Boston-area investment firms aren't hurting for resumes. Thousands of bankers laid off from Wall Street firms are eager to make a change to areas of financial services that appear to be weathering the economic downturn, such as private equity, venture capital or hedge funds. Moreover, people living in New York - especially those with ties to New England - are willing to relocate to Boston, making the job market there... Read more
By Jonathan Berr 03 Jun 2008 - 2 comments
So you think you're underpaid? In a global bonus survey conducted by eFinancialCareers News, 62 percent of securities professionals thought they should have been paid more for their efforts in 2007. The survey was conducted in the days before Bear Stearns was subsumed by JPMorgan and Bradford & Bingley cast a deathly pallor across the British banking sector. Some 938 users of eFinancialCareers sites around the world responded. Only 18.6... Read more
By Sarah Butcher 02 Jun 2008 - 2 comments
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
By Jon Jacobs 30 May 2008 - 1 comment
Lehman gears up for Middle East growth, but downsizes elsewhere. Credit Suisse relocates global FIG head to Hong Kong, and launches an onshore wealth management operation in India. Thomson Reuters merger said to cost 1,500 jobs. JPMorgan reportedly let go some 200 investment bankers due to market conditions, not the Bear Stearns takeover. *** Lehman Brothers announced its second top-level Middle East appointment in a month, naming Philip Lynch as chief executive... Read more
By eFinancialCareers News 28 May 2008 - 0 comments
Say "bully," and people think of school days, and the big kid on the bus who demanded everyone's milk money or, nowadays, their iPod. But if you think bullying is unique to the pre-teen and teen-age years, think again. Researchers find bullies are alive and well in the workplace. Indeed, a 2007 survey found 13 percent of more than 7,000 adults had seen some form of bullying in the workplace... Read more
By Mathew Schwartz 27 May 2008 - 0 comments
The ranks of Charter Financial Analysts in Canada are growing. More than 9,990 are registered to take the CFA exam in June, up 68 percent from 5,914 in 2006. Bob Johnson, deputy chief executive of the non-profit CFA Institute, says that's a sign of growing interest in the certification by employers, and the greater availability of training at colleges. Moreover, Johnson says, the number of candidates taking the exam for the... Read more
By Jonathan Berr 27 May 2008 - 2 comments
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
By Jon Jacobs 23 May 2008 - 0 comments
JPMorgan's chief takes a prominent role in a major campaign aimed at persuading other institutions to hire displaced Bear Stearns staffers. Pyramis, Fidelity's institutional division, is aggressively hiring investment managers. KKR is seeking infrastructure investing and operating managers to join its new team headed by Lazard's former global infrastructure chief. *** JPMorgan Chase is conducting an outplacement effort on an unprecedented scale, as its chief executive and an in-house team reportedly approach... Read more
By eFinancialCareers News 21 May 2008 - 0 comments
A revised economic analysis by a New York City agency forecasts that the city's financial services job losses will total 33,300 from late 2007 through mid-2009 – including 17,300 jobs in the more narrowly defined "securities" industry. Those numbers are dwarfed by the amount of job cuts already announced by Wall Street and big European banks, which exceed 60,000. They're also well below the 41,300 New York City jobs erased by... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 21 May 2008 - 0 comments
Media reports this week indicate Lehman Brothers recently began laying off an estimated 1,400 people or about 5 percent of its worldwide work force. The reduction appears come on top of a reduction of identical proportions the firm reportedly carried out in March. The March reports of a mass layoff from Lehman were never officially confirmed. The latest round of job cuts "are expected to affect all divisions of the company... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 21 May 2008 - 0 comments
When it comes to working with search firms, "when and if" are just as important as "how." Retained search firms are appropriate vehicles for candidates seeking a "career lateral" - a position whose responsibilities and pay are similar to the job they currently have, says Ann S. Boland, an executive recruiter in the Washington, D.C., area. However, if you've previously performed the role but aren't doing so currently, or if you... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 20 May 2008 - 5 comments
JPMorgan Chase is conducting an outplacement effort on an unprecedented scale, as its chief executive and an in-house team reportedly approach hundreds of companies about hiring some 5,000 Bear Stearns workers who will become casualties of the banks' pending combination. The campaign could become a template for how both JPMorgan and the rest of Wall Street will manage the impact of future major mergers and layoffs, the Financial Times reports in... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 19 May 2008 - 1 comment
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
By Jon Jacobs 16 May 2008 - 0 comments
Dumpsters suddenly show up outside your office. Your corporate email stops working. A customer mentions that you're being replaced. The boss calls with bad news while you're recovering from surgery. These are among the practices banks resort to these days to inform individual human resources that they are no longer considered resources. As Wall Street firms downsize in a series of waves, the New York Times reports that managements are concealing... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 16 May 2008 - 0 comments
Buyout kingpin Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is on the prowl for people who know how to select and manage infrastructure investments. KKR hired Lazard's global infrastructure chief George Bilicic to lead the new initiative, the private equity firm said in a press release Friday. In addition, "KKR is building an investment team to focus specifically on global infrastructure opportunities and will work with Mr. Bilicic to identify highly experienced investment... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 16 May 2008 - 0 comments
Would you call a prospective employer 63 times if your calls weren't picked up or returned? How about 24 times over a two-year period? If you fear being that persistent will cost you an opportunity, you're in for a shock. In at least two instances cited by career experts recently, candidates who did not persist to that degree would have lost opportunities. "I have a client who called an employer contact 63... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 15 May 2008 - 0 comments
Citigroup's turnaround strategy will merge duplicative data centers. UBS is cutting 2,600 jobs from its investment bank, and plans to eliminate 5,500 jobs company-wide by mid-2009. *** Achieving operational efficiencies - which inevitably means further headcount reductions - form the core of Citigroup's three-year turnaround strategy, unveiled Friday by Chief Executive Vikram Pandit. While Pandit didn't say how many more positions would bite the dust, he and top aides left little... Read more
By eFinancialCareers News 14 May 2008 - 0 comments
If you think Wall Street was stingy at bonus time last year, brace yourself: 2008 is on track to be far worse, according to a top compensation consultant's latest soundings of its blue-chip client base. Johnson Associates is projecting smaller departmental bonus pools this year across each of the 12 business areas examined in its first-quarter compensation trends report. Company wide average bonuses are seen shrinking between 15 percent and 35... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 14 May 2008 - 0 comments
JPMorgan could be the next bank to unveil a large-scale layoff, and it won't be confined to employees of the newly acquired Bear Stearns, a published report said. Citing unnamed sources, Reuters reported Wednesday that absorbing Bear Stearns will displace some 2,000 current JPMorgan employees. What's more, market-driven cutbacks could claim an additional 1,000 to 2,000 JPMorgan jobs in coming weeks, Reuters said. Both the merger-related and market-related cuts are expected to... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 14 May 2008 - 0 comments
As many as 6,000 of Bear Stearns' 14,000 employees reportedly have been offered jobs by new owner JPMorgan Chase & Co. But for thousands of technology and operations staffers whose fate remains up in the air, the outlook is gloomy. "The remaining roughly 3,500 employees will learn their fates in the next two weeks," Reuters reported late Monday. "These staffers, mostly in technology and operations, and will likely see a lower... Read more
By Jon Jacobs 13 May 2008 - 0 comments