First came asset write-downs. Then came bailouts. Now, the U.S. government is taking a large, voting equity stake in Citigroup. The chain of events pulling significant pillars of the financial industry from shareholder to government control is coming to look increasingly inexorable. But what does nationalizing a bank do to the careers and compensation outlooks of professionals who work there? Constrained upside will drive producers and senior executives to seek... Read more

(Editor's Note: This articles comes from our UK Editor but is applicable here as well) Much as candidates dislike recruiters, recruiters are not always enamored with candidates either. According to one senior recruiter, this is born of a misunderstanding. If you are a candidate who feels the urge to berate recruiters, he would therefore like to request that you read this first: “In all industries, there are good and there... Read more

You are nearing the end of an interview with a potential employer. It has gone well, in the sense that there were no questions that made you sweat or stutter. At this point, you are suppose to ask the interviewer some questions which bedazzle her with such insightfulness that she will not let you out of the meeting without your signature on an employment offer. But let's for argument's sake assume... Read more

Okay, you've scored and aced an interview at a hedge fund, but you didn't get a call back or even an e-mail to say "Thank you, but no." According to Adam Zoia, chief executive at Glocap Search, it's not much of a surprise. "It's more common not to hear back from a hedge fund than it is from a bank or investment firm," he says. If you have an intermediary... Read more

Finding a great job in the financial markets can be challenging in the best of times, but when Wall Street firms announce the kind of headcount reductions we’ve been seeing lately the search becomes down right daunting. And according to a survey eFinancialCareers conducted this month with financial professionals, recruiters may not really help job seekers all that much either. The survey found that while nearly four out of five (78%)... Read more

The expected cost of new regulations being implemented from financial reform was cited at the SIFMA Dodd-Frank impact Analysis conference as one reason banks are reluctant create new jobs. "There's a capital strike going on in corporate America," said Larry Kudlow, economist and host of the CNBC program, "The Kudlow Report." Speaking at the conference, Kudlow went on to say banks are "afraid to take the risk of hiring until... Read more

"Since Obama was elected, we don't have a diversity issue anymore," one HR consultant I know said recently. She was being sarcastic. And, indeed, a number of black professionals continue to face high hurdles as they search for work, even when they have experience with top firms and degrees from top schools. Between January and October 2009 the disparity in joblessness between whites and blacks with college degrees was more severe... Read more

Though the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 1.2 percent rise in U.S. securities industry employment during the second quarterbig banks simply aren't the best place to look for new spots right now. The reason: They're continuing to retool post-meltdown, says John Mazzei, managing director and head of the financial institutions group for Rand Thompson Consultants. “The large global banks aren’t hiring just yet, as they’re coming to the end of... Read more

To laid-off financial analysts, the federal government is starting to look pretty appealing. About 400 people - double the tally from similar events last year - have signed up for a job fair in New York later this month featuring recruiters from nine government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the FBI, reports Bloomberg News. The jobs are attractive even though they pay less than private... Read more

The idea of taking a pay cut is anathema for all working professionals—especially for finance execs used to handsome compensation packages. But many are finding their paychecks and pocketbooks to be much leaner this year. For those impacted by a slash in pay, unlike before, most are choosing to stay put, says Ken Murray, president of Mercury Partners, an executive search practice for front office finance professionals. He says it’s... Read more

Wall Street is enduring unprecedented public scrutiny and political pressure over its pay model – both for 2008 year-end bonuses, and how compensation will be structured in the future. This poses a formidable public relations challenge for those institutions that refuse to bow to demands for a company-wide and industry-wide bonus moratorium. If the industry really cares to defend compensation, “it has to be articulated in bumper-sticker sized phrases,” declared... Read more

If there is ever a poignant piece of advice that university lecturers and textbooks failed to warn me about upon graduating and entering the workforce, it is the fundamentals of office politics. Not long after finding my feet in my new professional environment, I learned pretty quickly that sometimes it’s the brownnosing and “who you know, not what you know” ticket that guarantees movement up the corporate ladder. I have... Read more

Crain's New York Business argues Wall Street job losses have been exaggerated. Citing recent data from the New York Department of Labor, the newspaper says only 19,000 financial services jobs have disappeared from the Big Apple since August 2008. Sure, three of the five largest investment banks are gone, and Citigroup and AIG are now wards of the state. And yes, there has been severe contraction, including painful job cuts, especially... Read more

You may be tired of hearing that it’s a buyer’s market when it comes to jobs in the financial markets. And these days it’s not only the employers who aren’t responding to job applicants. Recruiters haven’t been on their best behavior either. In fact, candidates are complaining that when it comes to common courtesies, such as returning phone calls and following up with interviewees with advice on why they didn’t... Read more

For years, people in the Philadelphia area eager for high Wall Street salaries have endured brutally long commutes to New York. Now, residents of the Big Apple are taking a shine to their neighbor to the south. Laid-off Wall Street workers are increasingly looking for opportunities in the City of Brotherly Love, which seems like an undiscovered country to many New Yorkers even though it's less than 100 miles away. Philadelphia... Read more

Editor's note: This article first appeared on our Australian site. A spate of layoffs in recent months means some financial services professionals face the daunting prospect of job hunting while unemployed. Those fortunate enough to get an interview will of course be asked why their old employer got rid of them. Here’s a short guide to dealing with that situation. 1) Chill: the interviewer would be more worried if you... Read more

It seems like the old boys’ network is alive and well on Wall Street, if only because guys know how to make one another feel like part of the team even before a relationship’s been established. Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio, head of career coaching firm SixFigureStart, recently observed this clearly when she and some colleagues interviewed asset management analyst recruits from top undergraduate colleges and universities. Some of the male interviewers greeted... Read more