Who is on your team? Sounds like a simple question, doesn’t it? However, there is a significant dialogue hidden in this question. Capital markets recruiters or any recruiters in the financial industry will recommend that you know your team. Knowing who is on your team is a critical element to deciding if a move is right for you. When thinking about this question, it becomes crucial to analyze and conclude who is on your team. Who will you seek advice from to determine if the move is right for you or not?
The Potential Players
Let’s look at the possible players on your team. Capital markets recruiters and so on will recommend that you first and foremost consider any family members that you believe will be affected by a move. Whether that is a spouse, significant other, parent or child; you must identify those people first. Why? Because they have the most to gain or lose by your decision to make a move.
Next, identify any colleague that you will want to take under your counsel. Communicate with them that you are thinking about making a move. If they are at the same firm, your decision may impact them. You owe it to them to discuss the possibility of a changed environment. They may welcome the opportunity to move with you, or they may take advantage of the opportunity to go out on their own without you. No capital markets recruiters or any recruiter will know this. Only you will know this but beware of whom you take into your confidences. Next, do you have a mentor or a “coach” player that you have been working with over your career? You will want to keep them apprised of any interviews that you are projecting, since they can shed light on companies and personnel at the new firm.
The 11th Hour That Capital Markets Recruiters Will Warn You About
Why are we going so in-depth about this topic? Because of empowerment. You do not want to give someone at the last minute the power to make or break your employment prospects. For example, someone who has not been part of the decision-making process from the beginning may come in and offer their “two cents”. This may entice you to change all your thoughts because of their opinion at the eleventh hour. Any capital markets recruiters or such would tell you not to do so. Another example is that you may have a Bond Counsel you work closely with, and you’re afraid they may take their business elsewhere if they find that you are moving to a new firm. It could be a Financial Advisor or anyone else that was not on your original decision-making team. Now, they have all the power over your future employment opportunity because you gave them the “Veto Power.” Don’t do that at the eleventh hour.
The Truth Capital Markets Recruiters Will Tell You About Your Boss
Another common mistake that capital markets recruiters and others witness is that you assume your current boss is on your team. He or she is not. This is purely wishful thinking on your part, a way for you to rationalize the resignation process. They are looking out solely for themselves and their firm (even if at resignation time they say that they have your best interest at heart). What you must realize is that though your boss may have been a friend of yours for years, he is now averse to you leaving him. Once you resign, he is now your past boss, and may need to be treated as such. He or she will make it personal, which it is not. Its economical, not personal! You have made the decision to leave with your teams’ consent. Do not add a new player onto the team at the time of resignation, with one important exception. The only person that needs to be added to your team during the process is your new employer. I highly recommend staying as close as possible with that person during the “waiting period”, which is the time when you decide to leave but have not resigned yet.
Recruiters like capital markets recruiters will constantly remind you the following mentality: If they were important to the decision-making process, then they should have been on your team from the beginning. Now you can decide who will have the power over your decision-making. The answer will be crystal clear when it’s time to make a move.
So, do you know who is on your team?
Conclusion
If you would like to discuss your options, please reach out to me for a confidential conversation at 760-477-1284 or email me at [email protected].
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 level Public Finance Bankers, Health Care Bankers, Municipal Financial Advisors, Compliance Officers, Issuers, and Bond Counsels. He can be reached on LinkedIn, at [email protected] or 760-477-1284.