_____-Size Envy

One thing that never helps anyone is envy. Envying your buddy's promotions and bonus-size never helped anyone. In fact the resentment that usually builds usually detracts from performance. Now there's nothing wrong with some friendly (or unfriendly) competition. You should certainly be looking to compete with everyone you know to make the most, do the most, be the best. Just don't let it degenerate to stupid jealousy. What you should be doing is look at what they might have done right that you did not. Are they taking good risk? Did they do better in their classes/training? Are they making the right connections/friends? Life's not necessarily fair (they may have family connections, they may just be smarter and better looking, who knows), but that doesn't prevent you from making the best of your situation. Lever up on what you have and take your shot at catching up and surpassing them.

This extends to firm-size envy, reputation envy, title envy, stack-size envy (for the poker players), and the more vulgar boob-size envy (girls), dick-size envy (guys), height envy (short people). None of this is really productive. Jealousy is stupid, as is gloating. Use your facilities to the best of your ability. Keep your wins quiet, but take the recognition you deserve. And, perhaps more than anything, count your blessings. You've got more going for you than you probably think.

Keep your head high and your view positive. The confidence in itself will help you along.

Step Up or Step Behind

One thing I see consistently in top performers in the industry is the desire and ability to grab additional responsiblity. A lot of people shed responsibility like a nympho sheds her skirt. Sooner or later upper management realizes if you're adding value to the firm and how you're doing it. If they look at your profile and realize that you don't actually have any real responsibilities, you'll be the first to go in an industry downturn. Those who do well grab all sorts of odd responsibilities (from organizing club/recreational events, to recruiting and training new employees, to managing others' work when they're on vacation) eventually get noticed as the ones holding the train together and get promoted.


There are two reasons why you should be taking as much responsibility as you can. The first reason, as outlined above, works as insurance against being fired and as a way to stand out. The second reason is that you will learn more and gain new skills by taking on additional responsibilities. You can learn management skills, presentation skills, even risk management skills from various random jobs you may take on to better the firm. Those skills will eventually come in handy, no matter how you may have acquired them.

That being said, this post was labeled "step up or step behind" for a reason. It is unreasonable to take ALL responsibilty for everything. Eventually this labels you as a nuisance and/or a micro-manager. The key is to take responsibility for new things that add new value to the firm and teach you new skills. Then you have to learn to give responsibilities to the next eligible character. Eventually you will be viewed as a leader who takes on new tasks and teaches/delagates other tasks to junior people. Being labeled as a leader, teacher and mentor will take you far. Part of being a leader is being able to train people to replace you.

Weaker folks might be trying to horde their work to themselves as a way to guard their jobs, but this approach is outdated. In the new rough-and-tumble world of finance it's up or out. If you're not being promoted, you're being fired. Keep yourself moving up by taking on the next job and making sure others know how to take over your old job. One of my mottos I tell people who work for me is "if I'm not teaching you to take my job, then I'm failing at my job." Implied is "if I'm not learning to take my superior's job, then I'm failing at my job."

Weekends

The most interesting thing about the weekend is the options it allows people. The chunk of free time available to individuals and how they use it really distinguishes one from another. At work everyone may seem equally determined and intelligible, but how they choose to spend their free time separates people into distinct individuals.

Many of the most successful people I know live breathe and die their work. It envelopes every aspect of their life. On weekends they inevitably end up in the office to do work of some sort. Usually they go voluntarily to fix something up to be better/faster/smarter on Monday. Top traders have their second workstation set up at home so they can trade from home. This makes it even easier for those folks to continue to improve their work at home. I'm afraid I tend to separate most i-bankers out of this category because they are forced to work weekends, as opposed to doing it out of the desire to make their models more robust (I'm sure there are a few bankers out there that research better ways to model and value companies, but I just haven't met many).

This drive is what puts people ahead--taking their own time to gain more knowledge, make models better, optimize their machines. Often the same people start looking at the rest of their life in a similar fashion. Every interaction is a deal, a structure, a trade. Every person is a counterparty.

Is it worth it? Many bankers, traders, salespeople become drones at work and try to live their life outside work separately. Others allow finance to consume them and start thinking of everything as if it were a transaction. Which has become more consumed by their occupation?

Where are you going to fall? Are you a two year "see what it's like" person? Are you a life-long financier? Are you just doing it for the money and fund your outside lifestyle? Whatever you may be, wear your title with pride and do not judge others. Two-year trials are made fun of as "quitters" or "weak." Lifers are known as "losers" or "souless." Those doing it for the money only are known as "sellouts" or "whores."

None of these motives for being in finance are "right' or "wrong" in themselves. Really every occupation has their array of motives. Clearly I've made my choice. I spent my free time writing, reading and thinking about trading. My passion is the markets and my personality is competitive. I know this makes me happy. I know plenty of people who aren't happy in their current role and have plenty of choices that would make them happier. Don't let finance be your default. Make it a choice.

