College is not for everyone. This is true. There are plenty of people who make out fine in life with great salaries who never attended college. This is fact. But out of the general population, what percentage of people who do not attend college really make it far up the economic ladder?
I attended college in 2001 as a high school senior. After graduation, I decided to live life and put off higher education for a while. And so I did. I worked for a year and a half before returning to college, and even so, I was going part-time for 2 semesters. After working 2 and a half years as an office administrative assistant, temp office aid, and customer service representative making $10/hour, I realize that I did not want to live the rest of my life that way. So I went back to school.
I will be finished with school in 3 weeks and graduating with $40,000 in student loans. Was it worth it? I cannot tell you enough how GLAD I am that I got my head on straight sooner than later. Even though I will have to pay off student loans probably for the next 5-10 years of my life, I would not do anything differently if I could go back in time.
Through dedication and hard work in school, I accomplished many successes that I have never before. I am not even out of school yet but I already have a job with one of the Big Four prestigious public accounting firms in the nation. My hourly salary will be triple that of what I was making just 5 years ago before I went back to school.
So if you ask me, "is it all worth it?" I am going to have to say, "h*ll yeah!" [Sorry, just overly passionate about my feelings.]
Is college worth it?
Part deux
Okay, part 2. Remember, this is just to give people an idea of how a starter job/internship may be like.
Well I used to get a bunch of calculation jobs from Laurent but most of my work came from Javi and Paulo, two associates with the department. They started giving me some grunt work, doing some basic research on industries, editing presentations to make them look pretty, other such things. NO FILING though, which I was very happy about. I hate filing. Javi and Paulo started getting me into a lot of economic analysis for a bunch of industries. For one, which was the greatest moment of my working life, was when Paulo asked me to do an industry analysis for the video gaming industry specifically concerning UbiSoft…::drool:: finally, those years of playing halo and command & conquer paid off lol. He liked my analysis, which, if I do say so myself, was absolutely exquisite. I even went into an analysis on how a company’s revenue can be accurate predicted from a game based on previous in the series, the preorders, and reviews. I applied this analysis to Microsoft stock when halo 3 came out and made like…6% or something in about a week. Well anyway, Paulo put me in charge of doing the weekly and bi-weekly statements which were basically internal reports on portions of the economy. Specifically, the high yield, high grade, treasury, and private placement markets in addition to general economic information like inflation, CPI, and oil prices. I had to pull data from about 8 different sources as well as read 25+ articles a week to keep up to date on everything. After I put in all this information, I needed to do an analysis on what it means in the future. I remember, this being summer 2006 right before hurricane season, I read a lot of reports on the previous year’s weather (8 billion hurricanes that season) and this year was supposed to be just as bad. Thank God it wasn’t but, at the time, people were predicting just as bad. The thing is, after seeing the weather reports, I put in an analysis that insurance companies with clients in the area might take another large hit again and they might be short on liquidity so companies in question who weren’t preparing for that might be in trouble. I remember Javi and Paulo telling me that it was a really good idea especially considering the idea came just from weather reports for the next season.
One other task they gave me, my most tedious and irritating one was the Private Placement Market Database. I took a free daily report for the previous 6 years and inputted every private placement deal into an excel sheet. Not only that, make it searchable, graph-able, and useable by an idiot (that’s a quote). I think it was 20 columns and 7,000 rows full. ‘T’was a bit of a job I tell you. I could only work on it for 4 hours a day before I wanted to kill myself.
To a large extent, my job was pretty routine after the very beginning: I read the economic reports, I inputted into the database, I edited presentations, and hung out with Aileen (my bosses secretary) and alleviated her boredom. Word of advice, always be friends with the secretaries, they get things done when no one else can. A lot of this stuff isn’t all that difficult to a large extent. It’s mostly doing the same thing every day efficiently and correctly.
Well, I hope I didn’t bore yall too much with this. Just my experiences, yours could be different. Stay tuned next week for something completely different, same bat time, same creepy-dude-with-cape channel.
When should you start job-hunting?
Freshman to sophomore year in college is the time to "find yourself" and discover what is your true calling in life. Going through an assortment of classes helps you realize what you are good at and finally declare a major. So when should you start thinking about your future job? The day you declare a major (or earlier if possible)!
By your sophomore year, you should already be researching internships/co-op programs offered through your school's career center. Most internships are geared toward hiring juniors, but there are many programs (even paid ones) that are designed for sophomores. Furthermore, it is always good to get a head start and do the research gradually throughout your academic career instead of waiting until your senior year and frantically searching for anything.
Big Four public accounting firms offer short-term summer programs (usually lasting a few days) for sophomores to learn more about the company and get one-on-one interaction with the need-to-know people of the firm (recruiters, hiring managers, etc.) Apply for these and GO TO THEM!! It is never too early to put your face and name out there on the market. Chances are, you will only increase your likelihood of landing an internship with them in your junior year and ultimately a job.
