Carrer in Banking (Dont follow your heart)
Until age 28 I used to be a Big 4 auditor (7+ yrs stat audit in 3 firms). In the UK Chartered Accountancy is a good qualification. Took multifold steps to join IB. First moved to Fortune 500 co in Investor Relations for 2 years (made good connections on sell and buy side) and then got headhunted to join BB Equity Research. Unfortunately made redundant at age 32 (2 yrs at BB) due to recession. Then one year did Corporate Development at a top company and last one year strategy consulting at a Big 4 accounting firm. Its not working out. (Strategy is not for me, my core skills are finance (finance and accounting )). I have completely lost career direction. Any suggestions much appreciated. Options as follows:
BB (ER) - too old at 36 as an associate !
BB (Saes) - I think I am good at this but no experience
Big 4 audit - my peers are 5 yrs ahead of me
Corporate Dev - I would like to stick with Finance (don't have any M&A experience)
IR - No jobs available
Controller in Industry - not easy to sell myself (too experienced for controller roles)
I get depression attacks and all wires seem mixed up ! Please help !
How about a small PE shop? Sounds like your diverse skill set would serve you well in that type of role. If you could see yourself working with small businesses I could definitely see that as a way to go.
Another way to go could be a startup/small company in a CFO-type role, however, your career track suggests that you are too risk averse for this. If you wanna mix it up though, it could be another thing to look in to.
Change your attitude and your username.
Thanks Sanchize. PEs usually seek M&A guys or operations people. ER to PE is unusual. Thanks for input.
B4SH- could you please elaborate? I am not usually like this / but telling 'my story' to headhunters 20 times a day and trying to join dots in career moves - makes me feel like a looser(hence the username). I am sure is just a phase and will pass away!
Stop talking to headhunters and start talking to hiring managers. Your experience doesn't fit neatly into a box that headhunters can understand. With auditing and equity research experience, there are a ton of things you could do if you know what roles you want to position yourself for. Here are some examples:
CFO at small company like in manufacturing or some 'real' industry
Buy side equity research at a mutual fund company
I would also say just about any type of financial sales, but your post makes me think you don't have enough grit to be a closer
Some sort of financial technology rep
Accounting teacher at a community college
Finance manager for large corporation
You haven't really stated what you are significantly better at than your competition or what about your previous jobs you enjoyed. Once you figure those things out, that should help narrow your search.
Once again, I reiterate that you need to stop wasting your time with headhunters, it is very unlikely that you will get something from them because you don't check all of their boxes. Go to your LinkedIn and start looking for people that you want to meet, find someone you know who is connected to them, and ask for the introduction. It's not complicated, but you need to start doing that ASAP.
Good luck.
Any more suggestions? Much appreciated.
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