Saturday, November 12, 2011

How to Write an Email Interview Thank You Letter

1How to Write an Email Interview Thank You Letter Do a quick follow up with the employer by learning how to write an email interview thank you letter. Typically, only about 5% of those looking for a job send out thank you letters. Be one of the few and get a second interview or land the job.The key to success is to send out a note the same day or no later than the next. This way you can get your name in front of the employer as quickly as possible.Career experts and employers are not in total agreement on whether or not sending a thank you letter through email is proper protocol. Technology has changed the job search market with today's online job boards, email, and web resumes. Let the company's culture guide you when making your decision about emailing a thank you letter. Your best bet is to send an email and then follow up with a formal lette through snail mail.Follow the tips below and keep your thank you note brief: Be sure to check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Thank the interviewer for his or her time. Tailor the letter to the company and the relationship you established with the interviewer. If during the interview you forgot something of importance mention it in your email. Do reinforce important information provided during the interview. State your interest in the job being offered. Quick and to the point, that's how to write an email thank you letter. This sample can serve as a model when you write your email thank you note:Dear Mr. Jones,Thank you for the opportunity to interview for the position of Loan Officer at Bloomington National Bank. I believe my education and experience are a fit for your organization. I look forward to helping your bank expand its market share and achieve its goals as it expands into the commercial mortgage field.If I can provide you any additional information, please let me know.I look forward to working with you soon!Sincerely,James Lichner(123) 456-7890email addressFollow up with your thank you note as soon as possible and place yourself ahead of the competition in the job search race.

How To Write A Private Equity Resume

1How To Write A Private Equity Resume Just landed an offer in the world of investment banking? Excited to start your full-time job?Great. Congratulations.But guess what - you will have to soon think about your resume and interviewing skills once again if you want to get private equity and hedge fund jobs following your 2 years as an analyst.In many ways tailoring your resume for private equity jobs is similar to crafting your resume to get investment banking jobs.But it's different in one critical aspect: you have to focus entirely on your investment banking experience and more specifically, the deals you worked on.If you're going for non-finance jobs or MBA admissions, then definitely show the whole picture. But private equity firms only really care about your deal experience, so focus on that.Private Equity Resume StructureHalf your resume should consist of your investment banking job experience, including your overall responsibilities and the deals you've worked on.Move education to the bottom now that you're in the real world. Contact information should still be at the top, followed directly by work experience and your banking job.Writing About Your Investment Banking JobAt the start of this section, write a few brief sentences about your overall responsibilities and summarize the deals you've worked on. "Special projects" could also go here.You want to get across the number of deals you've worked on, the types of deals (M&A, IPOs, debt, etc.), and the skills you've gained - leveraged buyout modeling, accretion/dilution modeling, discounted cash flows and valuation.Following this, you'll go into the heart of your resume - your investment banking deal experience.Choosing Your DealsClosed deals don't matter. What you personally contributed to a deal does matter. While it's nice to list high-profile deals, you should pick transactions that you learned a lot from and had a lot of responsibility on, even if they are on the smaller side.For private equity jobs in particular, try to write about M&A deals rather than capital markets transactions. Debt could also be fine to write about, but stay away from equity because private equity firms basically look at M&A and debt deals on a daily basis.Writing About Your DealsAvoid the generic and hone in on what made each experience unique. Here's an example of how NOT to list a deal on your resume:$5 Billion Sale Of Company Y To Company Created Offering Memorandum and Management Presentation and tracked deal status Managed due diligence process and responded to all inquiries This is way too generic and makes the transaction seem very generic as well. There's nothing here that looks particularly interesting or makes me say, "Wow looks like he learned a lot!" It also doesn't have much in the way of results.The Right Way To Write About A DealFocus on the unique aspects. Did you influence the negotiation process? Did your analysis result in a higher price or generate additional interest in the market? Did you analyze the market in a way that led to a better price?If you don't have anything unique or interesting to say about a deal (and some are like this), skip it and write about something else.Here's how I would re-write my example above:$5 Billion Sale Of Company Y To Company X Worked with CFO to build operating model of company involving 40 different properties across the US and Europe Created market analysis showing favorable trends in casino construction; led to 2 private equity buyers remaining in the auction process until the final round Despite being the same length, this is about 500 times better because it showed what you did that was unique to the deal as well as the results of your work, while leaving out the generic bits.Writing About Unannounced Or Dead DealsThis is fine as long as you don't mention any names. When most analysts interview for buyside jobs, they don't have any announced or closed deals anyway.If it's a very large or well-known deal, I would avoid mentioning specific numbers/dollar amounts and instead use percentages to make it more generic while still quantifying what you've done.Closing ThoughtsThere's no magic to private equity resumes. Much like any other type of resume, quantify, be specific, and focus on results. Make sure you pick your best deals to write about, and write about your most impressive accomplishments on each deal.

