money for college because of the... Read more

Yes, the incarnation of Wall Street that people have known since the 1980s no longer exists. Thousands of jobs are in danger, even after Congress extended a $700 billion lifeline to the industry. At the same time, some companies see chaos as an opportunity to add people they might not have been able to get otherwise. Whatever happens in coming months, job applicants will face challenges standing out from the crowd.... Read more

Buoyed by the strong Canadian dollar, Canadian banks are on the hunt for acquisitions in the U.S. Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest bank, reportedly held acquisition talks with Lehman Brothers Holdings a few months before Lehman sought bankruptcy protection. In April, shares of Bank of Nova Scotia tumbled after The Wall Street Journal reported it was considering a bid for Cleveland-based National City. Earlier this year, TD Ameritrade... Read more

The size and shape of the financial sector rests in the hands of the U.S. government, although a majority of both lawmakers and voters might prove incapable of accepting that simple fact. If you work for a commercial bank or an investment bank, get ready for life under a new corporate roof if your employer hasn't changed hands already. *** Efforts to design a financial-sector rescue package capable of winning Congressional approval... Read more

People throughout the financial industry are nervous right now. Whether your firm's under pressure or not, it's always smart to have your resume up-to-date, to be in touch with your network, and to be ready to launch a job search should the need - or the opportunity - arise. To help, we've compiled some of our favorite articles on networking, organizing your job search, resumes, cover letters, and interviewing. Networking Networking... Read more

Other than the rise of the behavioral interview, the components of the job interview really haven't changed much over the past decade. Still, approximately 10 percent of my interviews included "outlier" interview techniques. Here are a couple of outlier scenarios I have experienced: The Bad Cop The apparent goal of this technique is to see how you respond under pressure. Its most common applications are to interrupt the candidate mid-sentence to... Read more

Jessi Walter loved her job as vice president of credit strategy at Bear Stearns. The work was interesting, she enjoyed her colleagues, and she was well compensated. But she also loved cooking with her boyfriend's two young nieces. In June, when Walter, 27, found herself one of the 10,000 people laid off after Bear Stearns was acquired by JPMorganChase, she didn't panic. She started a business. Cupcake Kids!, which provides cooking events... Read more

With the mess that Wall Street's in, it's hardly surprising that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are delaying bonus decisions beyond their usual October time frame. Both institutions "are putting off their October meetings on bonuses until they have greater clarity about the fourth quarter," the Financial Times reported last week. Goldman, Morgan and other banks are widely expected to award shraply lower bonuses to most employees this year, with the bulk... Read more

Trading and other leverage-dependent activities will be most affected by the bulge brackets' move to take refuge under the umbrella of bank regulators. Boutique investment banks may gain ground - and talent. Converting Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley into regulated bank holding companies effectively unites U.S. finance into a single sector. Headhunter Richard Lipstein, managing director at Boyden Global Executive Search, says additional oversight and regulation will have the biggest career... Read more