Recruiting In A Down Market

I was a bit shocked when I received the e-mail informing me of the seminar at Wharton given by Brian of Mergers & Inquisitions and Kevin of Management Consulted. I frequent their blogs to gain an insider’s insight into the investment banking and management consulting careers, and so when this opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to be present at this seminar.

After attending the seminar, Recruiting In A Down Market, I highly recommend it to anyone currently seeking employment in this market. Using a combination of anecdotal tales and tried-and-true methods, Brian and Kevin conveyed the excellent yet overlooked strategies for obtaining a job in the financial industry during this tumultuous time. The basic takeaway – do not rest on your laurels (or your school’s laurels for that matter) and instead, proactively pursue that job.

For anyone, and everyone, currently looking to obtain an internship or a full time position in the financial industry in this current economy, I would suggest you reach out to either gentleman, as they would provide insights that you might find pivotal.

Maybe A Silver Lining

When I stop by for a brief visit with my friends and family, the questions as to what I am currently doing always arise. While I usually attempt to feign interest towards unnecessary drivels like this, I have somewhat developed a disdain for this question in particular. Since almost everyone I know is either apathetic or ignorant of investment banking, this conversation usually ends in frustration on my part as the conversations usually follow the below sequence:

F&F: I haven’t seen you in a while, what are you up to now?

Shane: I am completing a bachelors program at Penn and hopefully after that, I can secure a great job on Wall Street working for a bank.

F&F: You want to be a teller at a bank?

Shane: No, this is not for a teller. This is for a position at the bank headquarters, usually on Wall Street, where the actual profits are being generated for the bank.

F&F: So you want to be a loan officer?

Shane: No, those are examples of job opportunities in commercial banks. I am aiming for an investment bank.

Person: An investor?

Shane: No, not an investor. These banks work with stocks and are more concerned with asset valuations of various companies. They provide services to corporation on numerous activities such as mergers and acquisitions, helping firms raise cash to conduct business, selling corporate securities to the public and advising on financial strategies.

Person: So a stockbroker?

Shane (in frustration): Yes, a stockbroker…that is exactly what I am hoping to do.

 

Now with the current credit crisis and the press that these banks are receiving, my latest conversation departed from the standard convention. It seems there is no more layman confusion (or at least reduced confusion – at least they’re in the ballpark now) as what constitutes an investment bank.

 

F&F: I haven’t seen you in a while, what are you up to now?

Shane: I am completing a bachelors program at Penn and hopefully after that, I can secure a great job on Wall Street working for a bank.

Person: Oh, you want to be like those assholes that ruined our economy.

Shane (in relief): Thank you, you saved me from seven minutes of excruciating and agonizing explanation.

Person: Of what?

Shane: Just be happy we skipped it, I am.

 

Maybe a silver lining indeed.

Do Not Become A Paralegal

It is with the utmost respect for the profession and the professionals that I’ve met along the way as well as with the strictest reservation that I utter the following recommendation: Do not become a paralegal. Even as I write this, I am still a bit wary of actually putting down in words the feelings that I’ve possessed during my final months on the job. It is not from the fear of retribution (though I still have this job and retribution is quite plausible), but rather, it is from the fear that I actually would cause more harm that good by the below piece; after all, how can I even begin to imagine that I can do justice to the paralegal position in such few words. One thing is quite evident though, in the two years that I have spent working full-time in the capacity of a paralegal, I have acquired and developed numerous skills but even after all the accolades I can deliver about the profession, it still is never enough to persuade from me a positive recommendation for a career as a paralegal, even if just for the interim.

I accepted this career, as did a few of my peers, right after completing my undergraduate degree because I was unsure of what was to be my next step after receiving that degree. At the time, I had contemplated submitting an application for matriculation at medical schools but I ultimately decided to hold off on the application and instead chose to pursue other budding interests for a year or two. While working as a paralegal was the furthest job from my mind at the time, somehow between the ineptitude of my undergraduate career center and my hastiness to turn from the field I had spent all my collegiate years preparing for, I ended up accepting a job to work as a corporate paralegal in the legal department of a publicly traded hospitality company. There lies the story that shaped my view of the industry.