Friday, November 4, 2011

How To Succeed At Your Investment Banking Interviews

1How To Succeed At Your Investment Banking Interviews It's your time to shine! Your success at your investment banking interviews is you ticket to the lucrative world of investment banking career. Think of the perks and salary scales. Think of the prestige. Don't mind the stress. That can be handled. Just step into the interview area, confident and excited. Release your power and knowledge and engage your interviewers interestingly at your answers. Remember to leave behind an approving impression and expecting the call for the final interview.Investment banking interviews are manageable if you work hard at conquering it before the big day comes. Mindset, attitude and patience are values that you need to arm yourself with to get through. Explore and exploit all possible resources that you can lay your hands and start to build your network of contacts to help you carry out your action plans.Tips On How to Succeed At Your Investment Banking InterviewsLanding on your dream job as an investment banker is not a remote thing to happen. Coaches and experts have shared their experiences and tips on how to succeed at your investment banking interviews, your first personal contact with the people who will either recommend you or nail you down.- Preparatory StagesPreparation is the initial step of the ladder. There is absolutely no substitute for it. Prepare a well crafted and powerful resume. Get in touch with the contact person, either by email or a visit. This is the initial base that you need to establish rapport with.Draft your action and plan on how to go about it. Get your hands on every resource material, possibly on finance matters and those related to investment banking. Establish a study habit. In between studying, spend time having a chat with recruitment specialists and banking professionals with your own set of related questions. Gather as much information as you can. Structure your guide around the interview scene. Conduct mock interviews with banking experts and people who have experienced investment banking interviews. Make sure that you don't miss out any relevant information. Take heed of all advises and tips. Jot them down, if possible. Master your resume, every technique, the questions and the answers.- The Big DayStep into the interview room with ease and confidence. Niceties are important. This your real big day. Remain cool and composed and never give yourself in to pressure. Remember that you have prepared for this and the goal is to get hired.Before the actual interview, establish rapport with the interviewers and show interest. Use the information you have gathered to your advantage. Be articulate, structured, confident and precise with your answers. Relax and engage in an interesting interview. Show your interviewers that you are bent to win them over.Make it a point to remain comfortable and relaxed for the duration of the interview. This will also reflect how much you know, what your into and where you are heading to. Confidence is an issue and will be a good asset to your potential employer.End the interview with your most interesting question. This proves your interest in them.

How to Frame Resume Objectives

1How to Frame Resume Objectives Resume objective is a brief introduction of your resume or profile with specific details. It provides details about your experience, qualifications and achievements related to the applied post. Hence, any professional resume writers suggest that a professional resume must contain a clear and brief objective for making an employer easy to find the required information of the candidate.Whenever you are applying for a job, you must consider the skills, experience, qualifications and necessary knowledge of the field related to the desired job. Your resume objective plays an important role in promoting your resume for the applied post. Following are some important tips to write a good resume objective:* If you are a fresher and looking for starting your career in a specific field, your resume must have an objective that can clearly show your professional goal and your expectations from the organization you are going to apply.* Your objective should suggest how you can contribute to the company's improvement with your unique qualities.* Your objective will help an employer to understand how much you know or how much you are updated about the related field.* Don't use general statements to suggest your objective, as they cannot give a clear idea of your profile and aspirations. Numbers of candidates are rejected by the hiring managers because these candidates fail to mention their objectives in a concise and clear way.* Some candidates use the same resume objective which is given as an example on various resume websites. They must revise and modify their objective as per the requirements of the job and company's profile.* Generally, a resume objective is supposed to contain not more than two sentences. These sentences should be apt to read and should make the readers feel your personal aspirations and positive approach.Finally, you must consider your career plan while writing your resume objective. An effective resume objective makes easy to get more job opportunities among a numbers of qualified job seekers.

