The Frieds Interview: PART ONE
DrPeterVenkman presents: An interesting interview with Frieds. Questions came from myself and other WSO contributing authors. This interview will be a little different because being the social guy that he is, Frieds wished to videochat through Skype.
Frieds is one of the top WSO users and contributing authors: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/karma/top
He has worked in Asset Management. I will let you find out more about the man after the click:
Personality
The first thing you need to know about Frieds is that he's a very social, chatty and funny guy. He was one of the WSO users I had a great time meeting at WSO Conference. Frieds is a regular attendee of NYC area WSO Meetups/Happy Hours. If you have never read a WSO Happy Hour recap by Frieds you are truly missing out. They are quite hilarious. I suggest you read a recent one here:
//www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/wso-happy-hour-best-practices
Background
Frieds grew up in wealthy suburban area in northern New Jersey. It was a “corridor of serious wealth"; you either lived there because of the easy access into Manhattan, you wanted your children to attend some of the best public schools in both the State of New Jersey and United States, or you wanted to live in one of the more prestigious, old money areas in New Jersey. He was surrounded by people who worked finance, law, medicine and other traditional high end white collar industries while growing up. He went to high school with a number of people whose parents were bankers and traders at the MD, Partner and C-Level executives at various Bulge Bracket Banks, Hedge Fund PMs and partners at Private Equity shops. It appears that going into a white collar career path seemed like a normal step for Frieds.
School
Frieds attended Penn State, "a non-target," in the early 2000's where he obtained a degree in finance. He really has high things to say about the academic level of Penn State. Not surprisingly, Frieds was involved in Greek Life while at Penn State. He served as Treasurer and President of his fraternity. The experience being a leader at his fraternity helped him "manage people, manage budgets and manage risk and learn the ins and outs of how a business is ran." As someone who has leadership experience in a Greek organization I can tell you that being Treasurer of a fraternity is a damn tough job. It's definitely a good experience to learn from.
Job
Frieds knew that attending a "non-target" he would have to do some serious networking. This networking paid off when he was able to land solid PWM internships in his freshmen and sophomore summers and allowed to move across the firm into IBD for his junior summer. Frieds stressed that "networking doesn't end when you get a job," its even more important to network when you are at the job. He was able to network with his bosses which eventually helped him land a full-time offer. (More on this later.)
Frieds Advice to Non-Targets:
1. Always try and network. Networking is the “spice of life.” You need to be social. This is important no matter whether you are trying to get a job, in a job, or studying at university. This also doesn't mean that you hand out resumes every chance you get, but make sure you leave with the person being able to remember you for something - positive or negative - so you can jog their memory if you see them or speak to them again.
2. Hard work pays off. You may not get noticed as much, but you need to prove yourself. Someone will notice. Having your foot in the door doesn’t mean you have accomplished anything.
3. You have to know what is right for you. Don’t be influenced by peer pressure or what everyone else is doing. Analyze what is best for you and your career. “If your sole goal is to make money you need to re-evaluate your goals.” It sounds cliche but money=/=happiness. If you have a solid job in finance you will be financially healthy, but is sacrificing your happiness for a little bit extra money worth it? Its up to you.
4. Thoughts on moving on to buyside, etc.: If you’re not happy where you are in banking you may not be happy on buy-side. One of the things Frieds mentioned was being happy working with the people you work with. If you move to a different job but you don't have the same atmosphere you may not be as happy.
5 . From your education and career the main goal should be to find ways to make yourself happy. Hating your life or career path is not great for the soul or your liver. Without having something to help you keep balance, your job can turn into an everlasting purgatory, so stop and smell the roses. Also, having a hobby that you are passionate about helps with keeping you happy despite all the negativity around you.
6. A little bit of humility goes a long way. Be confident, but humble to present yourself right. “Sometimes you are the statue, sometimes you are the bird. Always remember your role”
7. Interviewing is crazy. Deal with it. Sometimes you go to an interview, get shit on and get the job. Sometimes you go to an interview, do great, and don't get the job. Don't stress it. Don't overthink it. Just accept what you can control and don't worry about what you can't.
Now that you're on the other side of things, what do you look for in a new hire?
When he looks for a new hire, the candidate must be a free-thinker, independent, and be able to back up their ideas whether they are right are wrong, as it makes learning from screw-ups a lot easier to do. It's necessary to be quick on your feet and learn on the fly. Asset Management is a very detail oriented field so they need to be strong in that area and organized.
More from Frieds in Part Two including: What Asset Management is really like, his thoughts on the MBA, his future, and his thoughts on current financial and political events.
Nisi quia nesciunt quis et nemo vero. Esse ad consequatur unde dolorum dignissimos.
