Ask-A-Career Coach: From Entrepreneur To Employee

jobsearchContributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart™

I took this last year to work on a business idea. I’ve had some success but am unsure of the long-term viability of the business so I’d like to start looking for a corporate job. How do I explain my past year without coming across as a business failure?

Many of the people who will interview you, for both informational and job interviews, will not view the transition back to corporate as a failure. So it’s important not to telegraph this by being apologetic or speaking sheepishly of your business. Instead focus on your accomplishments with the business and the revenue that you did generate. Give details of how you estimated the market for the business. Even though it turned out that the market might be too small, it is a valuable skill to be able to research and understand a market. Finally, be excited and proud that you had the courage to go for it when many people stop at the analysis stage. Your level of engagement is infectious, and people will see your can-do spirit and risk-taking in a positive light, regardless of the ultimate outcome.

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The Boston Club Event: Women Executives in New England’s Fortune 500 Companies

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By Liz O’Donnell (Boston)iStock_000002255927XSmall

Almost a full year has passed since we reported on the number of women executives and directors in Massachusetts’ 100 largest public companies and sadly, not much has changed. The Boston Club, an organization that provides networking and professional support for women in business, just issued its 2009 annual census of women directors and executive officers of Massachusetts public companies. The report is aptly titled, “Building for the Future or Stuck in the Past?” and can be downloaded here.

Women in the Commonwealth still represent just a small percent of directors (11.3%) and executive officers (8.6%). Those numbers show almost no growth in women directors and a loss in the number of women executives. In 2008, the census reported that 9.2 percent of the C-suite at the top public companies was filled by women. In fact, the number of women executives is the lowest it has been since The Boston Club began tracking the data in 2003. And although we reported last year that the percentage of companies with a woman among their most highly compensated officers also fell to its lowest point (24%), it dropped another percentage point this year to 23 percent. Also trending downward is the number of companies with no women at all among the executive officers. Of the 100 companies surveyed, 56 percent have all male executive teams. For women of color the data is even worse. Of the 697 executives across all 100 companies, just two are women of color. And only 1.2 percent, or 10 directorships, are held by women of color.

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Rising Star: Nitu Gupta, Vice President of Product Development, Sodexo

Head_Shot-Nitu_Gupta_hi-res_0807[1]by Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

Nitu Gupta, Vice President of Product Development at integrated food and facilities management giant Sodexo, knows something about the power of leveling the playing field by doing the right thing. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, she had wanted to pursue a degree in economics and math and have her own career. However, her parents’ notion of the right path for a girl was to go into a home economics program and be married soon after graduating from a university.

After studying to be a teacher, she gained entry into a competitive graduate program in food and nutrition, which was the closest thing her university had to a career oriented program. Unfortunately, she had to leave the program when she met her soul mate and moved to the United States. Of the move, she said: “It was quite a challenge. I was learning how to be married and getting used to a new culture.”

She added, “I am very open minded and willing to adapt. I believe if you go into a situation willing to learn, it makes it much easier. Of course, there are going to be conflicts and confusion. But, as long as you stay positive things work out in the end.”
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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up

Contributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group.Martin Mitchel of CTG

The European Commission raised its forecast for European economic growth for 2010, while U.S. unemployment rose to 10.2% in October. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.

Economic Backdrop

  • The European Commission raised its forecast for European economic growth for 2010, but said the recovery from recession would come at the price of record budget deficits and public debt levels. After a slump of 4.1% in GDP this year, the 27-nation European Union is expected to grow by 0.7% next year and 1.6% in 2011.
  • Manufacturers reported that output around the world was rising at the fastest rate in five years in October. The JPMorgan global composite purchasing managers’ index rose to 54.4, up from 53 in September, the highest value since July 2004. In the U.S., the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 55.7 from 52.6 in September.
  • U.S. unemployment rose to 10.2% in October, its highest rate since 1983. President Obama called it a ‘sobering number that underscores the economic challenge ahead’.

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Giving for Good: Philanthropic Wealth Management

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By Elizabeth Harrin (London)iStock_000009444427XSmall

Most people associate fund management with the hard-edged side of financial services. But it’s not all about fighting over the top stocks and knowing which off-exchange trading venue is hot. There’s a whole industry around getting the best out of other people’s money – philanthropic services.

