eFinancialCareers

Once upon a time, the people at the top of the banking hierarchy were nice, says ex-banker and author David Charters. Not any more. What kind of people make it to the top in investment banking? As an industry it certainly produces great egos. Everyone who makes it to managing director is either a star or a super-star; if in doubt, just ask them. But are they good leaders? The rewards in... Read more

Want to ensure you move on from analyst to associate? Hugh Karseras, our banker on the inside, advises how it's done. Being a great analyst is not complicated. You need to get your 'stuff' done and you need to get your 'stuff' done well from day one - no matter what. Even after the months of the training programme, you are, let's face it, pretty clueless and the first several months... Read more

Complaining when work's dumped on you isn't a good idea, says Hugh Karseras, author and banker. That doesn't mean you can't get away with it. A few months ago there was an email exchange posted on eFinancialCareers between an analyst and an associate that stimulated substantial debate. The nub of the issue was that an analyst, tired of having work dumped on him, complained to an associate who responded aggressively and... Read more

Banking's not for wimps, but neither should you tolerate being bullied, says Hugh Karseras, author and senior banker. Does bullying go on in the City? In my experience, yes, but don't expect to see trading floor managers hurling chairs at hapless underlings. Bullying in the City is often a lot more subtle, a lot harder to evidence and a lot more insidious. It's important to differentiate between someone who is normally... Read more

Top banks are all very well, but the so-called 'second tier' also has plenty to offer, says Chris Mead, regional director at Hays Banking in Asia. Given their size, diversity of products and business lines, global office network, extensive training programmes and budgets, top-tier investment banks have plenty in their favour. They usually offer more opportunities for career mobility and they also offer exposure to a more diverse range of banking... Read more

Working in M&A is sooo yesterday, says William D. Cohan, author and former MD at JPMorgan and VP at Lazard. With US$5 trillion worth of transactions likely this year, the global M&A market is booming and on track to have its best year ever by a wide margin. But does that news bode well for those aspiring to a career as a Wall Street M&A advisor? The answer, alas, is "not... Read more

Australian accountants are sought after the world over, says Kevin Moultrie, regional associate director at Think Global Recruitment. A global shortage of accountants means it's increasingly easy for Australia's accountancy professionals to find work wherever they fancy. Accountants have the advantage that most roles within the industry are easily transportable. Audit procedures are similar around the world, so experience dealing with international financial reporting standards (IFRS) can be particularly beneficial when... Read more

Commodities combined with Mandarin is the best recipe for a successful long-term career in financial services, says legendary investor Jim Rogers. If you're at an early stage in your financial services career, I have one piece of advice: go into commodities. There's a gigantic need for commodities people and there's a very limited supply of them. You can go into any business school in the world and they have plenty of... Read more

Locating senior women in private equity funds, hedge funds or investment banks is as rare as finding zebras in Antarctica, says William D. Cohan. Despite their bright smiles and elegant demeanours, the sorry state of professional women in the highbrow world of private equity was on full display in a two-page photographic spread tucked into the middle of the May 2007 issue of Portfolio, Condé Nast's new business monthly. The magazine... Read more

William D. Cohan, a former managing director at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and former VP at Lazard Frères, explains why M&A bankers don’t merit mega-bucks. The end of the first quarter of 2007 brought the news that global announced M&A deal volume for the three-month period topped US$1.1trillion – making this first quarter the busiest first quarter on record. Not surprisingly, the investment bankers shepherding all these deals are positively giddy,... Read more

Abigail Stevens, founder and managing director of Think Global Recruitment, says telephone and video conference interviews need not be scary if you know how. We’re all familiar with the formalities of going for a job interview, but how does that change when the role you’re going for is based overseas? Imagine not being in the same room as the interviewer or not being able to shake their hand? Whether you want... Read more

Julia Payne, chief executive of the Centre for High Performance Development, looks at the new methods of measuring cognitive activity used to identify top traders. If trading firms managed money as scientifically as they conduct their hiring, most would soon be out of business. The problem is prevalent throughout the business world. We have sophisticated tools for accounting, process control and marketing, but hiring practices remain stuck in the subjectivity of personal... Read more

Guy Day, managing director for Asia at recruitment firm Ambition, advises how to react if your bonus doesn’t measure up to expectations. The discussion of bonus is an extremely contentious subject. It’s also an emotional one and quite rightly so. The prestige of working in high-profile financial institutions comes at a price – intensive hours, heavy travel schedules, and stress. At the end of a long year, employees look for their... Read more

It may well be a hot market as Australian banks compete for staff, but that’s no excuse for getting ahead of yourself, says Nick Deligiannis, senior regional director of Hays Banking. The Australian banking employment market remains very tight and specialist skills are in great demand, creating numerous hotspots across the industry. These hotspots are being found in investment and business banking, home lending and financial planning. But despite the huge... Read more

Gavin Houchell, managing director of recruitment firm Ambition Finance, on how to put yourself in line for promotion. Plum jobs such as group financial controller and CFO can be very rewarding, both in a financial and a career sense – and almost everyone wants one. However, making that leap from middle-level finance to a senior role is almost always a challenge. As a result, career management is more important than ever before,... Read more

Kerry Seymour, client manager at the Centre for High Performance Development, gives advice on what to do when someone else gets promoted and you don’t. Shocked and angry – that’s how you’re likely to be feeling when you find out that you weren’t selected for that great new job you thought was all but in the bag. You are likely to feel this as a very personal rejection, which is understandable.... Read more

It’s getting harder to source talent, therefore anyone would think older and more experienced workers could walk into work more easily than before. Not so, says Peter Tanner, founder and managing director of executive recruitment firm Tanner Menzies. One of the great ironies about the current skills shortage is that so many mature-age workers are finding it hard to get a job. A study by The Australia Institute in August 2006... Read more

Rick Jansz, managing consultant at BSI People, on what it really takes to work in the top- tier investment banks. “Christmas is all around me, and so the feelings grow,” is a line sung from the film Love Actually. Christmas may be in the recent past, but with bonus time almost upon us, there is a buzz around investment banking. The atmosphere and feelings are good due to another great year... Read more

Want to work in the City of London? Ben Sheldrick, partner at law firm Magrath & Co, gives the lowdown on winners and losers from recent changes to the UK’s Highly Skilled Migrant Programme. Are you a non-EU national hoping to work in the UK financial services industry? If you are, it’s worth being aware of some recent changes to the country’s Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP). Announced by Liam Byrne,... Read more

John Bowman, CFA, Head, Educational Products tells us why having ‘Chartered Financial Analyst’ (CFA) after your name will make all the difference to your career. While supervising the examination in Los Angeles last Saturday, it struck me how much growth the CFA Program has experienced in the last decade. Over 126,000 candidates in more than 145 countries enrolled for the June and December 2006 examinations. That compares to about 70,000 only... Read more