Procrastination Central

Job Interview Recap

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:23:55 -0500

Met this guy in Radnor today. Not sure what to make of the job. I didn't hear anything that would rule it out, should it be offered to me, but I'm not jumping up and down anxious to get it either. It would just be the two of us based in Radnor/US - everyone else is based in London. The Radnor office opens April 1st and I "might" work in London until then. I don't get my bonus until Feb 15th or Feb 28th anyway - no way I'm leaving without that!!! - so, it looks like, at the most, I would be abroad for a month.

Biggest Cons: Doesn't sound like there's much of an oppportunity to relocate abroad. It's a small niche firm with a narrow, European investor base - so not sure where my career would take me after this.

Pros: Its owned by the employees and the bonus sharing sounds like there is crazy upside - place is owned by the 24 analysts/salespeople/traders. They outsource everything else to minimize overhead (accounting, IT, etc).... 4 weeks vacation that is mandatory that you take. And, there would be some international travel to visit clients, but it sounds like it is whirl-wind trips hitting many cities in as many days....

I'd be working London-ish hours. Not quite sure what to make of that. It sounded like we'd start working at 4am each morning (9am London time). They have their morning meeting at 8am, so on days that we would need to speak, we would start earlier. While the early start time sounds grueling, there is a HUGE perk associated with it -- the work day ends incredibly early as well - 1pm. That would give me the whole afternoon to study for that pesky exam (should I continue on to Level 2), OR, down the road, be very convenient for childcare juggling....

Hmmmm......... Won't hear back from this guy until early January when he's off from vacation. Not stressing about it too much in the meantime.

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At long last... our souvenior's from Japan get framed!

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:09:47 -0500

One year later and we FINALLY got our prints framed.

We didn't find anything while we were trapsing around the country that was worthwhile to take home. Luckily, we had some time in the airport to do some shopping. Each of us picked out a block-print that we liked. I'm happy that we picked snow-themed photos, since that's when we were there.

Adam picked this one: It's a shot of the Silver Palace in Kyoto

003

This one is mine. Adam isn't a big fan:

004

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Am I a moron, or what???

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:33:45 -0500

I was supposed to have a job interview today.... had it in my head that it was at 4pm. Turns out it was at 3pm, so I missed it. I am such a moron!!! Way to make a good first impression. Now I have to get up early so I can meet this guy up in Radnor at 8am.... would have been A MILLION TIMES EASIER to have just met up with him three blocks away this afternoon. DUH!!!

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QotD: Oh, Look, Some Mistletoe...

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:38:05 -0500

Who do you want to be caught under the mistletoe with this holiday season?
Submitted by An Ebony Epicurean.

EASY!!! (this photo is actually from Dec 04)

IMG_0915

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Pursuing this Job? Let's flip a coin....

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:30:30 -0500

I updated my resume and sent it on to that headhunter (I help interns edit their resumes all the time - I forgot what a pain in the ass it is!!!). The guy who is hiring lives in London, but his wife's family is in Radnor - so it looks like I'm interviewing next week. This seems to be moving very quickly.

I don't remember what I already wrote about this company, but it is a London-based independent (that means they don't have investment banking relationships and can claim to have unbiased research) research shop. They cater to European clients, but focus on domestic (US) names. It's a very interesting business model. They are trying to get a leg-up on the bulge bracket firms that follow these stocks out of the NY and have a harder time servicing the large European accounts. So, they need someone on each side of the pond to pull that off. You need someone in London to service the clients, but its easier to access management teams and attend Analyst days and conferences, if you are based on the East Coast..... hope this makes sense.....

The head-hunter asked what I make currently and I cranked the number up by 25K. He didn't bat an eyelash and said they are willing to pay for an experienced candidate. Hmmm -- more money is always nice. But is it worth job hopping? This is a small firm with less name recognition than where I currently work. I'm not giving it any serious thought right now, at least not until I meet this guy.

the positives: European travel and more money are two nice draws..... I would work the first three months in London and be required to make periodic trips to visit with clients.

The negatives: I like the team I work with now. I would be working inter-continental, which sounds like a royal pain. My current boss is in DC that is already an obstacle at times. There's also less bonus upside, since my current bonus is loosely tied to investment banking deals and next year is looking to be a big one....