Making the Leap

So there was a question about my new job and what prompted me to move. Well, it's actually not as different as it sounds. I still trade prop, primarily, but I have a few other functions as well. I do a hedging function for the bank on a global portfolio basis. So if the firm as a whole seems to have certain risks on, my boss has the mandate to hedge these large risks. We do quite a bit of volume in this sense, as at times the risks skew one direction in many different areas. These hedges tend not to be too frequent, so we trade prop in our "free" time (i.e. when we're not creating new analytics to view the global portfolio risk).

There wasn't much thought involved in this. I'm still at the same firm and still trading prop. I get a cooler title and more pay. Plus a big name in the firm called me personally to put me in the role. No-brainer, they say.

So what should you think of when making a change? Here are some bullet points:

Growth
* Does the role have more responsibility?
* Will it give me more firm-wide visibility?
* Will the job put me in a position to succeed?
* Is there growth potential from the new post?
* Who will mentor me? To whom will I be reporting?

Finances
* Does the role put me in a position to get paid now?
* Does the role put me in position to get paid a lot more in the future?

Role
* Will the work be engaging to me?
* Have I become redundant or stale in my current role?
* Will I have fun?
* Are the people in the group the types with whom I want to work?
* Will I be happy?

Absolutely the most important are the role being engaging, the role giving growth prospects, the position being a role in which you are set up to succeed, and the prospects of high pay in the near future. Don't be blinded by the prospects of an immediate bump in pay or a title. The important pieces are being able to grow into someone important in the firm and on the street. Pay comes to anyone who survives long enough on the street. Yes, pay comes quicker to some, but try to look at your lifelong earnings not just your next two years. Being a trader, it's sometimes hard for me to take the long view too, but it's definitely paid off.

New Analysts

The flood of new analysts have been unleashed onto Wall Street. Various training programs have been over for a while and many have started to get acclimated to their new life. Some things I've noticed over the years that I'd like to comment on:

1) You may think you're hot stuff, but you're not. Don't go bragging about how good you are to your co-workers, it will just annoy them. That goes double when you're out with friends. Triple if your friends aren't in banking.

2) Spend wisely. Just because you're now in banking doesn't guarantee anything. Things change, people get fired. Tread lightly. That doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy yourself (definitely enjoy yourself), but always have an out in case things don't work out. I've seen too many lives devastated by this mistake.

3) Be nice to those who support you! Being an asshole to you middle office, back office, trading assitants, publication people, admins, etc. won't get you anywhere. In fact, it's the support of these people that you'll need to get things done most efficiently. Your work is only as good as those who support it. Remember that they can make your life more difficult, why incite it?

4) Remember the traits of others that train you and that you admire. You will want to shape your career and work persona toward those whom you admire.

5) Have fun! Don't just work all the time. I've seen too many bankers (not to be racist, but this is especially true of the Asian nerd variety) who don't have some fun once in a while.

6) Take risk! You'll never get noticed if you don't put yourself out there. Sometimes you'll get stuff wrong. That's okay, at least you tried.

7) Meet people. Get your name out there. Make sure that the senior people in your area know who you are. You won't regret it.

8) Band together. Make friends with people in your class and a few classes above and below you. Eventually you and your friends will be running Wall Street (it's a small small world, and everyone knows everyone, trust me). It'll pay to know as many desk-heads as possible.

9) Have patience. You won't know everything at once, and you won't be doing everything you want right from the start. It's good that you want to, but trust that it will come when you're ready.

As a newbie on Wall Street your chances of survival are fairly slim. Those who make it to be the big-shots on the Street are few and far between. We're always looking for that new guy who can come and take our place. As I always say, I'm not doing my job if I don't train you to take my post when I take the next job up. Come and get it.

Market Timing the Job Market

For anyone following the industry, it is clear that Wall Street has had some tough times. Unfortunately for those looking for jobs right now, it may be the worst time ever to be looking for that new job. A lot of layoffs are occurring in the structured credit and mortgage markets. Even some investment banking / M&A areas are slowing their hiring in anticipation of a downturn. That means less hiring in equity capital markets as well. So what are you to do if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of looking for a job now?

I think it would be tougher than usual, but all the same tricks apply. Find a good headhunter, leverage connections and be persistent. All the same, you may find a lot of places have hiring freezes on right now. What do you do then? Get relevant experience. If it's an option, go get a masters degree for a year or something (I'm sure the job market will pick back up soon enough, it always does). Get work experience at a smaller boutique firm. Try working for an analytics company or even a consulting company. There are lots of options if you are willing to use a detour as a way of keeping your career moving forward.

Have patience. Even if things look bleak now, the bonus cycle comes up in 3-6 months. There's always a frenzy at that time. After that the summer comes again for new hires. For those without the luxury of just waiting, get a job in a somewhat relevant field. In your future interviews you can always state that you found your job because Wall Street was in the credit debacle of 2007 when you were first looking. Once the cycle reverses, you can find a job and seem like you were at least keeping with the times in the market, despite the fact that your unfortunate timing kept you from getting that first analyst or associate gig.

