the evp of our group supposedly started out as a teller. if anything, that tells you how light-footed you need to be.
I was a teller in college and I applied to a job within when I graduated. So I wasn’t exactly promoted up through the ranks but I have been with the same firm my whole career and started as a teller.
DBfinley- It’s an income, and it’s in finance - albeit entry level and not on the side of the biz you want to end up on. If it’s all you can get at this point, go for it. It’s more than respectable to take a job instead of sitting around insisting reluctantly that you’re “better than [job x, y, or z] because you have [whatever qualification].” You’ll be working and learning, and at least be closer to the industry than you are now. You’ll make some contacts [probably not lots] and you’ll have some kind of story to tell. The one caveat I would give you is, if at *all* possible, LET YOUR PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER IN ON YOUR CAREER AMBITIONS. If they’re on your side and willing to help you towards that path, then that’ll make it a little easier, I suppose, to try and move to credit analysis, etc. But if you just plan to be Clark Kent in a teller’s uniform, the odds of your employer proactively tapping your shoulder and asking you to be credit analyst Superman are pretty low - even if you’re killing it in your current role.
There is a joke that HK used to be the place where the failed London bankers would go. Certainly the economic downturn is worldwide, and all financial markets are now a bit more competitive re: the talent pool. I think a bank teller would be a good job if for nothing else than improving your people skills. Much better than a job that allows you to be a hermit. Some of my best soft-skills I learned in high school working as a cashier.
I am currently a credit analyst at a bank. In my experience, not a lot of tellers moving up the ladder. It’s a dead-end job and that’s that. What about a personal banker job instead? It’s a step up from a teller job but may have more upside. I’ve seen a few people who started out as personal bankers, DOMINATED on the job (ie destroyed their sales goals) , got noticed and tapped for credit training, became credit analysts and ultimately relationship bankers on the commercial side.
SuperiorReturn Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ASSet_MANagement Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I’m not sure how the teller -> Credit analyst > jump > > works. However, I went from telecom internet > > operations to FO portfolio analyst at an IB, so > > anything is possible. > > > portfolio analysts are support positions and > normally used for private wealth. > so, you jumped industries, which is still good for > a kid. I make trades in discretionary accounts (ie. put my ideas to work). So I guess thats a support role?
What do you need to become a licensed discretionary portfolio manager where you are from?
7, 66 and take the PM exam offered through the firm. Im going to take commodities too, however, we are limited as far as what we can pursue. For instance, We have asset allocation models (that I’ve build using the firm guidelines) that we park *most* of our clients in. However, we have some accounts that allow us to be a bit more aggressive in buying/shorting and using option strategies (however, my boss does most of the options and fixed income stuff, I play around with that a little but I don’t want to blow anyone up). We cannot do futures, levered ETFS all the riskier stuff that an IB would consider ‘comprimising fiduciary responsibility.’
A colleage, portfolio manager, started off as a bank teller or something to that effect. You say you’re “going broke” - anything is better than that to my mind.
If the bills aren’t paying for themselves, there’s nothing wrong with taking a bank teller job. What else are you doing to be productive? Granted, maybe the bank teller job will totally suck, but imagine how much worse off you could be. Here’s an example – I was in Cambodia two days ago visiting the Angkor archaeological site. It was like 90+ degrees with 80% humidity, and I needed to find some drinking water. I ended up buying four 1-liter bottles of water from this young Cambodian girl for $4.00 outside of Angkor Wat. She looked at me like my buying $4.00 of stuff from her was the best thing that happened to her all day… At the end of the day, maybe the bank teller job isn’t that guy’s cup of tea but at least he’ll be able to pay the bills. At least he’s not the average Cambodian native making an average annual income of $1,500, and constantly wondering if he’ll ever earn enough money or a sponsorship to move to a western country, where he can achieve his “dream job” of earning a minimum wage there.
Numi mind if I shoot you my resume, and maybe you could see what I’m doing wrong?
