Career path help question - What do you guys think??
Hey guys, I was wondering if I could get your take/ opinion on my plan.
I graduated this past dec. from Providence College with a MA in Economics. Unfortunately, my internship experience was mainly in CMBS/ Securitization. It also didn’t help that most of my contacting/ networking took place with guys at Lehman and Bear Stearns. So most of my contacts are either still unemployed or have switched industries. Throw the poor economy into the mix, which lead to a poor OCR presence at PC, and I was left with dwindling job prospects. I was able to get a good majority of my interviews from just applying on-line, so either my networking skills suck or I’m doing something right with my cover letter and resume.
I was able to land a job at one of the 3 largest insurance brokers in world on their HR consulting side, which isn’t really consulting at all, but rather a sales-type gig. (Don’t have much of a brand recognition outside of insurance.) Anyway, I was thinking of doing the following:
- Hit up Linkedin and network with as many alums as possible
- Sign up and take the CFA level 1 this Dec.
- Maybe get my series 7 or other relevant licenses?? – I think my place will sponsor me
- Hit up a headhunter or two to see what’s out there
I was thinking of leveraging the sales experience into an institutional sales gig. Or use the CFA to try and get my foot in the door for equity/ fixed income research. I’ve also heard through the grapevine that conduit desk activity is picking up, so I might try to make another run at that. At this point I’m not picky at all, I just want to get my foot in the door anywhere I can. What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Anything else I should do / do differently? I would love your opinions before I jump head first into this. Sorry for the length.





Definitely do CFA. Even at
Definitely do CFA. Even at your current employer, it will get you respect which might allow you to move around a bit.
How bad is the job? Is it bad as in "it's not really what I want to be doing in the long run" or bad as in "I need to get out ASAP before I lose my mind" bad? Because really, it's a paycheck...I'm in a job right now that frankly sucks (financial advising, lots and lots of cold calls), but it does put food on the table. The financial job market has improved somewhat, but it's still pretty bad. My plan is trying to knock out as much of the CFA Program as I can while continuing to network.
You should have crashed any
You should have crashed any and all OCR events that Brown had.
"If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars." - J. Paul Getty
Julian - Yea I figure the CFA
Julian - Yea I figure the CFA can't hurt at all, regardless where I end up (although it is more relevant in certain areas). I like to have it on my resume, as something tangible, to show that I still have interest in finance. In regards to my current job it's something that I'm not interested in at all. Its not that I hate it, I just have no interest in insurance and I can't see myself staying here for more than a year. I basically took the offer out of fear and necessity, just to get something under my belt while I keep networking and to have a steady source of income. Have sat for any of the CFA levels?
San - Looking back on it, I should have thought of that. Might have been difficult to get in, but def worth it
Does anyone else have any advice? From the other feedback I've gotten, It seems that sales skills are transferable from industry to industry (more so than other specialized skills). What do you guys think? Has anyone else heard, or seen, that conduit desk activity is picking up? I just want to get my foot in the door anywhere I can. any advice would be greatly appreciated