OT: Career advice Part II

[SnowblindNYR]

Fair enough — I’m actually an energy markets quant, and I interview candidates for other quant positions. It’s just disappointing (sometimes infuriating) when someone claims to have accomplished X and, it turns out, only managed someone who did (for example) or that they have hands on experience with stochastic calculus … 10 years earlier. Funny enough, I had a guy walk out mid interview, saying “this isn’t a good fit” after I caught him lying about his knowledge of options markets: you need to know more than the definition of an option to make such a claim.

I feel like this is where quant positions are different than the arithmetic business positions, lol. In a job where you add, subtract, and multiply for a living as an analyst managing someone who has added, subtracted, and multiplied is considered a bigger achievement and someone further along in his/her career than actually doing the adding, subtracting, and multiplying.

 

[CasusBelli]

Wait wait wait...

Two sides of this:

I don't lie or misrepresent myself in interviews. And I do not suggest this. There really is no point. You're just wasting everyone's time. But these days you may as well not apply for positions if you don't have every keyword requirement necessary. A human won't even look at it. I want to get my foot in the door. I'm terrible dealing with people. But, I'm pretty confident in my abilities within my field. Once I get an interview, I can usually get an offer.

Other side:
I've done my share of being at the whiteboard for interviews. I've been grilled on math problems, actual production problems, and even had an interviewer ask me to write 100% syntactically correct code at a whiteboard (this is dumb).

I don't take those jobs. They are never fun places to be for long.

I’m probably more on the other side. I could see why that might be the case at some places. But I need someone who can ideate and create — who can come up with smart trading strategies, test them, and present them to the C suite. He needs to be able to answer the most technical questions in the simplest and most technical ways. But he will have total freedom to explore uncharted waters, with full support throughout and (if successful) all the accolades. I don’t think that’s such a bad environment — it’s the culture in which I excel at least.

I feel like this is where quant positions are different than the arithmetic business positions, lol. In a job where you add, subtract, and multiply for a living as an analyst managing someone who has added, subtracted, and multiplied is considered a bigger achievement and someone further along in his/her career than actually doing the adding, subtracting, and multiplying.

All fair points, good sir.

 

[LokiDog]

I feel like you just described sales in 2024 for a legit organization. A reputable place in 2024 won't be Wolf of Wall Street.

Absolutely, and understandably so. My issue is a personal one, not necessarily an indictment of reputable company structures. If I was 27 this would be fine; work your way up and get there. Unfortunately I spent a decade in the military in such a niche role that it’s essentially a 10 year gap on my resume, so I’ve got a lot of sales experience, and a lot of military leadership and management experience, but no intersection thus far. And that’s fine; I’m willing to work my way up to it, I just need to at least strike a balance to where I can pay to support Henry and still cover my own rent and bills, and hopefully even nestle some little bit away. Beggars can’t be choosers, but out of necessity I also have to be slightly picky. More job hopping at this stage doesn’t help me any. I’m hoping this new role can strike the balance between making things work, even if it’s a bit of a stretch at times and being rewarding and high potential enough to really turn the ship around in the next year or two. Who knows.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Absolutely, and understandably so. My issue is a personal one, not necessarily an indictment of reputable company structures. If I was 27 this would be fine; work your way up and get there. Unfortunately I spent a decade in the military in such a niche role that it’s essentially a 10 year gap on my resume, so I’ve got a lot of sales experience, and a lot of military leadership and management experience, but no intersection thus far. And that’s fine; I’m willing to work my way up to it, I just need to at least strike a balance to where I can pay to support Henry and still cover my own rent and bills, and hopefully even nestle some little bit away. Beggars can’t be choosers, but out of necessity I also have to be slightly picky. More job hopping at this stage doesn’t help me any. I’m hoping this new role can strike the balance between making things work, even if it’s a bit of a stretch at times and being rewarding and high potential enough to really turn the ship around in the next year or two. Who knows.

I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. I think in 2024 at a reputable firm you won't be doing obnoxious pushy sales.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I connected with my former boss and found out he's been out of a job for over a year. Dude's brilliant and a great leader. Kind of a scary thought.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Trying hard to stand out. I will add a work sample in my resume. Just a model that I built. Something tells me no one in finance will give a shit about it, like they didn't give a shit about my analytics blog but this will be more relevant.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I’m best at management roles because of my military time, and I guess my personality. I organize, delegate, time manage, etc. very naturally. My problem is my resume is light on the civilian side and you can’t get to a management position without working your way up the ladder, but I also can’t afford to be in an entry level position at this stage of my life, so I basically have to crush it in sales and hope that it can eventually lead to a management role above a sales team. I’m good at sales as well, but I don’t enjoy it because I don’t like pushing for the deal that isn’t there. I get a lot of deals naturally by being personable and in the right place at the right time. I can close you, but I don’t like when I’m supposed to push to close people when the fit/need isn’t naturally there. I only like sales in a consultative, partner fashion… in a pushy, quota driven environment it isn’t for me.

Sales are a part of many industries but not for everyone. When I was in college all I wanted to be was a stock broker. I didn't realize that it was just another sales job. While I was somewhat good at sales it never fit me well personally. Soon after I realized it wasn't for me and moved on.