Like many new experience, the first few months provided some exciting challenges that kept me entertained. There existed a steep learning curve and the first few months found me trying to adjust to life as a paralegal. So much was unfamiliar that it was quite unimaginable to see how I could possibly accumulate all this working knowledge in time to be able to add some value to the position and the team that surrounded me. Yet, even as tedious as the learning curve was, it all started to fall into place sooner or later. I found myself adjusting to my new role within the company and it was then that I felt exposed to the true nature of the paralegal position. Within months of this revelation, I knew I wanted out, but the more I tried, the harder it became to actually leave. There is a saying that if you ever find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is to stop digging. Well, sometimes convincing yourself that it can be quicker to climb out than to continue digging to the other side is harder than it seems. For me, it took almost a year and a half before I threw down the shovel.

I’ve tried to list below four reasons that compelled me to switch out of my current role as a paralegal. While these are by no means the only four reasons that sent me packing, they are four important reasons that stick out in my memory. Before I begin, I would add that I in no means plan to convince anyone to stay clear of the paralegal position. The four reasons below do not have a clear unifying them except that they are sharp rationales I found to turn from the position. Beside, the truly wise will read the following posts and make do of it as they see best.

1. No Transferable Skills: One of the things that I regretted most about the paralegal is the specialization that it requires, but the lack of certification it provides. While working as a paralegal teaches a few soft skills that can be transferred across field, there is actually not a single hard skill that I have come across that can be applied across to a different field. As a paralegal, you are taught to act as a lawyer without actually fulfilling the duties of one. By that, I mean that you are taught to predict the response of a counsel without actually making the decision, or at least seeking the approval of a counsel before making such a decision. This leads to a specialized worker that lacks the legal authority to act without a supervisor and at the end of the day, all a paralegal can do, and do really well, is predict the action of a lawyer. No other job can appreciate such a skill except those that exist within legal field. The problem arises if one seeks to transfer out of the legal field. There is no certification that grants the authority to market these skills that have been honed over time. It is essentially illegal for a paralegal to market their knowledge or their expertise without being associated with a lawyer. Besides, will a employer outside of the legal realm care that I know what a promissory estoppel is?
2. The Proverbial Black hole: Going off a bit from point number one, the very nature of the paralegal position creates a proverbial black hole. Once one starts working as a paralegal, it is quite possible to acquire numerous skills through on the job training that can also be acquired in a formal classroom. Yet, since there is no formal advancement in the paralegal position, once you are a paralegal, you remain perpetually a paralegal. It is not as if one can work a certain number of years and acquire a certain number of skills and knowledge and find that they have suddenly become a lawyer. The paralegal position has no real advancement through the ranks; you are a paralegal the first day you enter the position and a paralegal for as long as you stay in that capacity. The better you become at being a paralegal, the longer the chain that binds you to the position become. Over the years, you find that you have become such a good, if not great, paralegal and can do nothing else but this.
3. Not actually a prerequisite: One familiar tie that binds a lot of my colleagues within this profession is an interest to matriculate at law school at some point in their lives. Many chose to become paralegals first and they willingly put up with the grunt work because they were falsely led into believing that working as a paralegal will either (1) act as a gateway into law school, or (2) assist them in making the decision whether working a lawyer is the right career choice for them. After a few months, even I was able to see the futility of this approach. First, law schools could actually care less whether you worked as a paralegal for a few years or not. There is no work experience pre-requisite for law school and those that work for a few years beforehand find that they gain no relevant advantage except for a few dollars in their pockets. Second, the role of a paralegal does not shed insight into the lives of the lawyers you work under. As a paralegal, you are there to support the lawyers, and all you can really gain insight into is how to support a lawyer rise in their career. There are multiples ways to learn what life as a lawyer, or even learn the experience of law school, but becoming a paralegal is perhaps the hyperbolic worst way of them all.
4. Middle / Back Office: For some who may not understand the nuance of Front/Middle/Back office roles, this fourth point may be a bit unfamiliar. I admit to be clueless to the nuances until a few months into my career as a paralegal. You see, there are really two roles in every company: Front Office and everything else. A front office role is a role that brings in money, meets with client and brings in business. Everything else is classified under roles that support the front office, assist the front office, or fixes the front office’s computers and equipments. Since non-front office roles do not generate the business of the firm, they are treated as second class citizens. If you truly believe prejudice and discrimination has been eradicated from corporate America, wait till you work at a middle to back office position. Well, you’ve probably guessed it, the paralegal position is a back office as it gets.