If you are well-prepared, you can and WILL be sitting through your senior year of classes breezily knowing that the weight is off your shoulders. You already have a job offer. You do not need to panic and get all stressed out like the rest of your classmates. And believe me. It feels GREAT.
So… thanksgiving…
I don’t really seem to have much a tie-in with the whole finding-a-job-in-finance and…turkey…but I’m good.
Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends and turkey and relaxation. Well, to tie this into finance job seeking, typically those 4 things also include BOOZE…so I say this thanksgiving break, get your uncle who works for a prestigious investment bank drunk as hell and make him think you are so good, you could single-handedly save Merrill Lynch. In getting him drunk, make him promise that he’ll find you a job for when you get out of school, drop a resume in his wife’s purse, then remind him the next day when he’s done with his hangover.
If that doesn’t work, well, I got nothing.
Just take the long weekend as a nice vacation, stop worrying about finding a job and relax. See your family, sleep in, eat a lot, be happy, be thankful.
Have a safe thanksgiving folks, happy turkey day.
So… thanksgiving…
I don’t really seem to have much a tie-in with the whole finding-a-job-in-finance and…turkey…but I’m good.
Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends and turkey and relaxation. Well, to tie this into finance job seeking, typically those 4 things also include BOOZE…so I say this thanksgiving break, get your uncle who works for a prestigious investment bank drunk as hell and make him think you are so good, you could single-handedly save Merrill Lynch. In getting him drunk, make him promise that he’ll find you a job for when you get out of school, drop a resume in his wife’s purse, then remind him the next day when he’s done with his hangover.
If that doesn’t work, well, I got nothing.
Just take the long weekend as a nice vacation, stop worrying about finding a job and relax. See your family, sleep in, eat a lot, be happy, be thankful.
Have a safe thanksgiving folks, happy turkey day.
To drink or not to drink?
Picture caption: "You wouldn't believe how close I came to bankruptcy last year."
=> Do you want to be this guy?
Often at networking events, wine & other alcoholic beverages will be served for the purpose of "relaxing the atmosphere". You will be faced with the question, "to drink or not to drink?", some day if not already. Most people would probably say that it's no big deal to have a glass of wine in your hand while you're mingling & socializing with other professionals. I say, "it's not a good idea."
If you are a college student attending a networking event with recruiters & professionals of various firms which you may be a potential candidate for, you should NOT drink! Why? Although I'm sure just one itty bitty glass of wine won't affect you much, it's better to be safe than sorry. Most people tend to feel more comfortable after having some alcohol content in them. Often times, you won't even notice it because you won't FEEL drunk. That doesn't mean your actions or speech won't be swayed by the substance.
You want to be on full alert while engaging in conversation with anyone. You do not want them to see you for anything other than the dashing-energetic-professional young adult that you are. And if you get too comfortable, you may put down your guards & sacrifice your professionalism. I know sometimes it's easier to talk to people when you feel more relaxed but in scenarios such as professional-related events, listen to me, DON'T DO IT! You will put a lot more at risk than you bargained for. You do not want your prospective employers to see you as a drinker. First impressions sometimes do last forever.
They will have a glass of wine in their hands. And they will refill it. Doesn't matter! Keep your beverage virgin. Trust me. You will be glad.
My stint in I-Banking
I worked summer before last at a company called Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank. It’s a French based I-Bank that’s headquarters (last I checked) was 1301 Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan, New York. I worked in the Global Fixed Income, Debt Capital Markets department for a man named Ron Krolick. I heard about his bonus check for that year at Christmas…it contained 7 zeros… money money money money money money money money money money money money money money :-D.
Anyway, I started early summer as a 10 week intern for them in that department and to say the least, I did not really have any idea what I was getting into. I had been well prepared by my education to handle calculating most anything they could ask me to do, discounted cash flows, credit analysis, economic analysis, etc. First day I was there, met a very nice guy who was my first direct boss, Javier Carballo. Smart as hell and knew what he was doing. He instantly liked me for one very simple reason…I spoke English lol.
My first real work came when he handed me a big….BIG…Stack of paper and told me “this is what we do, take a look through and try to get familiar with our operation”. Basically, the stack was a print out of about 10 PowerPoint presentations that he gave to his most recent clients about debt issuances. He was happy to know I understood everything he gave me.
After I had nearly memorized the presentations I got bored; thing was, that department never really had a short term intern before so they didn’t know what to give me. I ended up making rounds around the floor asking everyone there if they had any work for me to do… I’m sure I got annoying lol. Pablo, Javier, Laurent, and a bunch of other people used to give me some small research work around the office but nothing significant. Eventually, I think I annoyed them so much they started giving me real work to shut me up; I think they were pleasantly surprised when they found out I could both do the work well and do it damn fast.