 

[Zibanejbread]

Was wondering if I could get some input on a dilemma I’m having at the moment…
I start a sabbatical next week (4 weeks off) due to being at the company 15 years. Next week, I also have second and third interviews set up with another company. Do I tell my boss before I leave that I am interviewing while out? (Interviews are with a former boss that has almost all but assured me I would get an offer.)
My thought is if I give him a heads up, I don’t burn any bridges for the future by coming back and putting in my two weeks notice. And from a human aspect, he’s a cool guy that I don’t wanna catch off-guard… however, nothing is guaranteed and don’t want to damage any working conditions unnecessarily. Appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Crease]

Was wondering if I could get some input on a dilemma I’m having at the moment…
I start a sabbatical next week (4 weeks off) due to being at the company 15 years. Next week, I also have second and third interviews set up with another company. Do I tell my boss before I leave that I am interviewing while out? (Interviews are with a former boss that has almost all but assured me I would get an offer.)
My thought is if I give him a heads up, I don’t burn any bridges for the future by coming back and putting in my two weeks notice. And from a human aspect, he’s a cool guy that I don’t wanna catch off-guard… however, nothing is guaranteed and don’t want to damage any working conditions unnecessarily. Appreciate any thoughts.

The benefit doesn’t outweigh the risk of you not getting the job and your boss now knows you are interviewing.

 

[Greg02]

Was wondering if I could get some input on a dilemma I’m having at the moment…
I start a sabbatical next week (4 weeks off) due to being at the company 15 years. Next week, I also have second and third interviews set up with another company. Do I tell my boss before I leave that I am interviewing while out? (Interviews are with a former boss that has almost all but assured me I would get an offer.)
My thought is if I give him a heads up, I don’t burn any bridges for the future by coming back and putting in my two weeks notice. And from a human aspect, he’s a cool guy that I don’t wanna catch off-guard… however, nothing is guaranteed and don’t want to damage any working conditions unnecessarily. Appreciate any thoughts.

No. Leave it alone. People put in notice after sabbaticals all the time; it's totally fine.

 

[Zibanejbread]

Thanks both of you… I was leaning that way, but still felt a little guilty about it. Thanks for setting me straight.

 

[LokiDog]

I’m starting to do well at work but I really need to land a decently large deal to cement myself. Again, if any of you owns or manages a warehouse, or is lending to a large business that will be utilizing warehouse space, please consider suggesting my company and myself for any projects.

 

[and 99 others]

so I’ve got a lot of sales experience, and a lot of military leadership and management experience, but no intersection thus far.

have you looked into the nebulous "project management" role? A lot of former military people that I've worked with in the private sector have been really good at PM or "Lead Initiative" type roles on the Operations side.

 

[LokiDog]

have you looked into the nebulous "project management" role? A lot of former military people that I've worked with in the private sector have been really good at PM or "Lead Initiative" type roles on the Operations side.

I wouldn’t really know how to break into that sector - there’s so many versions of PMs. There’s PMs in the construction world who actually have engineering degrees or experience. There’s PMs in the creative world. I don’t know any project management software (not that learning would be difficult, computer savvy and learning new programs is definitely in my wheelhouse). I’d love to “graduate” to something a bit less sales driven, but I’m not sure of the route to take here.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Just landed a job after a looooong search. Its in the city, so I might be catching a lot more Rongos games at MSG this season!

 

[NickyFotiu]

I wouldn’t really know how to break into that sector - there’s so many versions of PMs. There’s PMs in the construction world who actually have engineering degrees or experience. There’s PMs in the creative world. I don’t know any project management software (not that learning would be difficult, computer savvy and learning new programs is definitely in my wheelhouse). I’d love to “graduate” to something a bit less sales driven, but I’m not sure of the route to take here.

So much of the worlds jobs are sales related in some way. I did not like sales so I got out of sales soon after years thinking I would really enjoy being a stock broker.

While keeping your current job try to be observant. When you go places or speak with friends. See what they do. Take note of none sales stuff that do not have requirements you do not have. This could be a dumb suggestion but have you ever considered something like being a UPS driver? They make pretty good money. No sales involved.

Just landed a job after a looooong search. Its in the city, so I might be catching a lot more Rongos games at MSG this season!

That is great! Congrats!!!

 

[Chytilmania]

Had a business consult with a friend/mentor in the same field who is extremely successful. Feeling good after what he shared. He told me to raise my prices for new business by 25% if I want to be more respected. A few other tweaks to make as well. Told me I need to hire 1-2 people underneath me and pay them while I teach them, even if they aren't working. Suggested hiring a manager for billing so I don't have to directly ask clients for money (it is probably the worst part of my job). Shared with me this course (what I'm doing right now is free) on how to create or fix your website to get and convert leads. I had a client tell me I should hire someone for $5k to redo my website so this will save me money. Every once in a while I get complacent and go on cruise control, it's nice to have someone push me outside of my comfort zone to grow and expand. After being burnt out from my summer hours now I have a new energy to close out the year and get ready for January.

 

[Cmox]

Before everyone hoards toilet paper again remind them that TP is mostly manufactured here in the US. Tell your local grocery store to put up signs or something, haha

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I'm going to sign up for a Python course. Excited to build this skill, always wanted to learn it.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Delete

 

[will1066]

Delete

This is funny actually because today I accidentally did a reply all.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

This is funny actually because today I accidentally did a reply all.

It was something about a prospective job that I didn't want the 0.0001% chance that one of the interviewers is a Rangers fan that posts on HFBoards and would figure out the company.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I forgot how much fun it is waiting to hear if you got a job and calculating in my head how much the probability dropped by with every minute my phone didn't ring.

 

[TheGortonConspiracy]

I'm going to sign up for a Python course. Excited to build this skill, always wanted to learn it.

chatgpt is really good for learning to code, anytime you dont know something you can literally get it to spit out the exact textbook page you need

 

[SnowblindNYR]

chatgpt is really good for learning to code, anytime you dont know something you can literally get it to spit out the exact textbook page you need

I've been using chatgpt so much, almost feels like a friend, lol. Thanks for the advice.