Public Finance Blog

As you’re looking at your career in public finance, are you feeling like Tom Hanks portraying that lovable character Forrest Gump?  I’m talking about that “life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get” type of way.  Or maybe you’re looking at that same box of chocolates metaphorically, feeling that you are boxed in and not providing yourself the opportunity to really grow.  Either way, this is not how your career growth should be.

What Happens With Career Growth

Career growth and development should not just happen after your initial foray into the business world, but they should as you grow be methodically looked at and planned.  What you don’t want to see happen is that you look back and have regrets.  As more and more bankers start reaching that time (the height of their career), they are wondering, “What’s next?  Have I held myself back?  Have I been at a firm that has precluded me from exploring new territories or sectors that have always intrigued me?  Or am I just too old now for someone to hire me to allow me to make these course corrections?”

Have You Outgrown Your Current Circumstances?

As we enter the bonus season and expectations are either met, exceeded, or regrettably disappointed, one asks themselves, “Can I do better? What does my career growth look like?”  Is a firm interested in me, or more importantly, am I interested in leaving that comfortable, cozy position behind and ready to show myself what I am capable of?  The answers are yes, age, demographics, locations… all can be overcome when you have the desire to leave the old behind and get out of that box you now find yourself in.  

Time To Blossom…No Matter What

Don’t let your mental boundaries hold you back.  Maybe that black box model you have been subject to is not the answer for career growth and exceeding your bonus expectation.  A firm with a very specific bonus formula can be, though.  If you originate, you should be paid what you’re worth and not what a Black-Scholes model says you should be paid arbitrarily, but a formula that you and your family can count on, year in and year out.

Conclusion

You don’t need a resume to chat with us! If you would like to discuss your options, please reach out for a confidential conversation at 760-477-1284 or email at harlan@hfriedmansearch.com. He can also be reached on LinkedIn. Harlan publishes a blog every Thursday here. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter here, which is a compilation of our weekly blogs, so you never miss one. We have also been mentioned in 2025’s Forbes, click HERE to read more.  

About Harlan Friedman, JD & Founding Member, H. Friedman Search LLC. Harlan is a thirty-year veteran Public Finance Banker turned recruiter who specializes in the placement of all levels Public Finance Bankers, Healthcare Bankers, Municipal Advisors, Compliance Officers, Issuers, and Bond Counsels.