November 6, 2015

Students on the Blog: Site Visit to Cantor Fitzgerald



By Kasturi Das (MS Finance '17)

Cantor Fitzgerald is hailed as one of the biggest comebacks on Wall Street in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The firm had occupied the top five floors of the World Trade Center Tower 1 when the hijacked plane collided with the tower, killing 658 of the firm’s employees. 

A solid example of resilience, Cantor fought its way back despite losing more than two thirds of its people. Today, it is bigger and more diversified than before with its reach in all spheres of investment banking, private equity and even real estate. The Zicklin Investment Club, in collaboration with the Zicklin GCMC and the University of Hartford, were invited to an office visit to Cantor Fitzgerald’s office located at 499 Park Avenue on October 30. I was fortunate to be a part of the group of MBA and MS students.

The day started off in the meeting room to chat with Crystal Cox, a Baruch alumna and Cantor recruiter, about the dos and don’ts of the job search process. With cover letters and resumes, Crystal stressed the importance of good formatting and authenticity. For example, exaggerations on a resume are usually revealed during a background check. She also suggested addressing cover letters to an individual who works at the firm is a good practice (even if it is the global head of HR who will not receive the cover letter) because it shows that an individual has done their due diligence.

Our first speaker was Ari Schonbrun, Chief Administrative Officer of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. On 9/11, only 4 employees of Cantor who were on the upper floors made it out alive. In an astonishing and moving presentation, Mr. Schonbrun shared with us how he was lucky enough to be one of those 4 individuals. It was on the 78th floor, after the first plane hit, he saw a severely injured colleague and moved to quickly help her down 78 flight of stairs and into an ambulance. Although wanting to go inside to help other friends and colleagues, he gave in to his injured colleague’s pleas to ride with her in the ambulance to the hospital. Minutes later, Tower 1 collapsed. As it did for Mr. Schonbrun, a matter of few seconds had decided life or death for several others on that fateful day.

Ari Schonbrun, Chief Administrative Officer

After the terrorist attacks, Cantor opened what was left of their business within a week. Having lost most of their data, systems and most importantly, their people, it took tremendous hard work and sacrifice by Mr. Schonbrun and the firm’s other leaders to rebuild Cantor and bring it into a new era. Mr. Schonbrun’s message was loud and clear; resilience, hard work and determination will inevitably overcome all odds.

Mr. Schonbrun’s inspiring talk was followed by Youssef Squali, Managing Director and Global Head of Internet and Media Equity. Mr. Squali helped demystify the role of a research analyst to all of us. It is a function that not only involves a lot of data analytics and market monitoring, but also significant interaction with clients. According to him, the skills that someone interested in the field should develop are strong analytical and writing proficiency. Cantor concentrates primarily on mid-sized firms, and a typical research report includes an investment summary (which is key to clients), a buy/hold/sell rating, risks, highlights and extensive quantitative data on the stock. Mr. Squali even gave us the group’s latest research report on LinkedIn, which was very insightful.
 
Youssef Squali, Managing Director and Global Head of Internet and Media Equity

The final speakers for the day were Adam Mattessich, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Trading, and Jared Kessler, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Equities. Baruch MBA alumna and the firm’s VP of Recruiting, Viktoria Slutskaya, also joined us. Off the bat, Mr. Mattessich opened the floor to questions and my hand shot up. Since this is my first semester, I wanted to know what kinds of skill-sets were candidates expected to bring to the table and how quantitatively adept they had to be for consideration in an entry-level internship. Having a background in engineering himself, Mr. Mattessich shared that although quantitative knowledge was required, given how diverse IB was, one can find roles befitting their specific strengths. While it is understood that students may not have technical expertise without relevant experience, it is essential to build knowledge and awareness about the markets and the industry. Mr. Kessler backed this up by stating that with the constantly evolving regulatory landscape, it is crucial to be up to speed with regulations like Dodd Frank and Bassel II. He also added that it is important to identify a role that fits one’s persona. For example, if an individual is quantitatively geared, Research Analytics may be best suited to him, whereas someone who enjoys presentations and interacting with people will find IB to their liking. At the end of the day, these skills are transferable, so there is potential for mobility as well.

