I don’t think a year’s break on your resume during the worst time in the financial industry in at least three decades if not a century is something that people are going to hold against you.
monty python always recommends golf and masturbation on a more serious note: take a chance, take a risk do something that you have always wanted to try maybe it turns into you next career, if not when you find a job in IM you won’t regret it plus you never know what kind of investment ideas can come from non-finance experiences
momothetired Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What would you do while looking for a job? > Assuming the economy remains as blah as it does > and you end up having a year to kill. Chicks and Warcraft3 (Diablo 3 comes out later this year).
needhelp Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > akanska Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > maddane Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > everyone says, travel, do what you have > always > > > wanted etc. > > > > > > Problem is you need money to do these things, > > to > > > get money you need a job. In this situation > you > > > dont have a job. If you get a job you cant do > > > these things anyway as you have no time. > > > > > > Thats a lame cop-out, maybe I’m lucky cause I > was > > broke my whole life but these kinds of comments > > really get under my skin. If your idea of > travel > > is a private oceanfront villa in bali then > yeah, > > you’re out of luck, but if you want to see the > > world and are relatively young/healthy/open > minded > > you can have a great year long sabbatical with > > VERY little money. Get a side job for a couple > > months (anything- tutor/ wait tables/ clean > > houses) and save a couple grand, sell your car, > > get on couchsurfing and make friends, buy a > plane > > ticket to a developing country and ciao. You > can > > always pick up some side jobs while abroad… > just > > go to any local uni (the private one where rich > > kids go) and teach them english. Live in a > > communal apartment, eat on the street, join a > club > > and enjoy your life. > > > > > > There are tons of valid reasons why this may > not > > be possible, family responsibilities- not > wanting > > to threaten your career, etc… but money is > not > > one of them. > > > Thought about taking a year off. The only problem > is how do you explain that break in exployment on > your resume. You could say that an employer would > value your travel experience but is that really > true? An employer could also think that you may > leave at whim to travel again. You can apply for research grants to travel/research abroad, which looks pretty good on your resume and they pay for food/lodging. Some countries are a lot easier than others to get.
bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t think a year’s break on your resume during > the worst time in the financial industry in at > least three decades if not a century is something > that people are going to hold against you. Its different for someone to have a job and then quit. Fast forward one year later: Guy got laid off and traveled - I spent my time traveling. Guy quit job and travelled - I quit me job and went sailing captain. Harrr!!!1 Which one would you hire?
There is nothing wrong with quitting your job and doing whatever you want. You have no obligation to society to work to increase GDP but you do have an obligation to yourself to do what you wanna do.
People with a curious mind generally want to travel. People with a curious mind are likely to uncover interesting investment ideas. I think a big thing about taking time to travel is how you talk about it. “Yeah, I went and traveled.” --> Yawn… NEXT! “Yeah, I went and traveled, because I’d always wanted to see X, and this was my chance.” —> Hmm… entrepreneurial. “I went and traveled to China, India, and Brazil, and learned a lot about how markets work in those environments. For example, in China, people save a ton because they are worried that they will need money for doctors because public health provision sucks, and this means that domestic growth might explode if we can get a good solution to Chinese health problems (I made this part up, but obviously you shouldn’t).” —> Hmm… potentially good investment insights into major world growth areas.
bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t think a year’s break on your resume during > the worst time in the financial industry in at > least three decades if not a century is something > that people are going to hold against you. this is my concern too. I really want to do the same in a year and half or so but fear the repercussions it may have in future hiring. When I got out of school the (real) job market was horrendous, so I spent a year working crappy random ones like crazy- I had 4 jobs and was able to pay off all my school debt and build a little cushion. Then I took off to south america (right after argentine default) and spent the next year and a half there. I lived in the best neighborhood and went to culinary school. It was awesome and I spent under 10k for the 18 months including school and a fairly lavish lifestyle. When I came back to the US I was able to land a role at a huge asset manager (I had no idea how prestigious the company was when I interviewed and actually had no interest in finance before a schoolmate mentioned it). At that point I think my experience helped me in the hiring process- it made for a far more interesting interview than the typical resume- showed some “personality”. Now I wonder how it would be if I did it again. I figure it will not be looked at as positively since I’ve officially started my career and may paint me as someone who just works to make a buck to then abandon ship and travel. Thats why I want a decent history in my present position so that it is clear that I’m not a 6-18 month flight risk, rather a 3-5 yr flight risk… more understandable in my view since most ppl would switch within that time period anyway, right?? Also, I think if one finds themselves laid off due to the current economic conditions it is an IDEAL time to do so. There are so many good explanations for the future (always wanted to do so and was presented with the opportunity, didn’t want to sell myself short in this jub market…etc.) but also because its cheaper now with the stronger dollar.
…also I think ppl vastly underrate the personal impressions that influence hiring. bchadwick made some nice points along these lines. Being different and interesting and showing that you have initiative and an independent mind are generally positives that catch attention and draw ppl to you. How many more accounting/finance/econ undergrad, CFA level 3 candidates do you think interviewer X really wants to talk to. Your spend more time with your workmates than just about anyone else and one is inclined to hire someone reasonably interesting. We are not robots. Just like the 780 gmat “follow the checklist” applicants that don’t get accepted to MBA programs.
I think you guys have the right idea, just do whatever you want, there are endless ways you can explain/frame it in the future. Being a free thinking person who does what they want shows, intelligent people do sense it in the interview, and that alone can score you the job since they have probably interviewed 10 cookie cutter finance robots before you walked in the door. If they don’t like that about you, you probably wouldn’t like them either.
If you wanted to do something towards your career unemployed, you might look into volunteering in companies doing finance related stuff. You might also upgrade your programming skills, exel & vba. I would look into getting a CQF, although I don’t know how valuable it is. I think you learn a lot. You can also travel a bit 
I think if you stayed in costa rica and ate and lived cheaply in a hostel. You might make it on $35 a day or less. The flights to costa rica are cheap too.
if you’re laid off and you want to travel then you should do that, and do it cheaply. i really feel like now is not the time to be quiting your job to travel, though (unless you are ready to get out of the industry, of course).
just to add my story to the discussion- i was laid off the end of last year. The fixed income hedge fund i worked at had the assets for 3 of its 5 funds seized by our prime brokers, and the remaining 2 funds are on margin call daily. Because these calls aren’t being met they too could be seized at any time so they are basically finished. I received a payout and have decided to travel for at least 10 months. Just last week I booked a round the world ticket starting in south america. My rationale was this: 1. I’m 23, male and single 2. girls who travel tend to leave their inhibitions in their home country 2. I’ve always wanted to see the world but it was never the ‘right time’ 3. I have no financial obligations ie- mortgage, kids 4. it is probably better to let the finance world go and take a sh!t rather than scrounging around for something which would most likely not be as good as the role I was previously in The downside is I’ve had to postpone taking the LII exam this year, which i have already invested a significant amount of time in, but to me this pales in comparison to the upside of just taking off and leaving everything behind. it’s quite a liberating feeling
go to brazil and never leave.
… I SERIOUSLY doubt that travelling will be beneficial in any way when it comes to filling up a resume gap respectably. While some of you may have had experiences to the contrary, I storngly believe you are still the exception, not the rule. In a tough job market (Even when the recovery starts, I think it’ll be a gradual process), who would you hire? : 1. The guy who took a year off to travel 2. The guy who went back to school and took part-time jobs 3. The guy who undertook and completed a project relevant to the job (website, research project, etc) I don’t think hiring managers will have the luxury to gamble on hiring the “interesting” candidates at all.
