Posted by kat on Sep 22, 2011 | 0 comments
We often talk about the importance of identifying and defining our goals. This applies to both our personal and work lives. We set goals to lose weight, learn a new language, and land that new job or to make that change in our life or career that we have thought about so long.
Reach for the stars and land in the tree tops is one way of defining a goal. It’s wonderful as a philosophy, but too vague to be a project management tool. We need to find ways to bring the philosophy down to earth to make it soar above those tree tops.
First we need to define the end goal, and then divide it into smaller and attainable goals or steps to be completed so as to reach the end goal. And both the end goal and the interim goals should be SMART goals!
Setting SMART goals is a commonly used strategy in both project and people management, but can also be effective for your own job search strategy, or for implementing change. According to Wikipedia, the concept was first described by George Doran in the November 1981 issue of the Management Review magazine. It has grown increasingly popular since.
SMART goals are: S – Specific; M – Measurable; A -Attainable; R -Relevant; T- Timely. What does this mean for your life and career goals?
Specific: Set hands-on, detailed goals by asking the following questions: What, Why, Who, and Where, include a question on possible obstacles or requirements. What job do you want? Why do you want to work in a specific organization? Who can help you get there? Where are the opportunities?
Measurable: Make the goals measurable so you can identify successes and needs for development. The core questions are: How much, How many, How often and How to know when I reached my goal? For example, how many networking meetings will I attend and jobs will I apply for weekly? How many hours a day will I spend on my job search?
Attainable: Are your goals realistic and meaningful? Are they achievable? The trick is to stay positive but realistic. Set reachable and challenging goals so you feel accomplishment when you succeed. Core questions are: do I have the necessary skills, experience and connections? If not, then focus on improving them so you can attain your goals.
Relevant: Are your goals relevant to the life and career you have or want to have? If not, then reevaluate them and revise. If you have trouble assessing the relevance, ask yourself if the action will give you new skills, required experience and new connections needed to further your career and most importantly if it will meet your needs and passions!
Timely: A realistic time frame makes a difference! It keeps us focused as it prevents everyday urgencies and responsibilities from taking over our life. Core questions are: by when must I reach my goal? If I have not attained it by the set date, what then? What are the short-term and long-term goals I need to define and act upon?
Moving to a new country or city, finding a new job or changing jobs, or redefining my life and career balance requires not only skills and experience but also self-awareness and a plan with SMART goals. The concept of SMART goals can be beneficial for any creative, personal and professional project, plan or dream.
Read More
Posted by kat on Sep 7, 2011 | 4 comments
Labor Day has passed and fall is almost here, this is the best time for new projects.
I always feel energized in the fall, probably a remnant from my school days when I looked forward to a new academic semester after a long and revitalizing summer. The abundance of sun, swim and plenty of vitamin D provided by the long white nights in Finland made a great platform for launching new projects and activities in September.
My creativity is always soaring in the fall. I burst with ideas and creative urges, for arts & crafts and home remodeling, and for my career. Perhaps it is time to write a book, look for a new job, pursue that promotion, and submit a proposal for a presentation or seminar.
How can we do the most with our re-energized mind and body and use it for our job search, career development or for making some long desired changes in our work and personal life?
- Document your feelings, your dreams, plans and goals, before the busy schedule takes over. Write them down, dictate them to a voice recorder or share them with your 200 closest friends on Facebook. Sometimes sharing our plans with someone helps us follow through since it makes us feel accountable to others and ourselves.
- Creativity is often associated with spontaneity and perhaps chaos, but just as we conserve the harvest of berries and fruit from the summer by freezing, drying or cooking jam we need to conserve our creative ideas for the long winter. Make a folder or portfolio of new ideas. Perhaps use mindmapping, an excellent tool to create a visual overview of a project, subject or plan. I use it often to help my career coaching clients brainstorm opportunities, goals and to prioritize. Take time to return to your mindmap or folder of ideas. Prioritize them and select which to pursue.
- You may feel rested and energized right now, but as the rainy days come, the long days at the office or the challenging job search, you may feel less enthusiastic. To conserve and maintain your energy remember to take care of your physical and mental health. Try to eat healthy, exercise regularly and nurture your friendships. Recent research has shown that those who have enough close relationships, such as friends live longer and happier.
Finally, keep an open and inquisitive mind. While it may feel difficult and hard sometimes, try to look for opportunities instead of obstacles. What matters is not that we avoid any difficulties or challenges in our lives, but how we react to them, how we manage our feelings and how we seek to overcome the difficulties and challenging times.
Read More
Posted by kat on Aug 6, 2011 | 0 comments
Today’s blog is by a guest blogger, Philip DiDio, an experienced hedge fund investor. He shares his insight and knowledge of the industry for those of you just starting your careers and for mid-career professionals looking for opportunitues in the hedge fund industry.
After a setback during the financial crisis, hedge funds have resumed performing well and attracting assets. Hedge fund employment and compensation have grown in tandem. How can you participate in the resurgence?’
