One of the lesser rated but most important traits of a senior financial executive is his/her ability to take a punch. I say lesser rated because many of our members who I have talked to over the years feel that having had a punch thrown at them and not having the good sense to duck is some...

One of our members wrote me a while back and asked me about how to keep a proper attitude when your job search stretches into what seems like an eternity. The reason he addressed this question to me is that he noted that I have mentioned on several occasions that beginning in March of 1991...

I have had several at length conversations with members from financial services organizations over the years. Fortunately, or unfortunately for me, I have no experience working at a bank, insurance company, capital markets firm, or asset management organization. As a result, I have been so...

Maintaining your self-esteem during a job search can be difficult at times, especially if your search has been going on for any length of time. So much of who we perceive ourselves to be comes from the reflection of our personalities upon those with whom we are engaged on a daily basis....

There are many things that can happen to you in your life that change your perspective. Losing your job and/or having to find another one, easily falls into this category. As you all know, The FENG is a networking group, it is not a job listing service. Sure, we publish lots and lots of...

Will Rogers is remembered as saying: “I never met a man I didn’t like.” I only wish everyone reviewing job possibilities would keep in mind the job search equivalent as stated above. Most jobs, upon initial examination, are bound to have more than a few flaws. Let’s face it, if it was a...

Time goes by fast when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? And what greater fun is there than conducting a job search? Okay, it may not be as much fun as it appears to be to those looking in from the outside. But still, you can’t beat those Zoom calls and regular phone calls with old friends...

Since a significant percentage of our members are in the job market, I thought I would make you aware that almost all of the job search related websites are in the business of selling life jackets to people who are drowning. And, the life jackets they sell don’t actually work. An altern...

A very long time ago, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of our Hartford/Springfield chapter. I was one of two guest speakers. The other speaker was a gentleman from Robert Half who spoke about the local market. What was of particular interest to me was his perception of people ...

Job search can be a lonely business. There you are, in your home office from the moment you get up in the morning until just before you go to bed. Emails are going out. Letters are being sent. Appointments are being made. (And, the only time you leave the house is for this purpose.) The...

Ah, that very useful invention of mine, the day stretcher. If only it actually worked. Not only doesn’t it work, but it would also appear that there is nothing one can do about time that is lost. Once time has passed, it is gone. (When sailing, it is similar to what I call the sploosh s...

Okay sports fans, the new year has begun. It is now January 19th and time is slipping away. At the moment this year promises to be filled with as many challenges as last year, but don’t allow that stop you. (Sadly, the light at the end of the tunnel may indeed be a speeding locomotive.) ...

One of our members wrote to me a few years ago seeking some career advice. It seems his firm is restructuring and his job is being eliminated. That said, he has some “work opportunities” that are available to him, (some at his current firm) but all of which are a little off task to his pri...

Looking back on my visualization of middle age when I was in my youth, I must confess the picture currently is a lot different.At the ripe old age of 75, I thought I would share a few thoughts tonight in the hopes that others would be willing to share theirs. Any editorial/notes from membe...

I have observed over my life that most of the people identified as experts are wrong a very high percentage of the time. In much the same way that a clock that has stopped is right twice a day, some acknowledged experts are identified by the media as genius only because they inadvertently ...

Probably one of the hardest things to do during a job search is keeping yourself energized. If you are conducting your job search from home, as most of you are today, it can be even more difficult.The thing to recognize is that conducting a job search is in some respects painful for us fin...

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 resume...

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 o...

Over the past few months I have completed several projects on or for my sailboat.My father was a plumbing and general contractor. Having worked for him from the time I was 13 until I graduated from college, I am pretty handy with tools. I also had a lot of very old cars, and not being inde...

One of the hardest things to do during a job search or even during a difficult time at work is keeping yourself energized and positive. Here again is another example of how our basic honesty as financial folks gets in the way of our success.If you ask a financial guy how he is doing, you t...

I don’t know if any of you remember the movie Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, but Raymond had a method for dealing with his pain. He kept a journal. Anytime someone hurt him, he wrote it down in his book.I don’t remember if he ever referred to his book or reread it for enterta...