Mister Test, CFA, FRM, CAIA, MSc, MBA, Jobless ! I unfortunatly do believe it might happen … … Do you?
Well with any luck I’ll be CFA, CAIA, CIMA and MSIM in 6 weeks. Hope to retain my job. This deteriorating market gives me the chills.
It’s all about connections. What good is all of that if you don’t know anyone?
I agree to some extent (and I know a lot of people due to my age and locale), but the designations can open doors as well. Especially in the current job market, no matter what your connections you may not get a look without some letters after your name.
Er… CFA, CMA, MBA, JD, PEng (within 1 year) no job agree with the connections comment
mathlete Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Er… CFA, CMA, MBA, JD, PEng (within 1 year) no > job agree with the connections comment Do you have any practical experience and what are you doing to market yourself? Got my last two jobs with no connections in the middle of the worst recession ever. My feeling is that you can’t just throw up your hands and blame connections you have to try different things. Not disagreeing that connections are the way to most easily get a position, but there’s plenty of other ways and you have to try them all. When I was out of work I would just ask the question to myself, “have I done everything I can do to get a job today”. I eventually got a crappy job at a much lower salary, but that gave me the time to keep looking for the job I wanted. I got the first job off of a company website and the second from a recruiter.
Unforetunately, I will be Mr. MA, MBA, CFA, FRM, CAIA if pass level 3 this month… Phd for sure, but maybe after retirement…
The dream candidate for most finance positions is generally someone that is relatively well rounded. Not just quantitatively smart – but also a team player, someone who is schmoozy, likeable, has leadership potential, etc. The folks that I know that have five (or more) finance qualifications are all quantitatively smart, but not well rounded. A somewhat-less-smart but more-personable person would be more likely to have a successful career and enjoy a lifetime of continuous employment.
I didn’t mean to frame my comment on blaming a lack of connections. What I meant is that one should try to network as much as they can and develop their own connections. Being well connected will help you that much in the long run.
>Do you have any practical experience and what are you doing to market yourself? >Got my last two jobs with no connections in the middle of the worst recession ever. >My feeling is that you can’t just throw up your hands and blame connections you have to try different things. Not disagreeing that connections are the way to most easily get a position, but there’s plenty of other ways and you have to try them all. When I was out of work I would just ask the question to myself, “have I done everything I can do to get a job today”. I eventually got a crappy job at a much lower salary, but that gave me the time to keep looking for the job I wanted. I got the first job off of a company website and the second from a recruiter. +1 man… I would definite like to take points from u…
bpdulog Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I didn’t mean to frame my comment on blaming a > lack of connections. What I meant is that one > should try to network as much as they can and > develop their own connections. Being well > connected will help you that much in the long run. I do agree but don’t fall into the followibng philosophy: “Networking at all cost”. I mean you have to establish smart connections and not be seen as “the guy looking for a job and nothing else” It seems it is sometimes difficult for people to understand that a relationship is bilateral, meaning you can’t always ask and never offer. I already had old classmates that found my phone number on Linkedin, then call me to take a drink and talk about the past. When then time to meet has come, the second question is “Do you think i can find a job in your company?” If you are as nice as me, you say that you will try to do your best to see if anybody around you is interested and you help him. Several years later, you call him back because that time he got a nice position and may help you but he tells you he is unable to do something for you, so sorry about that… This situation is very familiar to me as and happened maybe two or three times. The result is that now everybody behave the same while having completly forgotten the true definition of helping each other, replacing it with “I am just selfish”. => Welcome in France, the country where even with MBA, CFA, FRM, … you still are jobless surrounded by selfish people, the country where people interested in how things works and express some curiosity are strange and should be eradicated.
I am definitely not going to France…
I corrected some parts of my point of view… bpdulog Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I didn’t mean to frame my comment on blaming a > lack of connections. What I meant is that one > should try to network as much as they can and > develop their own connections. Being well > connected will help you that much in the long run. I do agree but don’t fall into the following philosophy: “Networking at all cost” because you may pay it a high price. I mean you have to establish smart connections and not be seen as “the guy looking for a job and nothing else”. Whatsmore, you don’t want to be exploited by your connections abusively. It seems it is sometimes difficult to people to understand that a relationship has to be bilateral, meaning you can’t always ask and never offer. I sometimes have old classmates finding my phonenumber on social networks, then calling me to take a drink and so on. When meeting, the first or (if he is a bit smarter) the second question is “Do you think i can find a job in your company?” If you are as nice as me, you gonna say that you 'll try to do your best to see if anybody is interested around you. So, you help him. Several months/years later, you call him back because that time he got a nice position and may help you to improve yours. But that time, he tells you that he is unable to do something for you, so sorry for you … I am pretty sure this situation sounds very familiar to everyone. The result is that now everybody behave the same while having completly forgotten the true definition of helping each other, replacing it with “I am just selfish and i will exploit weak or nice people”. => Welcome in France, the country where even with MBA, CFA, FRM, … you still are jobless surrounded by selfish people, the country where people interested in how things works and express some curiosity are strange and should be eradicated.
sacre bleu
The thing is… it’s not ALL people that behave this way. It is a shame that you are putting your good faith into those that if you had known their whole personality would of told to F off. I hope your job hunt goes well. Please share stories on how you network and the outcome with the board. I was considering starting another designation (FRM or CAIA) but because I’m not even in the industry yet don’t know what will add the most value. Right now my full time job (beside my full time job) is to network more and try to approach jobs on new fronts.
lxwarr30 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The thing is… it’s not ALL people that behave > this way. It is a shame that you are putting your > good faith into those that if you had known their > whole personality would of told to F off. I hope > your job hunt goes well. Please share stories on > how you network and the outcome with the board. > > I was considering starting another designation > (FRM or CAIA) but because I’m not even in the > industry yet don’t know what will add the most > value. Right now my full time job (beside my full > time job) is to network more and try to approach > jobs on new fronts. You really have to figure out what area you would like to be in and design your approach from that perspective. If you think you are going to need it then go for it.
I got my job in asset management purely on connections…but it takes time, and you have to be genuine. I had an arts degree, with no finance experience background, except being the news editor of a well-known investment mag in the UK. I used my soon-to-be boss for stories, he used me for increasing his and the companies profile by appearing in the mag. Soon we became drinking buddies, and used to hit on girls together, after six months he was my friend. He then offered me a job. That was five years ago…I am married now, and have a child, and would never be able to ‘pull off’ what I did in my late 20s. He gave me a job because he thought I could do the job, but also because he wanted me around the office…simple as.
mpreskett Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I got my job in asset management purely on > connections…but it takes time, and you have to > be genuine. > > I had an arts degree, with no finance experience > background, except being the news editor of a > well-known investment mag in the UK. > > I used my soon-to-be boss for stories, he used me > for increasing his and the companies profile by > appearing in the mag. Soon we became drinking > buddies, and used to hit on girls together, after > six months he was my friend. He then offered me a > job. > > That was five years ago…I am married now, and > have a child, and would never be able to ‘pull > off’ what I did in my late 20s. > > He gave me a job because he thought I could do the > job, but also because he wanted me around the > office…simple as. … and they all lived happily ever after 
Are you working as an Asset Manager or as Sales or something like that? Could you tell us how difficult it was at the beginning to be involved in an investment process knowing it was your first real experience in Asset management?
I like Mister WorldWide instead of all those lame credentials.
I don’t care what the title is, Worldwide, Test, Whatever, I just want to get paid. Been in this business too long and I’m still waiting for a nice payday. C.R.E.A.M.