By now the visit was winding down and the last activity left on our itinerary was visiting the trading floor. This was the part I was most excited about. Some traders had 8 monitors flickering with Bloomberg or other data that I couldn’t comprehend. I struck a conversation with an ETF trader and we discussed the Black Monday affair on August 24th when ETF pricing had gone awry for over 300 seconds (Cantor was not affected). He was kind enough to show me how orders came into his system, and while most of it was automated, some exceptions required his attention. Having never previously visited a trading floor, I had anticipated it to be a scene of people shouting on their phones or hooked to their monitors. But as we walked around the floor, we noticed how co-workers jovially chatted with each other and cracked jokes at times, which kept the atmosphere light in spite of the demands of their work.

I had a wonderful experience and took a lot of takeaways from the visit. Mr. Schonbrun described Cantor as a close knit community and family, and everyone we met surely reflected that description. The visit was a great sneak peek at the activities of a premier financial services firm. Kudos to the Zicklin Investment Club and the GCMC for their efforts in organizing this successful event!

October 5, 2015

Use #owningmycareer for a Chance to Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

Attention all Zicklin grad students, now is the time to showcase your amazing photography skills. 

Take the GCMC Photo Hashtag Challenge!


Here's what you need to do. 

While you’re out at networking and recruiting events on and off campus, take a photo, post it and get a chance to win prizes.

Use #owningmycareer when you post your photo on Facebook and/or Twitter, and you’ll enter for a chance to win one of these great prizes:
  • $50 Amazon Gift Card
  • Baruch College USB travel charger
  • Copy of Strategize to Win by Carla Harris
  • Baruch shwag
Simple right? Be sure to post multiple photos to increase your chances to win.

The GCMC Photo Hashtag Challenge starts October 1 and ends October 31, 2015.

Snap, tag and share to win – start today!


September 9, 2015

Students on the Blog: How to Get Into Graduate Accounting Societies


By Derek Berezdivin (MS Accountancy ’16)

Derek Berezdivin is the former Executive Vice President of the Zicklin Graduate Accounting Society. He will be graduating after this semester and he is seeking full-time positions in public accounting.

Accounting societies at Zicklin are great. Besides giving you a community, it gives you great access to recruiters and professionals, a strong network, and a way to differentiate yourself on your résumé, which recruiters at Baruch regularly admit to looking specifically for.

But this post is not about WHY you would want to join; its about HOW. Along with having been accepted into one of these societies myself, I was recently part of the team that screened candidates and helped choose new Board members. I have boiled down the important steps to take, the way our interview process works, and what almost anybody could do to get in.

1st stage: The General Meeting and volunteering
The first step to obtaining membership is to attend the general meeting at the beginning of the semester, which, though optional, is recommended. Next, learn about the position, like who you will report to and the reality of the position’s duties. Surprisingly, many candidates do not know what the position actually entails; either because they make assumptions based on the title or are misled by the language used to describe the responsibilities. For instance, Internal Committee (IC) of Event planning isn’t necessarily about being an event planner; it’s closer to event support. Also, certain positions will require more commitment than others, so its important to get a realistic picture of the tasks you will be performing and how many hours per week you can expect to devote.

Volunteering and attending social events is a great way to stand out if you want to be on the board. This is not only true on paper, but in reality. When choosing candidates for Board positions, remembering a volunteer made us much more likely to interview him or her, especially if we felt he or she would be a good fit (often ascertained after working at events with the individual). Social events are another good way to make your personality known to Board members. Like any job, we'll be spending a lot of time together and therefore look for the right personality. In that vein, we notice people who carry themselves in a professional manner and are friendly and easy to relate to.

2nd stage: Resume selection
This is usually the hardest part for candidates to get through. This semester, we received nearly 60 applications, and had to narrow it down to 15 or so candidates. There are specific minimum requirements: a 3.0 GPA and the possibility of being in ZGAS for more than two semesters (in this case, a graduation date later than May 2015). If the requirements are met, we further narrow the list by looking for grammatical errors, strange job descriptions, or a fundamental misunderstanding of the position and club.

It is helpful if you make sure your previous experiences (work and otherwise) will show that you will be a good Board addition. We aren’t specifically looking for a certain amount of work experience, though more work experience generally means greater maturity, and therefore a better candidate. In evaluating technical skills, we consider any work experience (or skills) that could specifically relate to the position applied for. Most students submit a standard resume (because who wants to create a new resume for a club position?), however it certainly would be advantageous to mention experiences that relate to the position applied for. Talk about something that will distinguish you from other candidates: for instance we would like to hear about your interests or unique jobs you've had, such as working as a bartender. Club and/or leadership experience is important as well, it demonstrates that you understand how small organizations work and are able to excel in such environments.

