I think that's the question a number of people is asking right now. The mood in Investment Banking is very poor, and that translates directly into lack of employment opportunities... The sad truth is: the banks are not hiring.
In the worst situations are people, who quite recently invested in their education, and now are not able to find a job (example from Investment Banking Forum - please gives your thoughts on the forum). In many cases with debts and some other obligations, these people may be forced to look for employment in sectors other than finance. (An interesting article from Journal of Finance about the impact of the crisis on the lifes of MBA students - really worth reading at least the introduction)
The most important question right now is how long will the bad mood last. I asked this question to a head-hunter who is a friend of mine (cheers Craig!) and who forecasted the downturn at a time, when everyone else was certain that the markets would always grow. Now, he thinks that by the end of the summer the banks will finish writing-off the credit mess. He thinks that by the end of the year (Dec 2008) there will be some capacity in the banks to create new teams. He claims that the general revival will come in the first half of 2009.
I think that he may be right - he is really a great mind and knows the industry inside-out.
Now the question is "what to do during the slowdown"? I wrote about it before in my previous post: "slowdown a good time for education". I still think that each of us should spend the time most productively to polish and improve his or her CV. Doing a financial certificate seems to be a perfect idea. However, if you are forced to get a source of income changing an industry may be inevitable.
In the worst situations are people, who quite recently invested in their education, and now are not able to find a job (example from Investment Banking Forum - please gives your thoughts on the forum). In many cases with debts and some other obligations, these people may be forced to look for employment in sectors other than finance. (An interesting article from Journal of Finance about the impact of the crisis on the lifes of MBA students - really worth reading at least the introduction)
The most important question right now is how long will the bad mood last. I asked this question to a head-hunter who is a friend of mine (cheers Craig!) and who forecasted the downturn at a time, when everyone else was certain that the markets would always grow. Now, he thinks that by the end of the summer the banks will finish writing-off the credit mess. He thinks that by the end of the year (Dec 2008) there will be some capacity in the banks to create new teams. He claims that the general revival will come in the first half of 2009.
I think that he may be right - he is really a great mind and knows the industry inside-out.
Now the question is "what to do during the slowdown"? I wrote about it before in my previous post: "slowdown a good time for education". I still think that each of us should spend the time most productively to polish and improve his or her CV. Doing a financial certificate seems to be a perfect idea. However, if you are forced to get a source of income changing an industry may be inevitable.
1 comment:
Exactly. Education is an investment like any other. Like any investment vehicle it is good to look to buy low and sell high. The equivalent in education is to invest in education (buy) during the downturns in the economy, in order to to be ready to take advantage of the upturn when it comes i.e. sell your services to those who need them.
The big investment banks, even GS, are laying people off - but they're still hiring too. Smaller investment firms are also hiring. The "best and the brightest" will always be in demand.
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