Laurent was the first to really give me some good calculation work, I helped with the News Corp building real estate transaction they had. Evidently, they wanted to sell the building and relocate their headquarters for over a billion. Laurent asked me to run the rent roll for the whole building…I carried it out to about 2037, about 20 years longer than he expected. The broker was being a broker though and the info he gave us had some problems with it; basically it was the truth told aslant. Neglected to mention a few things in a few places and I had to go back a few times to do the work. Turns out, the numbers did work to well, not much could justify the billion dollar price tag. Don’t know whatever happened to it.
This’ll be part 1 of 2, cause I got a lot to say on the subject.
How to move up the ladder?
I received words of wisdom from a retired Senior Partner of Ernst&Young (he worked there for over 30 years) last week. He told me the key to succeed in the business world. And now, I'm going to tell you.
Working long hours, obeying orders without question, and letting your work speak for itself are not enough for you to be successful. The key is to make sure whoever you work for knows what you have done. More often than not, superiors receive the glory and credit from work performed by their subordinates. This is the sad truth.
In the early years of your career, you will be doing all the leg work but your boss will be recognized for the excellent job you have done. This sucks. I know. However, there is a way to overcome that. Make sure your boss, and your boss's boss knows what you have accomplished. This is the only way you will be recognized and inherit the credit you are supposed to. If you do not tell people, your effort will be swept under the rug.
How can you advertise your achievements without being boastful? Casually work it into conversations at networking events or when conversing with superiors. Without being too obvious, you can weave something like "I worked on project ABC and, I have to admit, it was a tough challenge for me. I invested a lot of time into obtaining the results and with a lot of research, the outcome was good. I'm currently involved in..." into a casual work-related cocktail party conversation. Do not make it sound like you are counting credits but discuss your past work experiences/accomplishments with the right people.
The business world is competitive. It is important to differentiate yourself from others. Working smart means taking on more responsibilities with care and being more efficient. Make sure your superiors know you are capable of higher challenges. Taking on extra work load from others does not mean you are going to get the extra credits. You are just creating more stress for yourself.
BE SMART. Work smart.
I'll ask the questions here...actually, i'm just gonna tell you, questions take too long
So you’ve picked your college, you’ve taken your classes, you’ve researched and studied your way to a shot at an internship or a job. So…now what?
First, let’s talk about dress. Obviously, wear a suite. Ladies, I don’t’ exactly know what the equivalent for a suite is for a woman but…whatever it is, wear that. Look profession, no showing off any more than you would show your father. The interviewer needs to respect you and think you’re a capable young person. You must dress such that you exude confidence and capacity. I don’t know about you guys, but I instantly feel like the man when I put on a suite. It’s totally physiological but hell, it works. Ladies, like I said, not very good with woman’s fashion but…yea…wear the same thing…
Second, let’s talk about the company. You should research your company as best you can and the position you’re trying for best you can. If it’s an undisclosed position, research that department. If you don’t know the department…well, just know the company inside out and backwards. Look up the most recent news (obviously financial ones first but other news worthy events too) and be able to give your opinion on each subject (make sure it’s not a stupid opinion; everyone is entitled to their opinion…but you can have a wrong opinion).
Thirdly, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Typically, colleges have mock interview practice sessions and USE THEM. If you excel at presentations and don’t easily get nervous, then you’re at an advantage over other people. I’m fortunate I don’t get nervous for public speaking. I’m also insane so…there’s a trade-off…but... you need to get to the point where you are perfectly comfortable in an interview setting and the best way of doing that is to practice interviewing until you’re comfortable.
Fourthly, in the interview, a few tips. Don’t be swayed by odd questions like “how many taxis are there in New York City” or “how many phone booths are there in Manhattan”. They might ask weird questions but the point of the question isn’t for you to answer the question correctly but to show them your thought process. Example: for how many phone booths in Manhattan, you could say “well, there are like 12 or so avenues and 80 or so streets across so…that means there should be like 960 intersections. I can assume there would be like 2 at each corner so that’s 8 per intersection…that makes about 7,680 phone booths.” Now the actual number could be (+) or (-) a billion off…but if you use sound logic in finding the answer, they’ll like you. Also, be calm and confident, that’s just always good advice. Don’t make any insensitive jokes or insult the person inadvertently. Be as polite as possible. Depending on the person (go by your feel on this one), possibly use “sir” or “m’am” to show your respect. And remember, no matter how dumb the interviewer is, make them feel like you respect them as much as your mother and father.
Lastly, remember that this is an interview for them as well so come with a few questions yourself. Have at least one, even if you think it’s not a very elaborate one. The fact that you have a question is more important than anything else really, shows that you researched and prepared (ironically because they know that their website can’t tell them everything, you have a question about the company or the job makes you sound like your more serious in considering it).
So, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.