How to Find a Great Job - Making the Internet Work for You

1How to Find a Great Job - Making the Internet Work for You You've had a great career, you have recently updated your resume, and now you are ready for a new job. Now what? Do you post you resume on a major online job board like Monster.com? Do you email your resume to recruiting firms? What about networking? Why don't recruiters call when you email your resume to them? Never fear, this article will provide a few insights and helpful tips to get your job search off the ground.The internet is a great job search resource if used properly.The internet, in my opinion, is the greatest tool in the world for doing in-depth research on almost any topic. Jobs included. However, the internet seems to have confused a great many job seekers. Many people, no matter how successful and well-educated, send their resumes out into cyberspace in the hopes that a recruiter will call them about a great job. This strategy is tantamount to asking a magician to wave his magic wand over your resume and to make your dream job appear. The fact of the matter is this: the internet is a great tool but the fundamental process of searching for a job hasn't changed much in the past 15 years.The internet has made the communication of job openings less expensive and more convenient for employers and job seekers alike. But the internet has also made it so easy to apply for jobs that even more applicants apply to jobs than before. And many of the online job applications jumble up the data from resumes so that the formatting is lost and resumes are extremely difficult to read. So, the point is that if you are relying on internet job posting sites to land your next job you are overlooking some good old fashioned techniques for getting your foot in the door.Here are a few tips to utilizing the internet to conduct a smart and targeted job search.1. Network with colleagues, through professional associations, college alumni associations, and with recruiters. Networking never goes out of style and the internet can enhance the networking process. It's easier than ever to peruse online alumni directories, or to utilize online networking tools such as LinkedIn.com. The fundamentals of networking never change though. You have to get out there and spend the time and effort to get to know other people. There are no shortcuts to creating strong interpersonal relationships through work and in social settings. Let folks whom you trust know that you are in the job market so that they can keep you in mind when they hear of a great job. Most people want to be helpful to colleagues who are looking for jobs because they realize that grateful people return favors!2. Use job posting boards as a way to find out which companies are hiring. Don't worry about the jobs that are actually posted. Just look at the companies that have jobs available and I think you will be surprised at how many companies exist about which you may not have heard! Then go to Google or Ask.com and type in the company name. Find out more about these companies and look to see if they have a "careers" portion of their site. Some companies list a few jobs on big job boards like Monster.com but have a much larger list of openings on their private website. If there is a job for which you think you are uniquely qualified you can apply via the company website.3. Use the internet to research companies that interest you. Create personalized application packets for selected companies. If you run across a terrific company for which you think you would be a great cultural fit but you don't see any job openings that are right for you, don't despair! Peruse any information about the company's management team that you can find. Then communicate with your network to find out if you have any links to someone at the company. If so, ask your contact to make an introduction and then politely ask the company contact if you can meet them for a cup of coffee. If your network isn't liked to someone within the company, a second alternative is to create a personalized application package that emphasizes your knowledge of the company, explains your interest, and clearly articulates the value proposition that you bring to the table. Send your personalized packet with a well written cover letter directly to the company president or CEO. The chief executive may not read it but, generally, any letters sent directly to the president are reviewed and considered. If your skill set and experience could benefit the company it is very likely that someone will contact you to set up time to talk. While you may not get a job with the company immediately, you will probably make some good contacts and you may lay the groundwork for landing your dream job.4. Market yourself! When you are conducting a job search your only job is to sell "You Inc.". Think about all the unique features of You Inc. and come up with a great sales pitch. If you are in a creative field such as advertising, marketing, public relations, or even sales you can create a binder in which you show samples of your work. You could show brochures from programs you managed or collateral material you designed. You can include writing samples or web pages. If you are in sales use lots of numbers...show your results. Anything that highlights the skills and accomplishments listed on your resume is fair game for your binder. Sometimes having a binder for "show and tell" really helps to bring your background and skills to life for potential employers.5. Create a personal website. This tip isn't for everyone. If you are a creative professional, particularly if you have created a large body of creative or written material, a personal website can be a great way to showcase your skills. I have a client who is a star marketing and communications professional. He created a series of binders (see tip #4) which described the myriad of successful programs over which he has presided during the course of his career. He found that sending out binders to numerous potential employers was costly and inconvenient. So, he is creating a website to showcase the materials and in the future he is planning to send a URL to anyone who wants see examples of his accomplishments.I hope that these tips are useful and help you to land the job of your dreams.

How To Develop Professional Networks

1How To Develop Professional Networks Employers favor hires from personal references above all other procedures, because they are thought to result in an employee who is more productive, and who will stay with their company for longer. All recruiters like the idea of networking, but approximately two-thirds of job seekers are not able to correctly utilize this asset, because their networks lack relevance and depth. This can be one of the most time-consuming job search approaches to get started, so it is very important to build relevant networks.How To Develop Professional NetworksDeveloping effective networking methods will help you get a new job, advance your creditability and visibility in your field, expand your abilities, and dramatically improve your employability and promotability. Through your networks, you will meet mentors, as well as become a mentor yourself, which will further expand your abilities and your connections.To get personal references for job openings with employers in your area requires that you become connected with both your professional community and the various networks that make up your local community.When you connect with your professional community, beyond the immediate people that you work with, you will get to know the best-connected and most committed professionals in your area, and in turn they will come to know you. It is best to think in terms of networks, rather than a single network. Everyone has a number of networks available to them, any of which has the potential to produce a job offer. The following are networks that are available to everyone, and should be utilized:Professional Networks* Supervisors, past and present, and your personal references. These people can be very useful to you throughout your job search.* Other job hunters. Professionals looking for employment in the same profession or industry can be very important resources. It is not necessary for these professionals to be looking for the same type of employment position.* Colleagues. This includes all professional co-workers, both past and present.* Other professionals in your industry. Professional associates are a good starting point for making these type of contacts.* Company former employee associations. Companies are increasingly seeing value in maintaining contact with ex-employees.* College alumni. Educational school networks, from community college to Ivy League, can be a beneficial resource.Community Networks* Friends. This list should include close friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and people that you know through hobbies and personal interests.* Family and relatives. This group should not only include you immediate relatives, but extended family, and your spouse's family and relatives.* Civic, spiritual, and social associations. This list would include religious groups, business groups, volunteer groups, Little League, and so on.* Service industry contacts. This list should include people like your lawyer, insurance agent, banker, hair dresser, dentist, doctor, Realtor, and other such contacts.* Hobby groups. This can include anything from a bowling league, golf club, chess club, or really any activity that you enjoy that involves a group of people with similar interest.Now that you are aware of the groups of people that are relevant for developing your professional networks, you should begin thinking about the people that you know that fit into these networks.Check back with Employment Genius regularly for more information on different approaches for networking, and building relationships with these people.