So there you have four of the reasons I choose to run as far away from the paralegal position. My greatest disappointment during these past two years was that I truly believed that the years I spent working as a paralegal might actually lead to wonderful exit opportunities. Upon learning the truth, I threw down the shovel and realized that the only way for me to ever escape from the hole I found myself was to climb out. Trying to dig my way into better fortunes will only create a bigger hole.

Shane as an Employee

Yesterday, I received written commentary on my first ever performance review and I must say that I am quite disappointed at the result. Although I have not had the chance to meet with my supervisor to clarify the context of the evaluation (that meeting is scheduled for later on today), the written commentary on this review does allude to one undeniable fact: I am in fact not God’s greatest gift to mankind. Okay, I jest a bit, that is not actually the revelation. The written commentary on my performance evaluation revealed to me that there is indeed a disconnect between what I believe I present to the company and what the company perceives that I have to offer; that is, what I consider an honest assessment of my strengths and weaknesses differ from what was revealed through this performance review.

In the performance evaluation, the rating system is broken down into five distinct rating scales although an individual’s score can fall within the ranges. The scales are also assigned brief descriptions for clarification.

5 = Mastery                 Exceptional work standards

4 = Strength                 Significantly exceeds the standard, minimal need for development

3 = Skilled                    Consistently meets the standard, room for development

2 = Needs Focus          Below standard, improvement is needed

1 – Insufficient            Significantly below the standard, immediate improvement  is needed

I received an average of 3.6 with the lowest score of 3.2 given in “Dependability” (Follows instructions and completes work in a timely manner) and the highest score of 4.0 being a tie between “Quality of Work” (Amount of work completed in relation to the standard) and “Reliability” (Punctual, high attendance level). What concerns me most is that if I were to give an honest evaluation of my strengths, I would have highly ranked Dependability as high among that list.

The problem arises in that when I am presented with an ever increasing workload, I try never to turn work down. Instead I find ways to fit it into my schedule and complete the assigned tasks no matter how strained my schedule already is. I actually considered this to be one of my greatest strength in that when there is work to be done; I am first in line to take the reins to attempt to complete it. As such, I usually find myself pressed for time and I try to complete all the work in the most efficient way that I know how; assigning a level of perceived urgency to each matter and I proceed to work first on the tasks that require the earliest deadline and/or turnaround time.

I had always thought this worked perfectly, but as evident from the evaluation, the reality is far from the case. Rather than what I believe I exude, a can-do attitude, what is seen by my superiors is a constant oversight in completing ‘lower priority assignments’. While I do not deny this is the case, I always presumed that there was an understanding that the lower assignments would be shifted in order to make room for the emergencies that are currently my main focus. After all, would it not be a great hindrance to ignore the larger more priority assignment in order to take the time to complete lower (and always plentiful) lower priority assignment.

It is obvious that if I need to resolve this disconnect, I will need to delve deeper into its underlying cause. This evaluation meeting will provide an excellent opportunity to hear the basis of this evaluation and try to find a mutual ground between my perception and reality. I would have appreciated this conversation a while ago rather than eighteen months after my initial hire date, but it is better late than never. If this was indeed an on-going problem as the evaluation has led me to believe, it would have been prudent to have been made aware of it early and act of correct it early rather than eighteen month later. At the very least though, I do appreciate that I am now given a chance to improve my perception around the office and I plan to take the lessons of the evaluation to heart.

Another interesting point that I hope to receive clarification on during the meeting with my supervisor is this comment that was left in the “Work Demeanor” section. Occasionally, however, Shane fails to discern the nuances of maintaining an appropriate deferential yet collegial working relationship with his immediate supervisor. Rather than let my mind wonder as to how and why my supervisor could have derived this conclusion, I will keep an open mind as I have already been made aware that my actions are not always as received as I had intended.

What happened to Shane?

One word, PROXY. Okay, it is really two words because it is a proxy statement but I like to call it the black hole that sucks all the fun out of work. How many shareholders of the company are really going to read this proxy statement? Short of a few institutional holders who are going to request a research analyst to summarize the details, no one is going to bother to open this crap. In short, the culmination of my last couple of weeks at work will be a stack of paper that will be thrown out as soon as it is received by ninety percent (90%) of its recipients. Well, there you have it; the proxy statement has sucked all the enjoyment (and time) out of my life and my work. And there was not that much to begin with.