Good luck.

Values and Happiness

Speaking with some people I know, there was a good bit of resentment going around about career choices. Some people look down on people who aren't doing what they deem to be the "correct" choice. That's something really gets on my nerves.

Everyone has their own sense of what they want their life to be. Whether another person goes into finance, health care, non-profit, tech--it is not upon you to judge. No job is necessarily inferior or superior to any other. That is not to say you can't make a bad choice. Choosing a profession solely due to the money it brings (unless you are in really dire circumstances) or because of some third party pressure is a mistake. Choosing to go into consumer banking, health care or non-profit work because that's what one finds interesting/fulfilling is surely a path to happiness.

When it comes down to it, life is not about making as much money as you can, but it's about making yourself as happy as you can. Or depending on your value set it may be about making as many people as happy as possible, leaving your mark on the world, what have you. It is not, however, on you to impose your value set on others. Live your life how you want to live it. Don't live your life according to values that other people try to impose. At the same time don't push your values onto others. People like me thrive on competition, making/spending money and other things that get my adrenaline pumping. That does not mean I look down upon my friend who chose to live a 9-5 life in the countryside and get married at 22--while I may never understand it, he often seems happier than I am and I'm grateful that he is.

Don't get me wrong. I'll judge like none other if I sense that someone is choosing their career path just for a short term money gain (you see a lot of these people who want to do a couple years in banking just to stash some cash), especially if they have no interest in the job itself at all. I think that's a terrible choice because it leaves them further from where they want to be in the medium/long term.

Don't judge others' values. While they may not make sense to you, people usually choose the path that will make them happiest. It is not for you to judge what will make them happy.

It's been a while

Sorry my posts have become a bit sparse. I've taken a new role, and I've had to deal with quite a bit of change in the past few weeks. I'm still at the same company, and I still trade prop. I have a somewhat wider mandate though, so I've been taking some time to get used to my new environment. I'll try to start posting more regularly again though.

Speak Up

People often complain about how they "knew" something beforehand. For those of you who don't know the first friday of every month is "payroll day." It's the day when the Non-Farm Payrolls number and unemployment figures come out. Days like this a lot of people complain about how they "knew" something (like the payroll number coming out low) but didn't act on it.

Here's some advice--quit whining. If you have something to say, fucking say it. In fact, even better, act on it. If you have a book you can trade on, buy something. If you don't, at least start a betting pool for "closest to the pin." I made my name as a junior guy by winning betting pools. I won enough betting pools on economic numbers that people decided I might make a pretty good macro trader. At one point I had a bunch of people together making a daily pool on which way the markets would go that day. It's the next best thing to trading a book.

This doesn't only hold to market related folks. If you're in banking and you "know" something. Speak up! Let your manger or senior folks know. Yes, you're sticking your head out there, but as we always say, "no risk, no reward." Stick your head out there and prove that you've got what it takes to be a decision-maker. Show that you're not some idiot whose only useful role is punching numbers into a spreadsheet and drafting power point presentations. You only seem like a douche-bag if you whine about knowing it afterwards.

Some of you might say that you've got no upside because your manager or seniors won't give you credit anyway. Well, if that's the case you're both working for the wrong people and probably not seeing the long term view. If you keep getting these calls right people can't help but listen to you in the long run. Just get it right and get it out there. Your credibility will build.

Nothing is more annoying than someone who whines about how they should have done something because they "knew" it beforehand. Quit whining and start acting.

Motivation - Love it or Hate it

A common trait I've seen among those who fall under the rather large umbrella of mediocrity is the lack of motivation.

Let's face it, while face-time may be a worthless measure, hard workers still find themselves working a lot. Not all of them work from the office, mind you. A great many of the hard-driving folks on wall street find themselves working everywhere-from home, in the car, at the gym, etc. If you're wondering how you work from these places, I'll tell you that a cell phone with an ear bud or an i-pod with the WSJ loaded can do you wonders for time efficiency.

There's nothing wrong with being in the game for the money. In fact, money is probably the strongest motivator, but it's coupled with the competitive spirit. For most, it is not about making a lot of money. It is certainly not about making "enough" money. It's about making more money than your friends, your competition, the guy next to you. Wall Streeters are compelled by "keeping up with the Joneses" to the extreme. The next big motivator is intellectual challenge. People like doing things that challenge them (well, most do) and capital markets can be the ultimate challenge as your put yourself up against millions of others in the global economic game.

If you don't see yourself as motivated by any of the above, Wall Street may not be the best place for you. I know a few people who just joined i-banks who are really only there "to learn for a few years and move on" or "to make a living." Well, these people will never make it big. Clearly they don't really want to, so that's okay. But when those same people complain about not getting ahead, not getting promoted, or not being comped properly--that aggravates me.

You can't have it both ways. Either you love the work and immerse yourself in it, or you're just not going to be the top of the food chain here. I'm fine with people who don't want to let their work take over their life, but if you don't love your work that much, you can't complain about not making it big either.