ZA
Bonuses cut in SA banks but salaries will rise
South Africa’s financial sector has been sheltered from the worst of the financial crisis, but the recession has hit results and bonuses. This week Absa, the first of the country’s “big four” banks to report results, has announced “substantial cuts” in the bonuses of executives and directors after a 36% fall in net income last [...]
How old is too old for an MBA?
An MBA is a question of timing: get it wrong and you’ll find yourself spending 40k+ on two years out of the market when pay is peaking; even worse you may then find it impossible to get back in due to a glut of recently redundant experienced analysts. Equally, however, if you’re determined to do [...]
GUEST COMMENT: Several things to remember when starting a new job
If you’ve been out of the market for a little while, either on gardening leave, voluntary abstention from work, or as a result of redundancy, you may be a little rusty when it comes to remembering how things work in an investment bank. Here are six things to get you back on track: 1) Find… [...]
Fewer people want to work in SA now hiring’s picked up in London and New York
There was a time when it looked like South Africa may be slowly but surely bridging the skills gap. Last year the return from London, New York and elsewhere of many expatriates following the financial crisis and mass lay-offs in the City and on Wall Street was hailed as “the homecoming”. The return on the [...]
A Q&A with the Head of Human Resources for Europe and MENA at the Carlyle Group
Last week we had a conversation with Annie Paydar, the new head of human resources for Europe and MENA at the Carlyle Group. Our questions, and Annie’s response, are below. The synopsis: Carlyle hires very few people in Europe. If you want to be one of them, you’ll need to be fairly exceptional. Here’s Annie: [...]
SA graduates want security but financial sector still a magnet
The recession is officially over, but the situation remains tough for job seekers in South Africa. Statistics SA has just confirmed that a million jobs were lost in the nine months to the end of September 2009 and the official unemployment rate is up to 24.5 per cent. Even that eternal optimist, president Jacob Zuma, [...]
Covering letters are very irritating, but mostly necessary
If you’re applying for multiple jobs, and doing so online, you may reach a point at which you start to question the value of writing yet another cover letter describing why you’re suited to yet another role that you’re applying for speculatively and may get absolutely nowhere with. Don’t go there. Although covering letters are [...]
M&A activity more than halves in South Africa, dim prospects for jobs
Merger and acquisition activity dropped dramatically in South Africa last year: there was a total of 85 deals valued at $6.8bn, the lowest since 2003, a decrease of 61% by value and 42% by volume compared to 2008. A number of smaller deals could not compensate for the collapse of two expected mega-deals, the tie-up [...]
GUEST COMMENT: On reflection, I now intend to work in Hong Kong
I am a continental European by birth, but I’m currently working for a major investment fund in the UAE. Until a couple of years ago, I was working in an investment bank in London, but I got the chance to move into private equity when the market was in a bad shape and moved here. [...]
Renaissance Capital on a hiring spree in Africa
It is a riches to rags to riches story: just over a year after being seriously hit by the financial crisis and having to lay off 40% of its staff, Renaissance Capital (RenCap) is betting on growth and ready to go on a hiring spree. The Moscow-based investment bank is recruiting people in Russia and [...]
Follow eFinancialCareers
What is RSS?
Advice