What really irks me about the proxy statement is the manpower and man-hours it takes to put together this piece of document (remember, no one reads it) that doesn’t really bring in any additional revenue for the company. Rather, my work on the proxy actually prohibits me from completing tasks that actually bring in value. The proxy has undergone so much rework even its plastic surgeon will barely recognize it. All this to be either more SEC or NYSE complaint compliant so we do not get penalized or worse, made an example of . (Kudos to Applied Materials Inc.. I would have loved to work there only to put out this proxy as a sort of practical joke). If either of the agencies (I’m really just looking to you SEC but I thought I would be passive aggressive) could stop changing the rules every year, maybe, just maybe, I might get some sleep at night.

It is almost over now. The final version of the proxy was sent to the printers yesterday and I received a draft of the proof this morning and lo and behold, the printer screwed up the format. If the printer was trying to prove a point to me (that the last weeks spent staring at the proxy until late into the night was not worth it), they might as well have sent blank pages back except for the “Loser” sign stamped on each page’s right bottom corner.

It’s almost over now. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe after the proxy is finally complete, the executives will remove the chain that binds me to my desk and I’ll be allowed to see the sun again. Oh, I miss the sun. After all this, I tell myself, “It’s just a job.”

Letter from the CEO

Dear Fellow Corporate Associate:

We have just closed out our third consecutive year of great achievement and accomplishment, putting our company on much more solid ground with a total of 220 contracts including seven wholly owned hotels and 47 joint venture properties. This is a long way from where we were back at the beginning 2005. There is real momentum within the company today as a result of your hard work and dedication to our strategy and goals.

Unfortunately, the economic environment we find ourselves in today is one of huge challenge and uncertainty. Who would have ever thought six months ago that a great organization like Bear Stearns would experience such a dramatic meltdown in a matter of days? Who would have predicted the headwinds all major banks and financial institutions are currently facing or the upheaval of the credit markets? I certainly did not anticipate this and I suspect you didn’t either. Some predict we will be in a recession very shortly if, in fact, we are not already there. I have no idea what lies beneath the surface, but I do know that we, all of us at [redacted], should assume the worst while hoping for the best.

The first two months of the year were in line with budget; however, March has softened rather dramatically and we remain concerned about future periods given the economic uncertainty. History tells us that our industry usually feels the real impact of an economic slowdown a few months after most other industries. I do not want to wait until the “horse is out of the barn” before we take prudent measures to mitigate a possible serious downturn. We have all worked too hard to let the progress we have made and credibility we have earned slip away. It is far better to err on the conservative side than to wait until our opportunity to prepare is gone.With this in mind, I have asked the Executive Committee to take certain actions to freeze or reduce expenses over the next few months. Effective immediately, we will freeze hiring unless approved by me, reduce travel expenses, delay some purchases, and implement other steps to ensure that we will be in a position to meet our commitment to our shareholders. As part of this program, I am delaying the implementation of corporate merit increases that are normally effective the 1st of April. We will look at our business levels and the direction of the general economy as we get further into the second quarter in order to evaluate when and if we will be able to implement this year’s annual merit increases. The manager level and below will be the first group to receive their increase while director level and above will be asked to wait longer. I fully understand that this is a serious measure to take, but I also believe that all our associates are committed to the long term success of [redacted] and this action, in my opinion, is a key element to the continuation of this success during these uncertain economic times. We all read the same newspapers, listen to the same news programs, and we all have witnessed first hand the changing economic environment, so I ask you to support this decision.

You have my word that we will revert back to a more normal operating mode as soon as we see positive signs in the economy and our business. In the meantime, I appreciate your continued hard work, loyalty, and dedication to [redacted] mission and goals.

[Redacted]

Chief Executive Officer

[Redacted]

My comments

1. As the company is in an industry (hospitality) which is a lagging indicator of the economy, this move is a bit premature and unnecessary (if you ask me). The entire reason for working in the hospitality industry is that it does not wildly fluctuate with the economy. If you were assign the hospitality industry a beta, it would hover somewhere around 0.30. When the company released its earnings earlier this month, the company actually beat forecasts for the 1st quarter of 2008, yet the CEO calls this drastic action necessary. Necessary to what? Necessary for what? It is clear that the company is in a healthy state: with sufficient cash flow and EBIDTA (take my word for it). Why the entire executive committee believes this is a necessary solution is short-sighted?

