Rising Stars Series: Interview with Ani M. Vartanian, VP of Rockwood Capital

Contributed by Heather Cassell

What a fascinating and dramatic world we live in, at least from Ani M. Vartanian’s perspective. With the credit crunch, Bear Stearns crumbling, foreclosure crisis, historical election year, political scandals, and the year hasn’t even hit the halfway mark yet.

“It’s better than reality TV,” said Vartanian, 32, vice president of the acquisition and asset management team of Rockwood Capital, a $6.2 billion private real estate investment company.

Vartanian likes to keep her finger on the pulse of the intersections between politics, business, and public policy, which has helped her rapidly climb the investment real estate ladder.

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Techleaders: Power and Influence

A two day workshop designed to increase your power and influence as a technical woman.

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How To Get Ahead in IT

Our presentation will be hands-on and interactive, teaching you how to build constructive confidence, professional excellence and visibility management.

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Ask-A-Recruiter: Do Recruiters Read Their Mail?

Contributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

308123041_46b64decf7_m.jpgThis question came up at a recent workshop which I led about what happens behind-the-scenes during the hiring process: Do recruiters read the cover letters, thank-you’s and all the other time-consuming materials that jobseekers are supposed to send?

If you ask ten recruiters the same question, you may hear up to ten different answers. For example, I do not care about getting thank-you letters from interviewees. However, some of my recruiting colleagues will not consider candidates if they don’t send a thank-you letter. I barely read cover letters. Some other recruiters place more importance on the cover letter than on the resume. With so much dissension among recruiters themselves, how do you know what protocol to follow?

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Madeleine Albright has a Message for All Women

Contributed by Heather Cassell

Albrightmadeleine.jpgAt a recent event which gathered women business leaders together, former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright demonstrated that she is quite a story teller with a dry wit and many fascinating experiences to share, especially about women in the world.

At the Professional Business Women of California Conference in San Francisco last month, Albright told more than 6,000 attendees about how she has observed and participated in a century where women have rapidly advanced to leadership positions in government and business. Within 100 years women have gone from not having a voice in business and politics to the 21st century where “there have only been women and a black man” serving as United States Secretaries of State.

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Connecting On-Rampers With Financial Services Industry Hiring Decision Makers

Dream Jobs Inc. has announced that it is partnering with top tier players in the financial services industry to deliver a unique recruiting event for professionals in the NYC-area who have off-ramped from their careers and are interested in re-entering the workforce.

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The Downside of Flex-Time

Contributed by Bailey McCann

2110827945_3f3ce68993_m.jpgWe all work too much, that’s a given. But in our quest for work-life balance are we actually causing our own balance problems? For example, my firm is more flexible than most when it comes to telecommuting and other flexible work solutions. I enjoy these options as much as our working parents do, even though I don’t have kids. I can wait for the plumber or the UPS man and not have to coordinate days off. But I am also beginning to notice the trade-offs that go along with the pervasive quality of flex-time. The separation of “office hours” and “off hours” is becoming smaller and smaller.

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WSJ Posts Tips from the Corner Office

489219431_1b2f0b96c6_m.jpgIn the past couple of weeks, the Wall Street Journal Law blog has run a series of articles filled with helpful tips for law firm associates called View from the Corner Office. This four part series includes a variety of gems and a couple of clunkers, as far as advice goes. Here, we save you the trouble of reading all 4 columns and hit the highlights, along with a discussion of the more controversial of the recommendations, as commented upon by a thousand disgruntled lawyers (eek!)

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Intrepid Women Series: Evening at the Russian Bath House

The Intrepid Women series follows brave women who venture into the traditionally male dominated domains that have long been sources of entertainment for men in law and finance, but where women rarely tread. Previous excursions include steak houses and cigar bars.

793238617_5d2328f9a7_m.jpgFor years, one of my Russian friends has been telling me about the Russian bathhouse in my neighborhood. I live in the Financial District of New York City, and apparently there is a secret den of tough love Eastern European style relaxation, right around the corner from Wall Street.

Walking down Fulton Street, it doesn’t look like much. Blink and you’ll miss it. The little white and blue sign reads Spa 88, and is sandwiched between a bodega and a fast food restaurant. I thought it was probably a discount nail salon as I walked past it every day.

Oh, was I wrong.

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Achieving Business Balance

Get help exploring the imbalances in your work and personal life and get the techniques to restore balance for efficiency.

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