So the big firm or the small firm?

At some point you are going to ask yourself: Do I want to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? It’s a tough decision.

A big fish in a small pond can be an attractive idea to everyone. Some headhunter called me again yesterday, another marketing/investor relations/client-facing position at another boutique fast-growing HF. More freedom, more flexibility, and more money: the rosy picture of the so-called “fast-track”.

I would by no means want to discourage those who want to really step up in their career, but before you get too much ahead of yourself, take a moment to think about the following:

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Success here doesn’t promise your greatness there

You might be very good at a big firm, but chances are this it not because of who you are and what you are capable of (of course these matters big time too), but more importantly because of the training you get, the resources you have at your disposal, and the whole supporting platform that lies in every aspect of your work life.

What can you do today to make your tomorrow easier?

I would like to share with you the most concise and brilliant answer to this question which I just learned this past weekend. I owe it to Mr. Xinjun Liang, the CEO and Vice Chairman of Fosun Group, and I agree with every single point of the 4 points he made below.

Money (钱)

This is not about how much money you are making today or how much money you can make tomorrow. This is about if there are people out there having the money and having a belief in you, so that one day when you need to make a bigger decision about your career, i.e. start your own enterprise, you don’t need to worry about the initial funding. 

People (人)

What does an interviewer really want to know?

I am not a recruiter myself but as our group finally started hiring again, I had the opportunity to sit on the other side of the table a couple of times recently. There are many articles out there on “must prepare interview questions”, “how to ace an interview”, etc, many of which are quite helpful. Yet what I want to focus on today is the fundamental questions an interviewer wants to answer during his/her conversations with you.

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• Common Sense: Can you help me to make sense of your experiences?

You will probably say: everything is on my resume. That is not enough. You need to help the interviewer to “connect the dots” and to tell good stories so he will understand why you worked at A before, and then B, and then C. You also need to answer the questions of why you want to move from consulting to investment management, and why from SF to NY, and how your past experiences relate to what you are doing today and your future goals.

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• Motivation: Is this what you really want for yourself, NOW?

My boss had too many comments on my assignment!!!

If you ever worked in banking, you probably know and have experienced the following: You stayed very late to work on an assignment due this morning at 10am, and then for the next 6 hours you have basically nothing to do. At 4pm you got your assignment back with TONS and TONS of comments, and you know it will be another really long night ahead of you. 

Have you ever thought about: is this really how it is supposed to be? Or if there is anything you can do to make your life easier? Well you know, probably the first step to making your own life easier is to make other people’s lives easier. And here is how to do both at the same time: 

Understand the end objectives

There are many reasons why you have to do certain things that may not quite make sense to you. It’s probably done that way historically, or the client requested it that way, or it’s the only data you can find, or it’s for your manager’s convenience. But a lot of times it will be really helpful to know the following information: why am I doing this, who is this for, and when exactly you need this.

 

The Relocation Decision: It is Not About The Job

You probably have heard of this before: I am relocating to Hong Kong because I got a really exciting job opportunity. But when you heard this too many times, you might start asking yourself: I have opportunities to relocate as well, but why the decision is so difficult for me to make while it seems so seamless for everyone else? 

But probably you did not dig deeper into their reasoning behind the relocation. In fact, it is hardly ever about the job, or at least not the job alone. Well first, to take a step back, let’s suppose that as a competent professional as yourself, you are capable of landing a job anywhere in the world. 

So if it is not about the job, what is it about then?

To be closer to your significant other and/or family

It may sound surprising for someone just starting their career, but it is even more surprising how many people are willing to relocate to be closer to their boyfriend or girlfriend, or move back to their hometown to be with their parents.

So Can I Pick Your Brain?

You probably don’t realize how much people are actually willing to talk about themselves in front of other people (in most cases).

If you ask “so can I pick your brain?” to a random person at an event, you will probably get a really weird look and a firm “no”. But if you walk up to him and say, “It’s a cool venue isn’t it? How do you know about this event/what brings you here?” chances are you will find out a lot more about that person than you would have possibly expected.

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Honestly people love talking about themselves, because first of all, it’s about themselves, meaning: it’s more fun, more important, and more relevant. Second of all, you should help them to understand better how great they are and how interesting their stories are, so they will be even more willing to share their experiences, if not already. And how do you do that? First you listen, then you relate to them, you find common grounds, and you resonate with their stories.

10 Rules on Communication

Just want to share the below: (I like No.6 and No.10 the best)

1. Be passionate, but not petulant
2. Be genuine about your feelings, but not inappropriately so
3. Keep your inner child on an adult leash
4. Don’t be grandiose, period. It’ll get you in trouble more times than not
5. Always remember who you are and whom you represent
6. You may be an owner, but you don’t own people, so don’t behave as if you do
7. It’s a business; don’t take rejection personally, and if you do, don’t communicate that
8. If you’re emotionally charged, don’t say it or hit the send button; wait a day
9. You’re more likely to self-destruct by communication than any other way
10.  Maintain a sense of humor and humility

Find the original article below:

Dan Gilbert Letter: Leadership Communication 101

And finally, get it done elegantly

The first day on the job I sat down with one of my managers. After going through the major tasks and responsibilities and the organization of the team, I said, I really want to do a good job, so I’m wondering what are the major expectations you have on me as an analyst? 