“Our role is to offer guidance and support to our donors in every aspect of their charitable giving,” says Elizabeth Brown, Vice President of Philanthropic Services at the Marin Community Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the U.S.  It manages the assets of the Leonard and Beryl H. Buck Trust and 350 funds established by individuals, families, and businesses, and has invested over $800 million in the work of nonprofit organizations. “Each of our donors works with a personal philanthropic advisor to determine their giving strategy, which varies depending on their values and interest areas,” she adds.

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Why Aren’t There More Women on Corporate Boards in Australia?

By Andrea Newell (Grand Rapids, Michigan)iStock_000002909264XSmall

In a previous article, we illustrated the positive impact that women can have on corporate boards, and how gender diversity on corporate boards translates into better business performance. While the number of women on corporate boards in the United States is still low, the representation of women on corporate boards in Australia is so dismal that Premier Anna Bligh called for Australian corporations to follow the example of the Australian government and set targets to increase the number of women on corporate boards.

The Australian government is determined to increase the proportion of women on government-appointed boards from 36 percent to 50 percent. The Australian corporate world is not only miles behind, the numbers have worsened in the last two years. The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) has taken a census of women in leadership roles since 2002.

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Voice of Experience: Sabrina Callin, Managing Director, PIMCO

By Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

“I think I ordered my first application to Harvard and Stanford’s Business Schools when I was roughly 10 years old,” said Sabrina Callin, a PIMCO managing director based in the firm’s Newport Beach headquarters. “My parents were both educators, and instilled a strong work ethic and belief in me that I could do anything I wanted to do. As a result, I was motivated from a young age by the ability to have an influence and make things happen.”

During her undergrad years at Texas Christian University—a school founded by her father’s ancestors back in the 1800s—Callin decided to pursue a career in finance, graduating with degrees in accounting, finance and economics. A focus on finance, she felt, would provide her with the opportunity to be in a “very dynamic and intrinsically interesting profession,” and could provide an opportunity gain unique insight and expertise that “is very broadly relevant, and well beyond the day-to-day workings of a given job.” In the period between her undergraduate and graduate programs, rather than heading to Wall Street as she’d originally planned, she earned her CPA. “I believed experience as a practicing CPA would provide me with an important knowledge base that would be beneficial for my longer-term career path.”

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Innovation: Finding the Way Out of the Recession

By Elizabeth Harrin (London)iStock_000010253878XSmall

The U.S. may have turned the corner and be on its way out of the recession, but what else is coming out of the recession? A new frugality? Consumers who will never invest in luxury products again? Not so. In fact, recessions have a history of giving us new and exciting things. The iPod was a product of the last recession, and this downturn also looks to be providing organisations with some great opportunities.

Julie Meyer, founder and CEO of Ariadne Capital believes that one of the things businesses could benefit from is the shift towards what she calls ‘individual capitalism’. “The unit of business has come down to the individual,” she says. There’s a focus on providing customers with a more personalised approach – whether that’s in financial services products or giving them the chance to tailor their coffee to their personal tastes on the way into the office each morning.

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Ask-A-Career Coach: Don’t Forget To Share Your Success

jobsearchContributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart™

I am often asked for my biggest networking pet peeve. One of my tops, if not the top, is when people whom I have helped don’t let me know what happened.

The best time to look for a job is when you have one. We all know that instinctively. Yet, when most job seekers get a job, the first things that go out the window are the good job search strategies that won them the new job. Now I’m not saying that you start posting your résumé updated for your new position while you fill out your new hire paperwork, but I am saying that you maintain your network and do all the good habits that support your career maintenance. One of the best habits gained during a job search is networking. One of the best ways to maintain your network is to give your thanks and share a success update.

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The Glass Hammer / Stone House Consulting Survey of Buy-Side Industry Trends

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iStock_000001000665XSmallContributed by Holly H. Miller of Stone House Consulting, LLC

Executive Summary

Margins in the investment management industry are under siege, facing threats from both directions – lower fees and rising costs. The Glass Hammer / Stone House Consulting Survey of Buy-Side Industry Trends indicates that while regulators are contributing to the cost pressures, the industry’s own client base, together with the investment consulting firms that advise those clients, are a key factor in the equation. Not only are investors demanding greater due diligence, improved risk monitoring and controls, but they are calling for lower fees without any concession on the performance expectations, high levels of customization and quality client service they have always required.

Many managers, seeking to protect their margin, have responded in the market crisis with staff cutbacks and hasty outsourcing deals that, in some instances, have resulted in increasing operational risk within an investment management firm – or have set the stage for potential problems as the job market improves.

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