Hey, there's always a chance I could use this to get a pay-bump where I currently work - that would be phenomenal. It's an interesting situation. Stay tuned!!!

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QotD: Holiday Cards

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:46:15 -0500

Were your holiday cards store bought, handmade, online, TBD or MIA?

Handmade - no way!!! Who has time for that?

Normally, I don't bother with Xmas cards and they are MIA. This year is for some reason different.

I bought a bunch of cards to send to business associates (good little ass-kissing to keep the company's we follow happy). While I was at it, I got motivated to send some cards to friends as well -- Hey, if I'm writing cards to people that are just work-contacts, I should be sending cards to people I actually LIKE! I pulled out the leftover cards from last year and actually found some that I had addressed, and stamped, but never written -- how lame am I???

I still have at least 10 friend cards to send, but am otherwise done. I figure my friends won't be highly offended by receiving a card between Xmas and NYE, which is good, because that's what is likely to happen.

Pet Peeve -- I HATE cards when people don't take the time to write anything besides their & our names. Why even bother. I think that's why it I don't usually do holiday cards often. I only want to do them if I'm going to do them right (at least what I consider "right"), but that takes forever!

Between baby announcements and Xmas cards with kids on them, our fridge is quite the sight. I haven't gotten cards from a few people that are card-sending folks, so I suspect its going to get worse before it gets better.

121907_1409a

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Can't stop laughing....

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:07:39 -0500

I know this is beyond cheesy, and I've already sent it to a few people, but I can't stop giggling about it:

6 truths of life:

1) You cannot touch all of your teeth with your tongue.

2) All idiots, after reading the first truth, try it.

3) The first truth is a lie.

4) You're smiling now cause you are an idiot.

5) You will soon forward this to another idiot.

6) Theres still a stupid smile on your face.

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Vox Hunt: Dear Santa

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:31:42 -0500

Show us what you hope Santa brings you.

Unfortunately, Santa is my only hope for this present, since it comes with a $1,400 sticker price. This is the dresser that matches the Armoire that I am in LOVE with. We bought the Armoire this summer using my bonus money. I'm hoping we use part of my February bonus to get the matching dresser (in the darker finish, not shown).

Matching dresser

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QotD: Forward My Mail

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:28:41 -0500

If you could easily choose to live in another country without all the red tape and legal stuff, which one would you select and why?
Submitted by Matthew 25.

This is a no brainer.... Adam and I both LOVED spending time abroad junior year. Neither of us speak German well enough to have a full time job that relies on using the language full-time, but it should would be a fabulous experience. (Adam's job doesn't even exist in Europe!) We go through periods of talking about moving abroad - England, not Germany, but the red tape and legal hurdles are tough. I could do the exact same thing I do now working in London and I would want Adam to go back to school while we were abroad. Most recently, we threw around this idea, when a colleague of mine up & moved to England this summer.

I feel like we kind of missed our opportunity to live abroad and should have done it in our mid/late 20s not as we approach 30 - a few of our friends have recently moved back to the states from having lived abroad. Not moving to Germany after I graduated from college is one of my few regrets.

Mutterland

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Apparently, I'm a BadAss

nobody@vox.com(Heike) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:18:55 -0500

The head of my department, who I have mentioned numerous times, is a slimeball lacking social skills. He tries to find lame ways to include himself in conversation and doesn't know when to stop talking. There's a nice German expression for these people that just keep talking and talking about stupid mundane shit - "Dumschwetzer" (I hope I'm spelling it correctly). Literally, it translates as dumb-talker.

Anyway, this morning I am in the library talking to our associate (he's stuck with a cubicle there). I'm talking about how many of us were grandfathered into a securities rule. Our boss walks by and says to me "What did you say, that your a grandfather? You can't be a grandfather!!! Blah, blah, blah" And then proceeded to correct my usage of the word, without having heard the beginning of my comments, which would have made the context appropriate.

He kept talking, but I blocked him out. I had a newspaper on my lap, so I picked it up and started perusing. I didn't make eye contact with him or acknowledge his comments.... after another minute or so of blabbling, he finally left.

There was another Associate in the library during all of this. Afterwards, he came into my office and said "You are SO badass!". Granted, it wasn't the most polite thing to do, but there is no way to get this guy to SHUT-UP otherwise.

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