Omnis quasi et distinctio porro exercitationem sit. Iusto aliquam repellendus voluptatum recusandae aperiam explicabo eligendi. Nesciunt magni placeat libero modi id quis debitis. Qui molestias velit atque quo repellat ipsam libero voluptatem. Animi impedit nihil velit quo. Repellendus asperiores consequatur atque minus ducimus quam.
Totam quam cumque eveniet aut harum quibusdam consequuntur fugiat. Repellat corrupti ea non quia eius minus itaque.
Neque similique quia aut asperiores minima dolorum. Nihil autem rerum unde doloribus odio. Fugit similique quisquam veritatis delectus voluptatem nesciunt.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Repellat labore totam ab dolores occaecati. Et ad cum non quis. Possimus sed voluptatem culpa provident et deleniti. Quis quas iste atque beatae amet.
Eum deleniti et repellendus veniam nihil. Incidunt voluptatum distinctio pariatur blanditiis aut officiis. Cumque molestiae autem aut ratione aperiam sit sit vero. Facere nihil harum necessitatibus dignissimos voluptatem iure voluptatibus. Nam molestias sed iusto velit aut sed.
Dolores tenetur error molestias dolor iusto enim impedit. Incidunt distinctio qui atque odio dolor magnam commodi. Non aut excepturi aut sunt ut nihil. Est vel similique nobis modi. Aliquam sed iusto nam sit. Vitae a ipsam exercitationem cum sunt at repellendus sed.
Libero blanditiis quo dolorem nobis. Sit officia quibusdam numquam impedit dolores reiciendis incidunt. Numquam dolores et non iste eius ut nam sit. Est et temporibus omnis dignissimos est.
Officiis est quia rem nemo quis aperiam. Inventore asperiores incidunt et ea a. Quia autem accusantium sit iste et. Numquam optio asperiores natus. Consequatur reprehenderit neque quo. Nulla id delectus ut rem. Natus et minus culpa aliquam.
Architecto qui eum nostrum. Cupiditate dolores esse adipisci voluptas. Accusantium et aut accusamus. Sunt et magnam quaerat facere atque.
Voluptas fuga minima et iste enim occaecati. Laboriosam enim aperiam modi velit. Dolores enim cum non impedit fuga fugit dolor. Vero consequatur qui fugit ut ipsam eum sed quo.
Vel ut in veniam. Aliquam exercitationem enim alias totam ipsum officia iusto aperiam.
In vel quos autem sed harum. Deserunt sit illum rerum. Vero libero nihil fuga provident delectus non beatae. Dolorem alias distinctio et tempore quia. Assumenda quaerat unde quae ipsa quis et.
Aut aut et officiis temporibus. Nulla rerum rem voluptate iure deserunt. Ullam sed tenetur similique beatae. Quaerat et dignissimos maxime in dignissimos quam numquam voluptates.
Enim dolores rem facere alias incidunt est. Molestiae quia est dicta sit. Magni quas nihil explicabo ut. Pariatur est ad id voluptatem.
Veniam necessitatibus et et omnis nesciunt sit. Sint est voluptatibus atque voluptatem ut dolor. Hic omnis sunt vero et in corrupti deserunt aut.
Est earum sed iure. Consequuntur perspiciatis labore quaerat non. Ipsa doloremque voluptate quibusdam aperiam vitae porro. Hic accusantium eum qui dolor repellendus. Minima et quas ut corrupti non assumenda.
Laudantium soluta doloremque ipsa aut nisi. Non inventore labore saepe mollitia voluptatem non quam.
Et deleniti animi fuga qui exercitationem quia laudantium. Magnam odit ipsam ex. Dolore amet et quis laborum nihil sit voluptas. Sed voluptas ea consequatur et aut. Quis voluptatem aut quod magni minus.
Voluptatem molestiae cumque nihil temporibus libero. Ad optio eum unde quo delectus sint omnis. Vel optio eos qui voluptates molestias et. Et eaque aperiam ut. Aliquam consequatur totam officia laudantium est aliquam aut.
Molestiae accusamus nesciunt similique et cupiditate ea. Soluta odio sint ex deserunt facilis.
Placeat velit aut molestiae hic. Aperiam accusantium ut ducimus velit labore. Omnis culpa nobis ut dolore eos. Dolor aut dolorem est ipsum quia corporis nostrum voluptas. Commodi sed architecto dolores. Porro animi cum rem voluptatum. Et reprehenderit aut distinctio autem id velit.
Fugiat est consectetur repudiandae. Dolor autem amet a est. Esse dignissimos unde deleniti velit. Atque mollitia eos libero cupiditate eos. Fugit enim error modi voluptatem voluptate temporibus vel et. Mollitia aut est consectetur velit rerum. Nesciunt laudantium quaerat blanditiis quia facilis officiis.