EditorialsBy Matt Bud, Chairman, The FENG

As a breed, us financial types are such a precise group of individuals. It is at once our greatest strength from a work prospective, and in the context of job search, one of our greatest failings. The fear, as I understand it, is that we might be offered some opportunity that is somehow outside of our parameters. By our nature we tend to view the world in a very detailed and narrow manner. Were this not the case, we would not be capable of spending hours looking for that penny by which our accounts are out of balance. (After all, it could be a $1,000,000 one way and $999,999.99 the other way! You just don’t know.) Let’s understand that most [ Read more… ]

More often than not, members of our networking group prefer to change industries when they change jobs. I have to agree that changing industries isn’t such a bad idea. In fact, the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills we have learned to a totally new situation is an attractive concept. The truth unfortunately is often a little harsher. Our maximum value to any new employer is our knowledge and skills, and often times our perceived value is higher if we aren’t making any significant change. As counter intuitive as it may sound, the best approach to changing industries is talking to folks from your industry, especially those who are no longer there. The question to be answered is how [ Read more… ]

One of my favorite “sayings from the Chairman” is: I try to make things so easy that anyone can do it. That way if I try hard, I can too! KISS or “keep it simple stupid” is one of the most often violated principles of job search and part of the reason that we fail to communicate our true value. Yes, I know that many of us have arcane skills. But, you need to keep in mind that the burden of communication is on you. How often have I heard “but it was all right there in my resume.” Oh, if that simple statement were REALLY true. Sure, it was there all right, but it was buried in a less [ Read more… ]

I was in Chicago several years ago and had the great pleasure of having breakfast with Brad Hughes, one of our “Founding Great Grandfathers.” According to legend (and I can say that since The FENG is over 25 years old), Brad was one of the very few folks who ALWAYS brought job leads to pass around at our meeting at the Westport library. We were a grand total of about 15 people on a good day back then, but everyone followed Brad’s fine example and made an effort to find and share job leads. Again, according to legend, there was one job at a leather goods manufacturer that ALL of us interviewed for and there were several others that at [ Read more… ]

We don’t get as many members applying without sponsors as we used to, but we still get a few. For those who are qualified for membership, each Monday morning after I have finished my new member review for the weekend and sent out our new member announcement, Judith Rudikoff, one of our Administrative Assistants, sends them each a note inviting them to pick up that 400 pound phone and call her. Sad to say, not all of them do. The idea behind having a sponsor is that we are NOT a job listing service. Sure, we publish about 600 pages of job leads a month, but I hope no one confuses that with our true mission of being a networking [ Read more… ]

As I am sure you know, Bruce Lynn and I run a chapter meeting here in Connecticut every month. Marty Latman runs two each month in New Jersey. I am always a little disappointed at the number of people who aren’t properly prepared. I am not criticizing the quality of 90-second announcements or the improvements that might be needed to the resumes I see. Rather, I am commenting on the number of folks who don’t come with the basic tools to be successful at our very important “meet and greets.” First and most important, bring enough copies of your resume for EVERYONE attending. In most cases, this means about 15-25 copies. If your chapter get together is larger, bring more. [ Read more… ]

Here in Connecticut spring has arrived and with it the beginning of the boating season. We are looking forward to taking our boat out for the first time in the next week or so! Great fun. Anyway, as I begin each season, I sit myself down and remind myself of the ease with which tools are lost over the side. As you settle into outfitting the boat for the season, bringing down the gear and reinstalling things, it is easy to forget. The motion of the boat is a little unfamiliar and there is a lot of confusion. It is also usually still a little cold and often very windy. Being out on the water is an experience that is [ Read more… ]

Let’s face it, those who “move the iron” — even the new stuff, have a difficult job. But those who sell used cars have it the worst. The phrase “like a used car salesman” is very much part of the American lexicon. It implies the worst of the sales profession. No matter what vehicle you purchase, at the end of the day you feel as if you have been taken advantage of. Not quite as true with new cars. First, there is that new car smell. You sure can’t beat it. Then you have the fact that if you really want to, you can order the car from the factory with exactly the features you want. Basically you pick out [ Read more… ]

A few years ago, I got a lovely note from one of our alumni members lamenting the fact that he rarely gets any phone calls from his fellow members requesting networking assistance. Even though he was feeling unloved, he asked me not to mention his name for fear that all of you would call him to make him feel better. In his note, he assured me that although he rarely gets phone calls from his fellow members, when he does, he drops whatever he is doing and gives the individual who is calling his full time and attention for as long as that person needs it. Hey, if he has to work late to make up the time, he was [ Read more… ]

It is always a good idea to read your own resume. Sadly, I find that many people don’t. The typographical errors are bad enough. For example, in a recent batch I reviewed for one of our assignments for The FECG, one member even had an obvious error in how he spelled his own name. (Yes, you can’t make this stuff up.) More subtle perhaps are the kinds of things that just make you look plain silly. Starting right at the top, let’s talk about the summary that many of you rightly include as part of your opus. Like a good 90 second announcement, this part of your resume can do you a lot of good or a lot of damage. [ Read more… ]