Numi, welcome back!
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If the bills aren’t paying for themselves, there’s > nothing wrong with taking a bank teller job. What > else are you doing to be productive? > > Granted, maybe the bank teller job will totally > suck, but imagine how much worse off you could be. > Here’s an example – I was in Cambodia two days > ago visiting the Angkor archaeological site. It > was like 90+ degrees with 80% humidity, and I > needed to find some drinking water. I ended up > buying four 1-liter bottles of water from this > young Cambodian girl for $4.00 outside of Angkor > Wat. She looked at me like my buying $4.00 of > stuff from her was the best thing that happened to > her all day… > > At the end of the day, maybe the bank teller job > isn’t that guy’s cup of tea but at least he’ll be > able to pay the bills. At least he’s not the > average Cambodian native making an average annual > income of $1,500, and constantly wondering if > he’ll ever earn enough money or a sponsorship to > move to a western country, where he can achieve > his “dream job” of earning a minimum wage there. How was Angkor? I’ll be going out there this summer. And I couldn’t agree more with your point. It’s why I’d be more than happy to eradicate all national borders, though that would personally cost me big.
$tarving_Banker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I am currently a credit analyst at a bank. In my > experience, not a lot of tellers moving up the > ladder. It’s a dead-end job and that’s that. > > What about a personal banker job instead? It’s a > step up from a teller job but may have more > upside. I’ve seen a few people who started out as > personal bankers, DOMINATED on the job (ie > destroyed their sales goals) , got noticed and > tapped for credit training, became credit analysts > and ultimately relationship bankers on the > commercial side. Agree with statement that teller is a dead-end job for most. I know people in that field, top performers in fact, and I can tell you - it might seem as if bank teller is a chill job, but it’s not especially if you want to move up. The banking sector is not doing well anymore, and even the top banks are cutting back a lot of benefits and what not. There’s a lot of red tape involved and they value seniority over merit in a lot of instances. (Unlike in some finance or other fields where you can move up quickly if you’re good.) As far as getting a teller job for paying the bills - go for it. I would work at McDonalds if I had to because you need money to survive. There are other ways to make money too & cutting expenses. Honestly though, try to expand your network. A good chunk of people get jobs through friends and their networks (you would be surprised how rampant this is). It helps a lot if you’re well-connected to people that are in managerial / hiring positions. For the most part, it gets easier once you land a decent job and gain some work experience. It’s hard to get hired fresh out of college with no experience, but it’s possible except your pay will be subpar. Are you getting interviews at least? You should brush up on your interview skills. I went from being interviewed to being the interviewer and some things that firms look for: -You have to be personable and hold a decent conversation. If you’re quiet in an interview, no matter how qualified you may seem on paper, you will have a hard time finding a job. I have seen some instances in which a candidate looks gold on paper but once you interview them, it’s a completely different story. I personally value merit, but if you’re in an environment like consulting, communication skills are key. -You have to seem like you’re genuinely interested in the job. Seems like a no-brainer but if the interviewer gets any hint that you’re not 100% into it, then you’ll be iced on the spot. -Differentiate yourself from others. Don’t be afraid to have some personality, but keep it in check. -Tailor yourself and your resume to the job you’re applying to. -Looks matter. A lot of people may focus on making it seem as if they are qualified & competent during the interview, but in reality, this is not as important because you’ll be judged later by your work product. Interview’s focus is whether or not the individual will fit in with the “corporate culture / team,” which includes how you look, how you carry yourself, and how you deal with the interviewer’s questions.