My manager smiled: well there are three folds basically: get your job done; get it done well and efficiently; get it done elegantly. He said yes client relationship management and communication is, at the end of the day, an art. It is hard to explain what kind of “elegance” is involved but you will understand along the way. 

And it’s been two years since, and then finally I realized what it means to do your job “elegantly”. It means say what you have to say and do what you have to do At EASE. Never be desperate. Never freak out. No matter how dire the situation may be. 

Never Too Late? How about Never Too Early?

An old saying goes, it’s never too late. Well probably God gives you one chance, you blow it, then comes another you blow it again, then another…until one day God (or any kind of supernatural power) decides fine I’m done with it. Up until that day, you can say it’s never too late. But how would you know there is still a next chance? 

And even if you know, what exactly does it’s never too late mean? Today I realized it means “NEVER TOO EARLY”! It means NOW. It means you should stop procrastinating and start doing your job NOW. It means start planning your future and be FORWARD looking. Actually, it will ALWAYS be late if you compare to the past, but past is past, so what matters is what will happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. 

And you think there is always a tomorrow and you can always plan later for the future, and if you are not prepared enough, you can just let go of opportunities. But how could you know when you are finally prepared (at all) there will still be an opportunity waiting for you?! Probably that’s why for some people they would accept an interview that totally requires some computer programming skills while he/she does not have, but then he will cram for it in the following month to make sure he ace the interview. 

How you know you belong to Finance…

The following is from my lovely, sweet, and dearest colleague Esther Kim and I resonate with so many things she has said below:

You know you’re a true financial analyst in New York city when you know:

 
·         the late-night security guard by name
·         how to fix all kinds of printer problems
·         if you can’t fix it, you know 4 back-up printers in your building
·         that the starbuck’s staff notices when you’re taking a day off
·         your co-worker’s favorite work outfit
·         when to go get water and use the restroom to avoid bumping into people you prefer not to small-talk with while you take care business
·         which fruit stand sells the best fruit
·         at what speed to walk in order to catch your next subway when transferring
·         your cabinet has a full inventory of eye-drops, some for of Excedrin, and a week’s worth of power-bars
·         you have failed to find a way to stay away during long meetings after an all-nighter
·         which conference rooms are always freezing
·         been asked to do the Vending Machine challenge
·         you can’t use any other font style other than the one used at your firms
·         you want to say “going forward” instead of “from now on” and “month-end” instead of “end of the month” when talking with your friends outside of work
·         you don’t have friends outside of work
·         how to turn pages at rapid pace without drying your fingers

·         when to pull out your metro card and how to swipe without slowing down at the turnstill
·         know who will notice if you sat in his chair
·         when to order food to get the fastest delivery
·         quirky eating and sleeping habits of your cub-mates

What You Need to Know: From Analyst to Associate

There is something you need to understand when you think about moving up the ladder: There is no job that will make you happy 100% of the time, especially at junior level.

A lot of the better paying jobs are intense, demanding, has long hours, and sometimes your coworkers are mean. So what? That is exactly what you signed up for. You need to deal with the pressure, the hard work and all the other mess if you want to move up to the next level. If you can’t, feel free to go somewhere else that does not require you to be good at so many things. And honestly it’s okay too.

But it doesn’t have to be this hard all the time. Attitude is the key and if you always look at things from a positive perspective you can enjoy your work more, and at the same time, gain more respect from other people.

Up the Hill and Down the Hill

My friend on Facebook posted a question:

Life question: When on a bike, is going downhill a chance to coast and rest or a chance to catch up on the time lost going uphill?

My answer:

Take a rest when you’re just done with the uphill and right before taking the easy ride of a downhill. you don’t want to lose your speed on a downhill coz it will help you when you’re climbing up again; you don’t want to stop and lose your momentum while on the uphill either, coz it will be harder to pick up once you stop.

But honestly if this is a life question, take the rest whenever you feel you really need one.

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If you ever wonder what motivates us

I remember when I was at college I always saw people doing crosswords, while they’re having breakfast in the dining halls, while they’re bored at econ classes, while they’re waiting for their friends to show up in the coffee shop. I was always amazed and confused: why so many people enjoy and seems like couldn’t stop doing crosswords? So I asked around, and the answer I got was: “I don’t know, but the more you do it the better you get, guess that’s what makes me happy.”

 

This resonates with the idea of “mastery” in the following video. You should watch this if you ever wonder about what motivates us, and I guarantee that you will be more than surprised.