At times, we look for some specific qualities. Leadership is one of those, so being able to demonstrate you have been in positions of leadership in the past is a boon. In few cases, we look to technical skills, for instance computer skills for our IT positions or writing skills for our Editor-in-Chief positions. The rest of the positions are relatively general and do not require very specific skills; however, being able to speak and write well are helpful to any position.

Remember, at some point all business jobs/internships can start to sounds similar for those evaluating résumés. No matter how impressive your résumé is, the interests you detail can help you stand out. Think about it this way: are you more or less likely to engage with someone who has similar interests as you? For example, if you were looking for a position on the Communications Team, it would be a good idea to speak to the Vice President of Communications or look them up and find out what they like, for instance on the club website.

As is often the case with professional recruiting, many of the initial decisions are made based on your résumé, and as with cover letters, the answers submitted in the application are important. Not understanding how the club works, and/or having different goals or expectations often indicate you may not be a good fit. Generally, you want to give the impression, through your resume and application, that you are excited for a couple good reasons, for instance, really wanting to help out the student body or be a part of the community. In terms of discussing what you could bring to the position, either state how your previous work or other experience relates to the position or how you might be a useful candidate to us in this respect. In my experience, we took an interest in those candidates that knew how important it was to be selected for the position for which they applied.

Final stage: The interview process
The last hoop candidates have to jump through is the interview process. Generally, the most important qualities to demonstrate are friendliness and enthusiasm (always smile!). Preparation is important, such as being able to show you understand the position and the club. From there, being able to explain why you want the position and how/why you can do a good job are crucial. After the interview is over be sure to have questions. Treat the interview as you would one for a job; we expect candidates to dress in traditional interview attire and conduct themselves professionally.

Candidates that present themselves well, are likeable, and show that they would be an asset are chosen. Interviews are generally one of the few places you can show your personality, so if youre not good with interviews you should present your personality to us in other places (such as the aforementioned volunteering and social events) and/or practice with GCMC. Generally speaking, organizations and people often prefer someone they do know as opposed to someone they dont. This is why it's important to network and make your presence known.

Finally - dont forget that thank you note! Thank you notes are an easy way to distinguish yourself. Just because this is a club doesn’t mean you shouldnt put forth your full effort.

Remember, even if you didnt get chosen, theres always next semester. If somebody is dedicated enough to volunteer despite being turned down, they will very likely be admitted in the next election. So keep your chin up, theres always plenty of ways to get involved!

August 12, 2015

Students on the Blog: Take-aways from the First Republic Bank Site Visit


By Ying Helene Wang (MS Accountancy ’17)

On August 5, 2015, the GCMC and Baruch College’s Office of Alumni Relations organized a site visit to First Republic Bank with Baruch alum Basant Kedia MBA '04, Managing Director. Along with his colleague Jason Babb, Senior Managing Director, and Evan Most MBA '10, Performance Analyst, Mr. Kedia invited eight Zicklin MBA and MS students for an informal Q&A and meet-and-greet.

Personally, it was a great experience and opportunity to meet both alums. All three professionals shared inspiring stories and valuable insights about career development in the financial industry, general career tips as well as thoughts on how to stand apart from others when job searching. As a grad student in her second year of school, here’s what really stood out for me: 

Job Searching and Careers:
  • Identify the specific area or areas that you want to work in, and meet alumni and professionals in those fields.
  • Be sure to ask professors, the career center and other school departments whether they have related resources. Talking with people enables you to know more about jobs and industries. It won’t hurt to ask, and you have nothing to lose.
  • Control the interview with the questions and insight you bring.
  • Use a one-page, clean resume that shows what you want interviewers to notice. Interviewers are busy and get tired after reading 5-10 lines, so put yourself in their shoes.
  • Be very careful about exaggerating your experience. You will get caught.
  • Saying “I don’t know, but I am willing to learn” works better than pretending to know answers to questions. Interviewers know their area of expertise, and you won’t win by making up answers.
  • Don’t discuss salary in an interview unless asked.
  • Personality is essential. When everyone is smart and diligent, interviewers want to find out who you are and whether they want to work with you as a person. It’s important because we often spend more time throughout the year with the people we work with than even our family members.

Client Relationship Management and Networking:
  • Be responsive, empathetic and straightforward to clients. Express your understanding, but don’t be afraid to tell them what can or cannot be done. No matter what the process is, clients need a solution in the end. Ask yourself if you are able to resolve their problems.
  • Act on your client’s best interests. Try to think what you can do for the other person and add value to him or her. Client relationship management is like a snow ball - it accumulates and builds on itself.
  • Find out where the clients are and how you network.