2. People are reactionary, and people react to the news they see and/or hear. This statement from the CEO sends exactly the wrong message. Everyone knows the general state that the economy is in right now, but when the company start to revise its forecast, then the workers start to believe the company is trying to hide some skeleton or delay some inevitable disastrous news. (Images of Enron shredding corporate documents quickly flash across my mind). I don’t believe that is the case with the company, but sending a message like this company wide proclaims a signal of the doom and gloom to come. A publicly traded version of the boy who cried wolf?

3. The company is doing quite well. The company was among the biggest price gainer on 3/25/08. Therefore, we, the associates are only left to feel that the company is more interested in shareholder equity than its associates. While a company that focuses on shareholder equity is not discouraged (it’s actually encouraged), it would be a bit pollyannaish for a company to focus on maximizing equity at the cost of its associate. Let’s face it, in the hospitality industry, people (workers) matter, and if the workers stop believing in the services they offer, profits will be sure to decline.

(I will look into providing the stock chart for the company. I will have to work to redact certain portions to keep the identity of the company confidential)

4. This destroys moral. I don’t even think this needs any special explanation. I personally know of lots of understaffed department (mine included) that cannot possible take kindly to the message. A hiring freeze and a postponement of annual merit increase: a double whammy.

I could think of more comments, but I’ll stop here. I don’t think there’s any need to continue. While I’m sure the executive committee had their reasons for their decision, I do feel it to be the incorrect one.

Bonuses: Another reason why I support a reformation of the US Tax Code

I’ve never been a huge fan of the US Income Tax Code or the IRS which was placed in charge of enforcing and collecting under the tax code. Any tax code that requires pages upon pages of explanation can not possibly be the most effective and/or efficient way to tax the population. Instead of listing thousand of examples of why I view the tax code as unnecessarily complicated, I’ll talk about an example that hits closer to home. This is the issue of how the tax code is applied to a bonus check and why the calculation unnecessarily overtaxes the bonus.

Bonuses are taxed in one of two ways: The Percentage Method and the Aggregate Method. For the percentage method, the bonus is taxed at a flat rate of 25% at the federal level as well as a flat tax at the state level (rates vary by state). It doesn’t matter what the tax payer’s effective tax bracket was the last paycheck, the percentage method applies a flat rate to the bonus. The other method, and the one most in use, is the aggregate method. Here, the bonus is treated just as any other paycheck and taxed at the then current withholding the tax payer had selected earlier in the year. While this sounds simple enough, it does get a bit complicated. First though, a brief lesson about how each tax payer’s income tax liability is calculated.

At any point in a year, but usually at the beginning or the start of a new job, a tax payer completes a W-4, which allows the tax payer to estimate their withholding (how much of their income will be shielded from taxation throughout the year) based on questions on the form. The form is used to estimate the federal tax liability the tax payer will have at the end of the year. Once this is complete, the IRS starts applying the withholding rates on subsequent paycheck and taxes any amounts not shielded by the withholdings. The amounts are automatically withdrawn from the tax payer’s paychecks before receiving it. At the beginning of the next year, up until April 15, the tax payer has to complete a tax return which applies the year’s federal tax rate to the actual income earned that year (as stated on the W-2 and other income forms) and reconciles this tax liability with the estimation that has been withdrawn throughout the year. If the amount taken out during the year is less than the calculated amount on the tax return, the tax payer sends a check to the IRS, if more the IRS returns a check to the tax payer. Are you still with me?

Where the complication arises with bonuses is that the estimated tax liability is calculated per paycheck over the course of the year. This paycheck is taxed under the assumption that every subsequent paycheck will be similar, if not identically. Of course, everyone is well aware that bonus paychecks are quite sizeable when compared to weekly/biweekly paychecks since the bonuses are one-time payments and not a recurring paycheck.  A simple example will shed some insight on why this creates an estimation nightmare.