Many years ago when I was in college, I had an economics professor who was a bit of a character. For a dry subject area, he had a way of making it all come alive. One of the things he said has lived with me these many years. It was: That’s all very well in practice, but how does it work in theory? In the context of job search, whether we are talking about resumes or most 90-second announcements, what I hear or get out of these gems is the practice part. Most of the information being transmitted is of a practice nature. I was here, I worked there, I did this, etc., etc. All very dry. All very boring. [ Read more… ]

It is a sad state of affairs when your presumed skills become obsolete, but like the buggy whip manufacturer of old, your only choice unless you want to become extinct is to adapt. Let’s see, buggy whips are made out of leather, so a good first step would be to define yourself as a leather goods manufacturer. Of course, they didn’t have the Internet back in those days, but my bet is that many of the buggy whip manufacturers knew each other. And, if they didn’t know each other, they probably knew who their competition was and as demand fell, they took note of what steps others were taking to adapt their operations. The carriage makers didn’t have such a [ Read more… ]

I have had several phone calls over the past few weeks from members seeking advice about what to do about their job search. It is a good question and one not easily answered even if I know you very well. In the course of a conversation (speech is the slowest form of communication), I don’t know how much valuable advice I can transmit. Still, I am always delighted to hear from our members and it gives me an opportunity to better understand the “skills voids” I need to work on in our evening editorial. There is a long joke I have told before about this guy who wants to win the lottery. Every day he prays to the big guy [ Read more… ]

As all of you know, The FENG is a circle of friends, not a fee for service. In order to join, someone needs to sponsor you. That act of friendship is how everyone gets started. It is one of those dumb things I came up with at the beginning of time itself that I believe has made our network significantly different from every other professional organization. Of course, every week there are folks who want to join who don’t have a sponsor. When this is the case, we help them find one. It is kind of a Godfather thing: unless you are willing to put yourself in the debt of another person, you’re not going to be very successful at [ Read more… ]

If getting up in front of a large group and doing your elevator pitch isn’t bad enough, giving it over the phone is worse. At least in front of a group, large or small, you have some visual feedback as to whether or not it is going over well. Add to this that many folks call you from cell phones with “CB radio” quality connections (i.e. you can’t talk unless they stop), and you have a communication challenge of the first order. There are several suggestions I have heard over the years and some that I use that I will share with you tonight. The first thing to keep in mind is that you never know when an important call [ Read more… ]

As all of you know, one of my passions in this world is sailing. I not only own a sailboat, but I also do a lot of reading about sailing. From time to time I read historical novels about the world of sailors in centuries past. The interesting thing is that many of the issues and concerns of sailors haven’t changed a whole lot. One of the concepts applicable to job search is the problems associated with being becalmed. (This is sometimes referred to as a “no wind” situation.) When the wind is blowing strongly there is always so much you can do. You are moving. You may be scared out of your mind surfing down the face of a [ Read more… ]

Very few among us are professional sales folks. It is for this reason that some of the more subtle elements of interviewing can easily go by us. When you decide to make a purchase you often have to justify it to others. When you do, you will find yourself repeating things the salesperson told you about the product. Much as you may cringe at the thought that you need to have a slogan or theme song, you almost do. The question I would have for you is how can you make yourself memorable? How can you communicate what we could call your sizzle points? In all of the interviewing that you do, except your interview with the final and ultimate [ Read more… ]

One of the themes that I like to present from time to time is the idea that each of us can make a difference. For those of us who live in these United States, it is all very easy to fall into the accepted American concept that everything in this world is actually someone else’s fault. Hence we have the tendency in this country to sue anyone and everyone who might have wronged us. It has created a nice living for the contingency lawyers in this country, but has done little for the American sense of pride and individual responsibility for ourselves and others. Here in our little society we call The FENG we have a unique opportunity to do [ Read more… ]

The story goes that if a frog is thrown into a pot of boiling water he will have the good sense to jump out. On the other hand, if you put a frog in cold water and slowly turn up the heat, he will boil to death. (Please don’t try this at home. I like frogs. I am sure you can verify the veracity of this proposition on the Internet somewhere.) There are similar effects in the world for things like allergies. You can tolerate many things to which you are theoretically allergic, however, once you hit some predetermined level, you begin sneezing and your tolerance for whatever you are allergic to is temporarily greatly lowered and you will begin [ Read more… ]

Taking life one step at a time is never easy. There is something about tasks undone that are just plain hard to take. Still, eating an elephant is best done one bite at a time. For those embarking on a job search, the number of things that need to be done can seem daunting. There are resumes to be written, networking lists to be developed, and knowledge to be acquired. Unfortunately there is no one best way to get started. A lot depends on your current state and what “improvements” you need to make to ensure your campaign is successful. I am a big fan of starting in the middle and working your way out to the sides. If you [ Read more… ]