Are any funds hiring?
im working with all the major headhunters and it seems as though recruiting has completely dried up. havent received any interviews lately and the headhunters dont even seem to be sending out any job postings at all (compared with a few a day months ago). are any funds currently hiring/should hiring pick up again in january?
I would imagine that they are hiring, but they also have their pick of the crop right now so it may be much more sporadic. I don't think HFs are as structured as the private equity firms.
Many of my friends who were recently laid off have received sporadic interviews as well but nothing is really sticking.
had a similar experience thus far, looking at only HFs, mainly distressed. have had a bunch of interviews but many have ended with "we are not going to hire anybody at this time and continue looking". guess in this mkt hedge funds are in no rush and can afford to be extremely choosy..
Are there any quant funds hiring? Thanks a lot if you have any info.
http://www.deadstock.ca/ Your closet will never be the same again.
I was using a couple of recruiters to help get hedge fund interviews, but like you said, that pipeline dried up dramatically. Actually, the one thing that got me 3 interviews was writing unsolicited cover letters (with a resume of course) to over a hundred hedge funds in my area.
I wrote a cover letter which also explained my willingness to work inexpensively and without bonus for 6 months in return for the opportunity to learn from the best (flattery always works). I wasn't sure if it would work, bu ta da! The list I got was from www.HedgeFundJobList.com
Also, don't even bother with Craigslist ads, I didn't get a single response from any!
I haven't heard of any places hiring. I've heard a few have actually reduced overall workforce by as much as 21%
Are we seeing any thawing in the market with the new year? Or is everyone still on the sidelines?
its too soon to tell.
the fed minutes came out and said the situation is bleak with continued losses in the 1st half of 09 and a slow growth in the 2nd half but not enough to make up for the 1st half.
people are speculating some point in 2010, speculate at some in 2011 barring any other ridiculous blow ups.
We're about to enter a Great Depression. Don't you want a president who's already dressed for it?
It'll be interesting to see when things start to turn. I suppose the hiring market isn't going to materially improve until people start seeing positive quarterly news and there's better visibility.
bateman - your exiting your BB voluntarily? sorry to hear if that's not the case.
a bunch of my friends were let go from bear/UBS/JPM in early 08, and even then, they said headhunters were nigh useless - it's all networking with people from school. never hesitate to ask an obscure contact for a favor. good luck.
Here was my situation:
Despite the market, 2 months ago I voluntarily decided to leave M/B/B after 2 years for a complimentary pre-MBA role, with the buy-side in mind. While I wasn't definitely going to leave, I wanted to dip my toe in the water to see what's out there via the list of headhunters who somehow got my email address. I did use both the headhunter and alum approach, but only secured interviews via headhunters. Although alums were very willing to speak with me, none led to an interview as most seemed to be in rough spots.
Each of these was through a different headhunter and each headhunter was from a boutique shop vs. the large global houses, which I found to be absolutely abysmal. Candidly, while I'm very pleased with the way things worked out, there were a lot of opportunities I inquired about and never heard back from. According to the head-hunters, based on my background if it were 2006 it would've been no problem to line up any number of brand name LBO shops, but the world has changed. For reference sake, here's a snapshot of 4 of the opportunities I chose to interview for:
1)Prestigious Global Hedge fund: dinged because I "lacked investment experience vs. other candidates with significant previous buy-side experience"
2)Mid-market PE: Decided I didn't like analysts doing all sourcing, all the time; it was founded by Silver Lake guys, so same analyst model.
3)Big name fund of funds: Decided I just didn't want FoF.
4)Fortune 50 strategy/m&a: loved the company and prestigious team, was an upgrade in both comp and lifestyle, track record of previous analysts moving to HBS/SGSB/interesting internal roles at post-MBA level, and of all opportunities this would give me the greatest actual deal experience I wanted. Amongst other reasons, I chose this.
Seems like a lot of people on this board are thinking "I want lbo pe at a mega-fund no matter what" and go for that. I was more of a "I can do a 3rd year in mgmt consulting or maybe there's a position out there I like and will offer a different, interesting pre-MBA experience". Don't think either model is better, but I do think flexibility is critical if trying to make a move in these conditions. And perseverance.
Good stuff. Who were the headhunters you used?
I doubt most typical distressed bets have paid off yet and from a high-yield portfolio I cover at work, it seems like yields just keep on climbing. It sucks but I suspect a lot of distressed funds are just holding on right now, waiting for the recovery.
thanks for the post. i think you're definitely right, that you have to be flexible, and cool opportunities will open up as long as you're talented and lucky.
out of curiosity, what industry was the fortune 50 you ended up going to? how do you like it so far?
Hic dolores earum et voluptate voluptatem minus ex. Cumque error voluptatibus nobis. Aut consequatur tempora vitae.
Impedit ipsam sed fugit velit est corrupti amet. Sapiente illum sed quia quia commodi. Possimus deserunt ut ut quis quidem quod corporis. In debitis nisi enim praesentium est facere.
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...