I’ve been a hedge fund investor for over ten years, both personally and on behalf of well-known institutions. I’ve also worked as a consultant within a multi-billion dollar multistrategy hedge fund. In these roles I have interfaced with all aspects of hedge fund organizations: senior management, investment staff, marketers, lawyers, operational professionals and service providers (auditors, administrators and prime brokers).
State of the Industry
Today hedge funds are enjoying a renaissance, beneficiaries of several favorable trends. The financial crisis eliminated weaker hedge funds that had poor performance and/or capricious investors. The survivors were generally larger, more conservative funds with less competition from smaller upstarts.
The 2008 tornado also scared off jiitery investors who couldn’t endure the pain of unforeseen losses. The enduring investors have generally been larger, more conservative institutions with a longer-term perspective on performance. Stable capital from pension funds, endowments/foundations and insurance companies now represents a dominant share of the hedge fund investor mix.
Larger institutions usually prefer to invest with larger hedge funds. This means growth for the largest funds, with more employment opportunities in the front, middle and back offices: in research, marketing/investor relations, trading, technology, operations and accounting.
The partnership between large funds and large investors has been a success, thanks to exceptional returns generated during the market rally of 2009-11. With equities, bonds and emerging markets all soaring simultaneously, it’s unclear whether the excellent hedge funds returns have been due to skill or luck. Eitherway, both hedge funds and investors deserve praise for staying the course during an extremely uncertain market environment. As human nature chases success, investors will keep adding to funds, and the industry will keep growing.
The current trend is for investors to “re-discover” smaller funds neglected during the post-crisis rally. Many studies reveal that smaller funds outperform their larger competition. This effect has been attributed to the “hunger factor” and their ability to invest in smaller cap ideas with less market impact. Also, smaller funds better embody the hedge fund ethos of a private partnership earning incentive fees through good performance, as compared to traditional managers who rely on management fees from a large asset base.
Hedge fund office environment
Hedge fund careers are less likely to follow a linear path of climbing a ladder and acquiring better titles on the way to senior management. Most hedge funds are too young and in flux to offer predictable development. Instead, these organizations are generally focused on finding people who can provide immediate solutions to urgent business issues. Hedge fund professionals learn and grow by doing.
For the financial professional breaking into the business, a few guiding principles will help you sharpen your search and speed results. Most of my examples will draw from the investment research function.
For example, a junior investment analyst will build models of company balance sheets, talk to other analysts and company managements, make recommendations and defend their views. Confidence and preparation are important qualities, as well as the ability to accept criticism. Good analysts win the trust of the portfolio managers and get more responsibility and perhaps one day their own carve-out of the larger portfolio to manage.
Junior investment staff come from investment banking, sell-side research, MBA Finance programs, mutual funds, private equity, bankruptcy law firms. Strong candidates may be investment club leaders, poker players, journalists, lawyers, military leaders.
Starting a hedge fund job search
Hedge funds cannot advertise, so identifying funds is a challenge. Here are some lists of the largest funds:
To find funds not on these lists, use contacts at prime brokers, investment bank research departments, money management firms, financial journalists and recruiters.
Interviewing
Each organization has a different concept of the ideal candidate. Typically the portfolio manager (PM) is looking for people who resemble him or herself at a younger age. To prepare for the interview, you should learn the leader’s background and talk to people who have worked with him.
Hedge funds take on the personality of their founders. They can range from bureaucrat, playboy, computer geek, diplomat, poker player, quiet leader. This makes it harder to generalize, but easier to find a firm that suits your identity.
Hedge funds prefer obsessed investors who read 10-K’s on the weekends, trade their own portfolios, play games of chance, take risks in their personal lives and dream of running their own funds. The interview may include a case study where the PM asks you to research and model a company and present your findings a few days later.
For interview advice, check out
For older professionals breaking into hedge funds, your advantages are your network, your maturity, and your ability to solve problems and work independently. Hedge fund management is notoriously unrefined. Hedge fund PM’s are investors, not motivational gurus. You best embrace the “eat what you kill” mantra that permeates hedge fund organizations.
Keeping up with the business
These websites attract hedge fund PM’s and their staffs:
Value Investors Club
Distressed debt investing
The payoff
A few years working for the right fund in the right market environment can earn you enough money to last a lifetime. John Paulson (Paulson) and Phil Falcone (Harbinger) each earned over $1bn in 2007 betting against sub-prime mortgages. For their staffs, even a tiny slice of those bonuses made for a happy holiday season.
Fortunes can quickly reverse. Harbinger endured an investor exodus and lawsuits, and Paulson’s largest fund dropped over 20% during the first half of 2011.
Many hedge funds are becoming more institutional, resembling established firms like Blackrock, PIMCO, Fidelity, Vanguard. Some say hedge funds are losing the innovative spirit that made them special. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of variety among funds, so a careful search should uncover the right firm for you.
Conclusion
Fresh graduates should tout their achievements, instead of their degrees. Tell the interviewer how you can contribute, with examples from your coursework and summer employment.
To make a mid-career switch into hedge funds, it should be motivated by pure desire, not idle curiosity. Hedge funds are a place to perform, not explore.
Other resources
Read More
Gloabl Coach center
Thumbtrack Profile