If I am paid $2,000 biweekly, the IRS (rather the accounting software in place) would compute my tax liability by applying the $2000 over the course of the year or twenty six times (26 paychecks during the year if paid biweekly). $2000 * 26 = $52,000 annual salary. The IRS then applies the tax rate and my estimated total tax liability during the year becomes $4,386.25 plus 25% of the amount over $31,850 or $9423.75* (18% effective tax rate). This amount is then reduced to a single paycheck (divided by 26) and $362.45* is taken out the individual paycheck. If nothing changes and I receive the same amount over the course of the year, the estimated tax liability will reconcile with the actual calculation using the W-2. The problem occurs when I receive a bonus and the IRS taxes it. The IRS (once again, it’s really the accounting system in place) treats the bonus as a paycheck, and not as a one time payment. A bonus of $6,000 would also be applied with the same formula and $6,000 * 26 = $156,000. When the tax rate is applied, the amount owed on income of that magnitude would be $15,698.75 plus 28% of the amount over 77,100 or $37,790.75. Applied over a single paycheck, the tax liability would be $1,453.49*. This number grossly exaggerates the amount of taxes that needs to be paid and pushes the tax payer to a marginally higher tax bracket. At the end of the year, the tax filer actually report income of $58,000 ($52,000 base and $6,000 bonus) which should only have been taxed. Since the bonus paycheck actually estimated an end of the year income of $156,000 (albeit only once during the year), a greater proportion of taxes would have been collected by the government that the tax payer is actually responsible for remitting. This over estimation will be reflected in the over taxation of the bonus paycheck.       

The bonus check is effectively overtaxed, and while this money will be later returned to the tax payer, the IRS keeps the funds until then. Not only does the IRS keep the funds until a tax payer can complete his/her tax return the next year, the funds are not adjusted for inflation nor do the funds interest while the government holds on to it. It’s basically a free loan made to the federal government that devalues each second the government holds on to it due to lost opportunity cost and rising inflation.

My bonus check just arrived last week, and thanks to the IRS shoddy math, it’s effectively taxed at around 50% (including state, local, and social security) even though I’m no where near the highest tax bracket (35%). The funds I can use to “stimulate the economy” (as the government puts it) have been unnecessarily withheld and the earliest I can consider receiving re-payment from the federal government will be in 2009. Thank you Uncle Sam.

P.S. I am actually contemplating completing a revamped W-4 and increasing my withholdings so I can correct this over taxation. This method will allow me to intentionally pay less in taxes than my project will necessitate so as to balance the over taxation of my bonus.

* In reality, only the first paycheck of the year is projected over 26 weeks. All subsequent payment accounts for the prior paychecks and so each subsequent paycheck will effectively be increased over the remaining pay period in the year plus the amount already taxed. To make the math simple (if at all possible), all tax computations were calculated as if applied to the first paycheck of the year.

Then, Now, Later

This is my first blog post in the 2008 year. As such, I’ll try to fit multiple items into one blog post that I have entitled; Then, Now, Later.

Then

The year 2007 was a trying year for me. After I graduated college in 2006, I decided I was going to join the workforce for a few years, gain some experience and apply to medical school when I was ultimately ready. As time went on though, I began to pursue other interest outside of the pursuit of medicine. All throughout undergrad, I had always heard of careers in investment banking and management and strategic consulting, but with my pre-medical blinders on, I chose to ignore those career routes even though I had expressed early interest in them, evident by my ultimate choice to pursue an economic degree. In 2007, I sought to pursue this interest and attempted to transition into a new career in the banking industry. I pulled my application from medical school and sought instead to apply to business school (b-schools). I choose to apply to b-schools because I truly believe that b-schools were the path that would provide me the knowledge and expertise in the most accelerated, rigorous and structured path to allow for a success transition into a new career in the mergers and acquisition advisory at an investment bank. The problem with my hasty decision though, is that business schools search for different qualities in their students than do medical schools (which hitherto, I had been aim to meet medical school requirements) and now I’m struggling to show to the admission committees my story as to why I am a desirable candidate deserving of a seat in their business school.

Other aspects of my life did fall into order in 2007. Due to a renewed determination to better my current lot in life, I became serious about the decisions that affect my life, my finances, and my future. In 2007, I really began talks with my girlfriend in order to coordinate and manage our lives post (her) graduation. She, like I, is very ambitious and this ambition is driving her to medical school (bless her soul). So far, the conversations are going well and we’re working to collaborate and coordinate the directions that our passions are now pulling us towards.