Here we go:

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The Least Worst Decision

Me: When did you get back last night?

L: like 5am…

Me: Are you serious?

L: Yeah, and went to sleep at 6am, and got into office at 10am.

Me: ……

Me: How did the presentation go?

L: It went very well.

 

I was in a client meeting the entire day, it can get tiring. We have this department called Risk and Quantitative Analysis which is an independent risk management team who works closely with portfolio management to make sure the risk a certain portfolio’s taking is in line with its guideline and comparable to other portfolios across firm with similar constraints. 

Why Don’t YOU Just Do it?

In our Women’s Initiative launch event, our COO mentioned while she was in Boston last week, one of the women in the audience came up to her after the speech and suggested: I’ve noticed we typically have a lot of male speakers in our analyst training classes in the past. As we have quite a few female analysts joining this summer, it might make sense to invite more female speakers to present themselves at the training.

The COO said: it was a great idea. I will definitely communicate this to the representatives in HR who put together the incoming class training. But wait a minute. Why should I be the person doing this? This is YOUR idea so why don’t YOU just do it yourself? Why don’t you get in touch with the people responsible for this directly? Why don’t you provide some ideas and/or topics our female leaders could cover, and you could even be a speaker yourself!

Why Did You Leave Your Previous Job?

So today I am trying to help you answer this frequently asked question during interviews: Why did you leave your previous job?

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Be prepared, you will be asked

It is almost funny how many people (even senior executives) will freak out by this question. One thing you should keep in mind, though, is that you are lucky to be in transition nowadays. Given what has happened with the economy in the past 2 years, it is NORMAL to have to quit your previous position, willingly or unwillingly. It is also NORMAL when an interviewer asks this question because he/she wants to understand your background and previous circumstances better, NOT to sabotage your interview, so please do not freak out.

Make sure you practice your answers as much as you can, in front of the mirror, with your peers, on the telephone, while you’re showering…until you are perfectly comfortable and not defensive at all when addressing this issue.

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Answers to Avoid

When People Ask for Your Help: The Less, The More.

A good friend was complaining to me. He is a very sharing person and he has good contacts in his industry. He helped many people for the past few years, even total strangers on many things, but when he was switching job himself and asked those he has helped for help, a lot of them don’t even bother to share the information they obviously know.

Why? You made it too easy for them when they were asking for your help. You failed to let them see how much value you added, and when they get what they want, they think they would have achieved it without your help anyway, so they don’t appreciate you as much as they should have. 

You don’t want that. You go out of your way to help people and you deserve the respect and appreciation. You want them to see your value, and to value your time.  And here’s how to do that: 

Forget about Goal-setting on Work/Life Balance

When I was still in elementary school, I put down a comprehensive daily schedule on paper on the first day of every summer vacation. I put it up on the wall, my parents were always so impressed with all the detailed items I listed, which included certain time slots for doing homework, reading books, studying English, watching TV, and even taking naps. And then I forgot about it in 2 days. 

The reality is: a lot of people like to plan, but not sticking to their plan. Just think about how many people stick to their New Year resolution just one month into it? 

When I was a  junior at college I went to this information session hosted by one of the famous investment banks. In the Q&A session one of the students asked: What are good questions to ask at an interview?

What can you learn from the Celebrity Apprentice?

I like watching the Apprentice because the show pushes you to think what would you say or do when you were put in a similar challenging position. By getting celebrities on the show, it just gives you a better reason to watch it and makes the show more entertaining. 

In the latest episode, the challenge is to do fundraising by creating a whole-day work-out routine for 24-hour Fitness. The more favorable routine will be honored $24,000 by the gym, and whichever team raise the most money will win the challenge. The difficult part is that you have to have one person physically coming in for the training class to represent each donation. 

Somewhat surprisingly, though Tenacity was the bigger fund raiser, Rock Solid was favored by the gym. What would you walk away with this experience then?  Lessons learned…

For starters, let’s focus on the gym routine. 

1. Have a good theme. 

The Best Career Advice I Ever Received

It was a few years ago. I got this opportunity to sit down with a very senior and successful individual at Wall Street. I asked him one question: I am going to start this new job soon, what advice would you give me? He gave me three, and I have kept them in my heart ever since, and they have never failed me.  

 

Never over-promise and under-deliver

This is the secret of all secrets. People have the tendency to satisfy other people, to meet their needs, to say yes. But people are not good at “managing expectations”. When you get an assignment, the most important question to ask is “when do you need this”? 

Make sure you understand if this is really that urgent, and your boss understands what else is on your plate. If you think you will be able to finish it by the end of the day, say, I should be able to get this to you tomorrow. If you finish it today, great, you’re efficient. If you finish it tomorrow, great, you’re right on time.

What you don’t want to do is promise you can finish it today and end up not making it.