Thanks for the greetings, bchadwick and brother bilo – I am still signing on only occasionally as I am doing my mini tour around Southeast Asia. I’m in Thailand right now, but this time for leisure. Going to make one more stop in Singapore before heading back to the States in a few days. I spent the earlier portion of the last three weeks doing volunteer work and for the last week and a half, I’ve just been backpacking around. It’s been a great time so far…will write more about my travel experiences once I’m back in the States, in case anyone here is interested. dbfinley, feel free to shoot me your resume and I can take a quick look at it. E-mail is porcupines@gmail.com. It will be a few days to a week before I get back to you however, as I’m backlogged in a number of requests from people who’ve enlisted me for my consulting services and seeing as how I’ve already notified these folks that I’ve been traveling, I have to to work on their documents immediately when I return. But if you can be patient, yes of course I’m happy to take a look. Good luck!
BTW brother bilo, Angkor Wat was the most amazing archaeological site I’ve ever seen. Granted, there are still a few other places that I want to see including Maccu Picchu and the Pyramids. However, I have been to the excavated sites of ancient Greece, Italy, Mexico City, among others, and Angkor Wat definitely has the most stuff concentrated in a relatively tight geographical locale. Let’s put it this way – I’m no archaeology guru or anything, but I just have a real appreciation for the history, art and culture behind it all. I spent three days touring various sites around Angkor as well as some of the temples further away including Banteay Srey and Rolous Group; at first I thought I didn’t know if I had the interest and endurance to go three days straight seeing temples in the Cambodian heat during June, but I could easily have spent more time there. Basically, if you’re a “tourist” and your idea of vacationing is chilling out, going to bars, and stuff like that, then you can probably do that anywhere in the world (even though it’s quite cheap to do that in Cambodia). However, if you’re a “traveler” or “backpacker,” the scale and importance of Angkor Wat will blow your mind. I recommend a three-day minimum in Siem Reap, and after that you have the option of going anywhere else in Southeast Asia – you can get to Bangkok or Phnom Penh by land transportation, or get on a budget Asian airline like Air Asia, Jetstar or Tiger and hit up Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Indonesia, or even China/India if you don’t mind the longer flight. Have you booked your trip already? What does your itinerary look like?
Thanks for sharing numi, I hope to hear more details when you return. It probably isn’t something you’ll want to do in your leisure time, but I’m under the impression that you can get a well-made bespoke suit in Thailand for next to nothing. Just throwing that out there. Enjoy the rest of your travels.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > BTW brother bilo, Angkor Wat was the most amazing > archaeological site I’ve ever seen. Granted, there > are still a few other places that I want to see > including Maccu Picchu and the Pyramids. However, > I have been to the excavated sites of ancient > Greece, Italy, Mexico City, among others, and > Angkor Wat definitely has the most stuff > concentrated in a relatively tight geographical > locale. Let’s put it this way – I’m no > archaeology guru or anything, but I just have a > real appreciation for the history, art and culture > behind it all. I spent three days touring various > sites around Angkor as well as some of the temples > further away including Banteay Srey and Rolous > Group; at first I thought I didn’t know if I had > the interest and endurance to go three days > straight seeing temples in the Cambodian heat > during June, but I could easily have spent more > time there. > > Basically, if you’re a “tourist” and your idea of > vacationing is chilling out, going to bars, and > stuff like that, then you can probably do that > anywhere in the world (even though it’s quite > cheap to do that in Cambodia). However, if you’re > a “traveler” or “backpacker,” the scale and > importance of Angkor Wat will blow your mind. I > recommend a three-day minimum in Siem Reap, and > after that you have the option of going anywhere > else in Southeast Asia – you can get to Bangkok > or Phnom Penh by land transportation, or get on a > budget Asian airline like Air Asia, Jetstar or > Tiger and hit up Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, > Laos, Indonesia, or even China/India if you don’t > mind the longer flight. > > Have you booked your trip already? What does your > itinerary look like? Thanks for the perspective. By your definition, I’m definitely more of a “traveler” than “tourist” (as I think most Cambodia visitors would be). I have booked. It’s a pretty hectic packaged itinerary set up for an MBA group, so I expect to get more of a digest experience than an in-depth one. I do think it will be incredible regardless.