The Next Job

Very few people stay in finance their entire life. Those that do very rarely stay at the same firm their entire life. The days of firm loyalty are sadly long gone, and even more distant a memory are the days when firms strongly valued their longtime employees. So what do we make of the rough and tumble, "hardly civil" world of today? The best safety net you will ever have is your network.

As much as your skills matter, your skills don't do anything for landing you an interview. In fact, your skills might have little to do with landing you a job at all. Your skills will be what you use to prove your worth after you find that job. Until then, it's the network you have to lean on.

Who make the best nodes of your network? Find the guys (and girls) who like to mentor people. These people tend to enjoy helping others develop their career and try to connect good opportunities with good people they know. They also make for great people to go to for advice when the time to find a job comes. Keep track of the people you find to be helpful and keep track of your friends who start moving around. You'll want to contact them eventually.

Why is the network your best safety net? Well, it turns out that a lot of jobs available are never posted or farmed out to headhunters. When a job opening appears, it's often the internal referral that gets it. Even more compelling, with a good reference some people are even willing to create a spot. You get the best of both world via this entry point.

You know you won't be in one spot forever. Start building that network because when people start shuffling around, you want to be on top of the game and in the know.