In terms of finances, I started a Roth IRA in 2007 and I plan to continue that trend in the future. I also opened a taxable account to complete my desired asset allocation. My 401(k) at work will soon become available and I look forward to putting more funds in that cash deferred account.

While all my goals and aspirations were not met in 2007, I’m looking forward to pushing ahead in 2008 to try to achieve those goals.

Now

I’m contemplating what contingency plan I’ll engage if I don’t gain admittance to business school during this cycle. I’ve accepted the reality that the possibility exists that this might not be the year for me, but I know I can patiently wait and build up my candidacy for the day when the opportunity to enter into the career I desire arises (whether or not that path leads through business school). I’m currently awaiting the decisions from the schools I applied in the second round. I have decided that this is the last round that I will submit an application to, and if not successful in this round, I’ll accept that I need and can add to application by staying in the workforce and gaining extra work experience. Since I am unsatisfied in my current work position, I’ll seek to lateral into a new position if that is the route I am compelled to take.

For the first time since I carried a credit card, I’m carrying a balance from one month to the next. This is due to the application fees of the business schools I applied to. All of the balance is on a 0% interest card (currently) so I’m not too worried about carrying the balance from month to month. I’m paying down the principal with all available funds so as to avoid paying interest charges when the introductory rate expires. I’m still allocating and dollar cost averaging (DCA) into the market funds I own. The next couple of months will be a strain on my budget allocation as I continue to pay off this credit card debt, pay down my student loans, continuing adding to my Roth and taxable accounts and start a 401(k) plan. I’ve chosen an asset allocation plan (shown below) that I try to DCA into every moth. Hopefully, starting early in life, I can take advantage of compound interest to secure a financially independent future.

AA- 95% Equities, 5% Fixed Income

40% Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTSMX)
30% Vanguard FTSE All-World ex. US (VFWIX)
15% Vanguard Small Cap Value (VISVX)
10% Vanguard REIT (VGSIX)
5% Vanguard Inflation-Protection Securities (VIPSX)

Later

I have to consider what my options are in trying to ultimately end up in career in mergers & acquisition advisory at an investment bank within the next 5 to 10 years. I know if I follow stepwise a diligent plan, I will ultimately end fulfilling this desire.  I just have to find such a plan; that coordinated strategic plan that will make this desire a reality.

I do also have to factor in the fact that heading down this route will lead my life down a narrowly defined path, and I need to make sure that the path allows enough room for one more: my girlfriend. With her aspiration to enter medical school, I need to expect some difficulties that will come with combining both our lives.

So 2008 will be an interesting year. This is the year that I plan to make radical changes, whatever they may be. Here is to a new year, at least a 24 day old one.

After all the layer, you find: It’s just a job

 It has been just a little over a year now since I left school, tucked my baccalaureate degree under my arm and headed into the work force, just a tad bit pollyannaish. Forget all those part-time jobs I had in high school and undergrad, this is full-time; the big leagues. Here comes all the benefit packages, perks, new experiences, networking contacts, and most importantly, steady income that a full time job conveys. Now, I will admit that I do tend to run a bit cynical, but when was told after numerous rounds of interviews that I was hired to this position, all that cynicism went out the window. I couldn’t wait to arrive at work the next Monday morning.

After the drudgery of working (8:30am – 5:30pm in my case plus overtime as necessary) for a year, I cannot recollect exactly what my previous excitement has been founded upon. Sure, I’ve learned new skills, met numerous contacts (some of whom will be writing my business school letter of recommendation), and supported myself financially, and though each day present new challenging occurrences to keep me interested, I cannot but come to the conclusion that: This is still just a job.

This is not exactly a momentous epiphany but it is important nonetheless to note. No matter what profession I enter down the road in my career, whether it be as a professor, a doctor, a lawyer, a consultant…, at the end of the day, I know that is just a job. I still think back to my undergraduate days where I, and some of my equally naïve friends, describe our future profession by saying something similar to the following: “I can’t wait to be a doctor, I’ll help my patients and make them better. I’ll come into work everyday and do my best to make sure that healthcare is up to par with expectations.” In our naivety, we chose to ignore that many physicians work brutish hours, gave their livelihood for the dedication to their craft, work under the stressful pressure of life and death, treat patients who are not interested in helping themselves, and now face decreasing compensation for their contributions. Ask most physicians today if they enjoy the prestige and status of being a physician and I am sure they will reply: It’s just a job.