momothetired Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > … I SERIOUSLY doubt that travelling will be > beneficial in any way when it comes to filling up > a resume gap respectably. > > While some of you may have had experiences to the > contrary, I storngly believe you are still the > exception, not the rule. > > In a tough job market (Even when the recovery > starts, I think it’ll be a gradual process), who > would you hire? : > > 1. The guy who took a year off to travel > > 2. The guy who went back to school and took > part-time jobs > > 3. The guy who undertook and completed a project > relevant to the job (website, research project, > etc) > > I don’t think hiring managers will have the luxury > to gamble on hiring the “interesting” candidates > at all. +1
former trader Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > momothetired Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > … I SERIOUSLY doubt that travelling will > be > > beneficial in any way when it comes to filling > up > > a resume gap respectably. > > > > While some of you may have had experiences to > the > > contrary, I storngly believe you are still the > > exception, not the rule. > > > > In a tough job market (Even when the recovery > > starts, I think it’ll be a gradual process), > who > > would you hire? : > > > > 1. The guy who took a year off to travel > > > > 2. The guy who went back to school and took > > part-time jobs > > > > 3. The guy who undertook and completed a > project > > relevant to the job (website, research project, > > etc) > > > > I don’t think hiring managers will have the > luxury > > to gamble on hiring the “interesting” > candidates > > at all. > > > +1 +2
I would love to hit the silk road. but more realistically id love to hit up south east asia, Id spend some time in HK then hit vietnam, thailand, laos and cambodia as a backpacker, i really want to see angkor watt before I pass away. Then fly out to sydney to hit bondi up and if i have the time and money dive the great barrier reef. If i had even more time and money id like to go to india and nepal.
I am actually going to travel during the summer for about 2 months in the summer since I am going back to school in the fall. Southeast Asia is on my list. Same sentiment as stokey99: young, single, no major obligations except for making sure the trash is taken out and the rent is paid before I go. In a sense, carpe diem. Except I’m not looking to hook up with any girls who have left their inhibitions behind in their home country. Yet.
momothetired Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > former trader Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > momothetired Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > … I SERIOUSLY doubt that travelling > will > > be > > > beneficial in any way when it comes to > filling > > up > > > a resume gap respectably. > > > > > > While some of you may have had experiences to > > the > > > contrary, I storngly believe you are still > the > > > exception, not the rule. > > > > > > In a tough job market (Even when the recovery > > > starts, I think it’ll be a gradual process), > > who > > > would you hire? : > > > > > > 1. The guy who took a year off to travel > > > > > > 2. The guy who went back to school and took > > > part-time jobs > > > > > > 3. The guy who undertook and completed a > > project > > > relevant to the job (website, research > project, > > > etc) > > > > > > I don’t think hiring managers will have the > > luxury > > > to gamble on hiring the “interesting” > > candidates > > > at all. > > > > > > +1 > > > +2 There are fearful robot ppl and then there are independent risk takers that can find a way to frame “The guy who took a year off to travel” in a way that will not take away from the hiring process. If I were 23 and did this upon being laid off and then had hiring managers give me a hard time, I’d look at it as a sign that they were repressed, closed minded douches I wouldn’t have wanted to work for anyway. When I went to south america I took on many projects. Looked into RE investing (it was right after the default) and when I realized that was trickier than I planned I gathered and imported classic mini-coopers and japanese 2-stroke motorcycles from chile. No- it was not technically finance related but someone doing something like this at a young age learns a lot more about business and management than the guy studying for the FRM while working nights at a bar. It also sets you apart from the tons of other cookie-cutter candidates who’s resumes are being reviewed. How many times have we discussed the elusive ability to get your resume to stand out in from the pile?? So go on and travel- but do so proactively and really take in a place. Find a general are and go ‘live’ there. Interact with the ppl and study first hand and aspect of the country. Come back and say: “I was always interested in XX” “I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to learn language X and see first hand the state of the economy and the prospects in X” “I succeeded in X but not in Y- but Y was almost more valuable because now I recognize that things are not as they appear” “I also learned how to be a proactive and independent thinker- I have a unique viewpoint from whick I now view things and it has helped me to X” Done.