eFinancialCareers

If you think you'll be happier in your career simply by switching companies, think again. To be successful and love your work, you'll need more than a job. Before you focus on resume writing, networking, and job hunting, you'll need what I call a "personal career vision" - a tangible blueprint of the direction you want your life to take. What's the value of this? Simple: It helps you gain a... Read more

Last quarter, earnings season was punctuated by the demise of Bear Stearns. This quarter's marquee news revolves around public officials and regulators struggling to stave off another such collapse. Their desperate efforts have ramifications that should not be overlooked by job-seekers. Let's start with the policy initiative that's had the most immediately visible impact on markets: the SEC's crackdown on naked shorting. Beginning Monday, short sellers of stock in 19... Read more

The government's official employment data for the securities industry is belatedly catching up with the entrenched pattern of layoffs on Wall Street and elsewhere. But all evidence indicates the lion's share of headcount reduction remains to come. That somber message will surprise few professionals who lost their jobs to the credit crunch. And while financial institutions continue to hire within favored areas that include Middle East and sovereign wealth fund coverage,... Read more

As Wall Street resizes itself, applying for jobs while unemployed appears set to become far more ordinary - maybe even respectable. Given all that's going on with layoffs and rumors of layoffs, this may be a good time to jot down the lessons I drew from a recent job search, which took far longer than expected. More than a year ago, after nine years as an analyst of varied fixed-income markets and... Read more

Our topic sounds like old hat in the context of a job interview. But many tried-and-true rules of interview behavior are just as valid for other professional situations. Recently I attended a networking event where I met several new people, a few of whom worked within different wings of an organization I wished to learn more about. When I asked, one quickly launched into a description so brutally frank that it... Read more

Is it just us, or is there something fishy about Lehman’s 26 percent quarter-on-quarter increase in compensation expenses? Given the bank’s unlikely to be putting cash aside for generous 2008 bonuses, the increase announced last week is almost certainly down to redundancies. Officially, though, Lehman’s only announced cuts to 5 percent of staff in the past few months, although the bank's Q2 results show a 6.7 percent cut of 1,899... Read more

The tentative underpinnings of a financial market recovery, which appeared after the Federal Reserve stepped in to avert a Bear Stearns bankruptcy in March, have eroded in the past few weeks. As a result, we see a growing risk that the hiring climate among investment banks won't improve as soon as many had hoped. Concerns about the health of major financial institutions are once again on the upswing, just as banks... Read more

For the most part, bulge-bracket banks continue to retrench. But opportunities exist, for candidates willing to look beyond the big investment banks. A new survey of Wall Street headhunters reaffirms the bleak financial job market picture that's hogged the headlines for many months. The survey by the smart cube, a London-based research firm, found expected compensation for new hires is shrinking, signing bonuses are endangered, more employees are afraid to jump... Read more

Recently we explained our philosophy of career planning and growth, which can be summed up as "active career management." Now, here are some techniques to help you maximize expected returns from the effort you put into your job search. Most of these tips below came from Ken Murray, president of Mercury Partners, a New York-based search firm focused on hedge funds and investment banks. Steer Away From the Crowd Seek out "undiscovered"... Read more

Recent evidence suggests that the credit crisis may be starting to lift. While we see no reason to expect the Wall Street hiring outlook will brighten any time soon, the contour of financial market conditions going forward could form an important background consideration for professionals planning any type of career move. In the two months since the Federal Reserve stepped in to pull Bear Stearns from the volcano's lip, most debt,... Read more

Caution among employers continues to dominate the financial-sector job outlook within the U.S. Large-scale layoffs are occurring alongside of hiring in selected niches. And recovery isn't likely soon. In a report this week Johnson Associates, a leading Wall Street compensation consultant, pointed out that analysts' 2008 earnings estimates for major banks and publicly traded asset management firms fell steadily through March and April. That indicates expectations for a profit recovery... Read more

"Career path." That's a phrase often spoken by HR staffers eager to show young employees that management is meeting their need for professional growth. Does the phrase mean anything - or is it simply hot air? The question never occurred to me before I joined eFinancialCareers just over a year ago. Like many of you, perhaps, all of my career moves were driven by opportunism, more a string of chance events... Read more

Women who rise to the upper levels of business follow the same recipe for success as men as they combine vision, intellect, guts and hard work with their ability to influence others. They also add another ingredient: authenticity. That's the conclusion reached by Julie Wolf, Ph.D., managing director of RHR International, a corporate psychology firm based in Illinois. Wolf conducted in-depth interviews with some 100 female executives ranging from vice presidents... Read more

By Calvin Sun The ability to reach a prospective employer directly can be vital to your job-hunting efforts. Your prospects increase dramatically if you can talk to a person, instead of "Human Resources." What's wrong with just calling a company's main number and asking to be transferred to your desired party? Several things: First, you might be restricted to "normal business hours," usually 8:30 a.m. to 5 or 5:30 pm. That... Read more

Does BNP know what it’s getting into in the badlands of New York? Recently, it emerged the French bank is in "advanced talks" to acquire Bank of America’s U.S. prime brokerage business - not exactly the most sought-after asset in the world, given all other banks dropped out of the bidding process - but an acquisition that would strengthen BNP’s U.S. investment banking franchise if it goes ahead. At the same time,... Read more

Candidates imprisoned in the over-50 career ghetto might draw inspiration from an unusual source: the Rolling Stones. The legendary band has spawned an ocean of ink from reviewers awed by the sheer physical athleticism the 60-something performers - especially lead singer Mick Jagger - display in every live show. Although the Stones' latest tour concluded in 2007, the "ageless" theme permeates "Shine a Light," the current Martin Scorsese film based on... Read more

Wall Street chieftains are waxing optimistic that an end to the credit crunch is in sight. Should you believe them? More important, should you care? Morgan Stanley's John Mack declared last week the U.S. sub-prime mortgage problem is "in the eighth or ninth inning," and the broad credit markets will be on the mend by year-end. JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon said the crisis is "maybe 75 percent to 80 percent" over.... Read more

The credit crunch is cutting a wide swath through markets, employment, and broad economic conditions. Is the worst behind us, or yet to come? In the inaugural installment of this column, published last Nov. 9, we guessed the credit crisis was in "the bottom of the fifth," - i.e., right at the halfway mark. Our assessment proved way too optimistic. Now, with more and better information available about the extent of... Read more

Even in a ragged job market, candidates who get job offers can improve them. The key is being flexible about what you ask for - and having the confidence to ask in the first place. A successful applicant has much to gain and nothing to lose by negotiating details of an offer, says New York career coach Bettina Seidman. Her main caveats: Never bring up salary or perks before an offer... Read more

Although speaking in public frightens many people, it can help you gain visibility and exposure, and increase your chances of getting that new job or promotion. If you hate the idea of giving a presentation, you're far from alone. Although speaking in public frightens many people, the ability to give presentations can boost your career immeasurably. It helps you gain visibility and exposure, and increases your chances of getting that new... Read more