eFinancialCareers

After months on the unemployment roles, job seekers have been dumbing down their resumes in order to snare lower-level positions. This often results in tense job interviews as wary employers try to snuff out overqualified candidates. They don't want someone taking a junior position, then bolting for greener pastures when the economy improves. Now comes a study from the University of Houston that suggests overqualified employees are actually less productive... Read more

Good news for Midwest corporate bankers: Bank of Montreal is bulking up its U.S. commercial lending operation and is transferrring an unspecified number of corporate clients from its capital markets division to the commercial bank. The move, disclosed Tuesday in BMO's earnings release for its first quarter ended Jan. 31, reflects a factory rebound in the region. It more than doubles the commercial bank's portfolio of U.S. commercial loans. Says... Read more

With financial firms doling out four- and five-figure employee referral bonuses yet skittish about hiring anyone not currently performing identical work at their closest rival, personal introductions may be more critical than ever to getting in the door. Two recent items offer a multitude of useful insights into how to make networking work for you. First, a post on Harry Urschel's The Wise Job Search blog last week explains the key... Read more

In case you're one of six people in the U.S. who missed the movie Up in the Air, allow me to describe one of its more poignant scenes: George Clooney's character, Ryan, is firing Bob, a middle-management schlub who breaks down and worries what his kids will think about his newfound unemployment. "You know why kids love athletes?" Ryan asks him. "Because they screw lingerie models," Bob replies. "No, that's not why we... Read more

Whether transitioning to a new sector or eyeing the next rung on the ladder where you're already perched, it's essential to spell out your competitive advantages clearly and concisely in both your resume and face-to-face presentations. Career and personal branding strategist Cindy Kraft explains why in a post on her CFO-Coach blog. When a client voiced frustration that target employers failed to recognize his financial leadership ability, the coach asked: "Whose... Read more

Here's a depressingly frequent situation: You survived several interviews with a single employer. But after a fifth or tenth meeting that seemed to go even more swimmingly than those before, communication abruptly stops. How if at all can you get things moving again? An article in Forbes magazine's Jan. 26 issue offers tips from several career experts we've sometimes cited at eFinancialCareers News. The story is a useful compendium of advice... Read more

Overhauling investment banks has leaped to the top of the U.S. political agenda. But don't leap to the conclusion your career prospects have been upended since noon Thursday. Whatever the Obama-Volcker legislative program might do to banks' future profit streams or (equivalently) share prices if enacted, with very few exceptions career prospects won't be affected in dramatic or predictable ways. That holds true even for careers in business segments directly... Read more

As the dust settles on the vague outlines of the "Volcker Rule", here's our analysis of the types of jobs that might be in jeopardy, plus those that might actually benefit. Following our perusal of analyst notes and the excellent summaries (and here) provided by Alphaville, eFinancialCareers News compiled this short analysis. 1) Dedicated Prop Traders As noted by our colleagues in London, this clearly doesn’t look good for dedicated pro... Read more

Could Google's threat to pull out of China affect banking career prospects? The question isn't nearly as far-fetched as it sounds. World news media (outside of China) are framing their coverage in terms of human rights and free speech. While those two issues may have driven Google's decision, a different aspect of the story appears more salient for other global corporations doing business in and with China: maintaining the integrity of... Read more

David Tepper's climb to the top of the 2009 hedge fund performance ladder offers fresh evidence for that old saw, "Build your career around doing what you love." Throughout his life, the Appaloosa Management founder has repeatedly drawn on personal and intellectual passions for direction and focus. The UK Indepdendent says in a profile: His love of numbers can be traced back to following baseball as a child, and memorising the... Read more

Recently published research says analysts holding the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation outperform those without the charter on measures such as timeliness and market influence. As Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Willis points out, that's an uplifting message for some 15,000 Candians who sat for the exam last weekend. The study, published in the American Accounting Association’s journal, The Accounting Review, compared the performance of sell-side equity analysts with and without a... Read more

Goldman Sachs recently opened a hedge fund administration office in Toronto, Ontario's provincial government announced early this month. The number of jobs was not disclosed either in the announcement or media coverage of it. "Goldman Sachs has opened its newest Goldman Sachs Administration Services (GSAS) office in Toronto with Fund Accounting and Investor Servicing areas of its hedge fund administration operations," said the statement from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development... Read more

It’s a tough job-hunting environment, so in your zeal to stand out you may have made a mistake on your resume that could sink your chances instead of enhancing them. So, in the interests of helping you stay safe, we present highlights of HR World’s list of 25 things you should never include in your resume. Some are pretty standard, like don’t include what you hated about your last job, boss... Read more

Although Canada's unemployment rate stands at 8.4 percent, its highest level in years, and the jobs picture in the Canadian financial industry is not exactly frothy, recruiters say signs of equilibrium are returning. "Clearly the financial services market globally has still not recovered, but the recruitment market has plateaued somewhat, "says James Mayo, operating director for the financial services practice of Michael Page Canada in Toronto. "There is still some right-sizing... Read more

After months on the unemployment roles, job seekers have been dumbing down their resumes in order to snare lower-level positions. This often results in tense job interviews as wary employers try to snuff out overqualified candidates. They don't want someone taking a junior position, then bolting for greener pastures when the economy improves. Now comes a study from the University of Houston that suggests overqualified employees are actually less productive... Read more

Good news for Midwest corporate bankers: Bank of Montreal is bulking up its U.S. commercial lending operation and is transferrring an unspecified number of corporate clients from its capital markets division to the commercial bank. The move, disclosed Tuesday in BMO's earnings release for its first quarter ended Jan. 31, reflects a factory rebound in the region. It more than doubles the commercial bank's portfolio of U.S. commercial loans. Says... Read more

With financial firms doling out four- and five-figure employee referral bonuses yet skittish about hiring anyone not currently performing identical work at their closest rival, personal introductions may be more critical than ever to getting in the door. Two recent items offer a multitude of useful insights into how to make networking work for you. First, a post on Harry Urschel's The Wise Job Search blog last week explains the key... Read more