It sure is a disappointment to find out you aren’t perfect.I don’t know about you, but I have always enjoyed the fact that typically the spreadsheets of my life tick and tie. I guess it goes with the territory of being a senior financial executive. Most things in our lives are measurable o...

Several years ago The Wall Street Journal had an article about the many steps people take when applying for jobs to conceal their age.I understand where this comes from. Ageism, as with all forms of prejudice, comes from ignorance.If you think about all of the ways of earning a living, it ...

From time to time, I have been accused of tilting at windmills. Actually, I am never offended when I hear this because in large part everything we do in The FENG has elements of it, and I’m proud of it.It has indeed been a long road developing The FENG. Most importantly, I haven’t had to d...

I don’t know how many of you are aware of it, but The FENG began its life as an organization of VERY senior financial professionals. In the beginning our original core group was over 50 and a few of those folks were even older. The idea was that senior financial professionals needed more h...

It sure is romantic to think about a job offer out of town with a full relocation package as a way to start over again. And, in many ways and for some people, it just may be your ticket to a life of sheer happiness for you and your family.However, for most people I have known over the year...

“Must have industry experience” often appears on position descriptions in this newsletter as well as ones one might see in the newspaper or on the various job boards that exist in the nether world of the Internet.The question is whether to respond or not to respond when the requirement is ...

In the 25+ years that I have been Chairman of The FENG, I have heard more nonsense about job search approaches than any of you would believe. Some of the most accepted practices such as leaving off graduation dates and the proverbial “to present,” even when you have been gone for several m...

Job descriptions, especially the ones that go on for pages and pages, have to make you smile.That said, with my many years of experience in the Advertising business, I am a big fan of long copy. Long copy sells. In the context of position descriptions posted in our newsletter I believe it ...

My wife and I go cruising on our sailboat every summer for about two weeks. During that time it is near certainty that there will be at least two full days where we won’t be able to get off the boat most of the day because it is raining too hard. Of course, I always have email to do. Somet...

During this period of time when all there is going to be over the next few weeks is bad news, it is hard to think about a path forward. I’m sure there is one, but I don’t see it yet. Earlier today I got a call from a Demetria Clark. As we began our conversation, I think she picked up on th...

With each passing day, it has become clearer that face to face meetings of The FENG are not going to be happening any time soon. At the beginning of time itself, when The FENG consisted of only the Westport Chapter and was only about 50 members, some folks in Philadelphia got wind of the f...

As we begin another week with a significant percentage of the US economy shut down, I hope tonight’s newsletter finds you and yours in good health. In terms of everyone’s priorities, I would politely suggest that this be your primary focus. With respect to the economy, at this point in tim...

As we head into yet another week of lockdown, I hope that tonight’s editorial finds you and yours in good health and good spirits. If you and yours are at least in good health, I would be happy with that alone. I will admit that with each passing day it is getting harder and harder to reme...

I spent almost the entire day today learning how to host meetings on Zoom. In addition to my desk station, I had two laptops set up in my office so I could see what you will be seeing. I also roped my wife and son (who is also The FENG’s webmaster) into helping educate me on the ins and ou...

There isn’t much I personally can do about the job market. I caught a few minutes of the evening news tonight, and as many as 20% of the work force in the USA is now unemployed. These are staggering numbers. Equally staggering is that almost 64,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. With h...

As all of you know, The FENG is going “all in” on Zoom. To prove my commitment to all of you and to our mission of educating members about the job search process, I will be hosting a daily 30 minute Zoom meeting. Details about tomorrow’s meeting appear below. I hope you will join us. The d...

The executive search business isn’t what it used to be, but then what is?I hate to bore those who already know the primary difference between recruiters, but I hesitate to assume. Retained recruiters typically have an exclusive right to find a particular candidate for a firm and they get p...

From time to time, I write an editorial that generates very thoughtful responses from our members.I hope that all of you appreciate those individuals who write in as much as I do. It is an important part of The FENG, that we each take the time to share our knowledge with one another on top...

Part of the lecture I deliver to new members who call me is that The FENG is a networking group, not a job listing service. I then add that they shouldn’t allow the fact that we are publishing lots of job leads each month confuse them about our true purpose.In the beginning (when God creat...

Although I would never willingly admit it, over the nearly 40 years I have been sailing I have had occasion to go aground. (It is always an embarrassing situation.)One time I dragged anchor in a storm (that I can assure you was not in the forecast) and the other times I managed to wander t...

I am always chatting with potential sponsors for The FENG and from time to time the character of each of our chapters comes up. They are, of course, all different.Here in the Northeast I suppose there almost aren’t any boundaries. Pre-COVID-19 we used to get visitors to our Westport chapte...