ZA
Sector: Investment
GUEST COMMENT: The first 48 hours of redundancy are critical
Have you ever had a sporting injury? If so, you’ll know that taking some key actions in the first 48 hours plays a key part in minimizing damage and speeding your recovery. Whether you’ve strained a muscle, damaged some ligaments or incurred something more serious, it will help if you rest, apply ice or compression, [...]
Zambia’s U-turn halts FirstRand’s African expansion
Three weeks ago FirstRand announced the acquisition of Finance Bank, Zambia’s third largest retail bank. It was a significant step in the South African bank’s strategy of growing and expanding in Africa. The plan was to integrate the newly acquired business into First National Bank (FNB), FirstRand’s retail arm, and proceed with the immediate launch [...]
I was nearly an MD at Credit Suisse, but I gave it all up to teach Pilates
We speak to Thicha Srivisal, a Thai national and Singapore permanent resident, who gave up her well-paid director job at Credit Suisse to run her own business, Breathe Pilates. Ballet not banking I never grew up wanting to be a banker; instead my dream was to be a professional ballerina. When I was 12, I [...]
EDITOR’S TAKE: Why Steve Jobs would probably not have wanted you to be a banker
It’s late in the day and the obituaries have been flowing thick and fast, so we will keep this brief: Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, bringer of the iPod and iPad and various devices favoured by financial services professionals, would probably not have approved of banking as a choice of career. His reasons are embedded [...]
Techniques for turning on employers when you are massively overqualified
There’s a growing possibility that a lot of very talented, very highly qualified financial services professionals might be looking for jobs in the next 6 months. What should you do if you are among them? 1) Make it absolutely clear that you really want the job If you are applying for a job you could [...]
GUEST COMMENT: 19 steps to suffocating your career
1. Get caught up in your own world and busy life. 2. Don’t bother keeping in touch with your network of friends, ex-colleagues, ex-clients and contacts. 3. Get made redundant or learn your job is under threat. 4. Get back in contact with your network because you’ve heard the mantra: “Networking is best way to [...]
GUEST COMMENT: Unless you follow this advice, you will come to regret your exit interview
An exit interview seems like a riskless trade. A fifteen minute nirvana in which you get to vent your spleen after years of grovelling obeisance. It may seem that there’s limited downside to a frank and forthright exit interview. After all, you’ve already resigned. If you’re going to a competitor, there’s surely a limited amount [...]
FRED BAYR: What do recruiters do during hiring freezes?
Back in February, I revealed that the most enjoyable days of recruitment arise in bonus season when arrogant Oxbridge bankers come grovelling to us polytechnic parasites like their lives depend on us. Joy. However the worst time to be in recruitment is during the annual hiring freeze. This is usually reserved for Q4, but this [...]
GUEST COMMENT: A major investment bank made me a job offer and then ignored my calls
I’ve been looking for a new job for a while, so imagine my delight when one of the recruiters I work with said he had a corporate strategy role at a large bank which I might be interested in. I attended a first round of interviews with a very pleasant, but recently appointed senior employee [...]
Absa and unions at loggerheads over retrenchments
It is open war between the trade unions and Absa, South Africa’s largest retail lender. In the latest twist to a long-simmering feud, the union Solidarity is seeking an urgent injunction from the Labour Court to block mass lay-offs at Absa. The union accuses the bank of refusing to consult in violation of section 189 [...]
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