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Ten Signs It's Time to Leave Your Job: The Finance Edition
FINS ^ | 08/06/2010 | Sindu Sundhar

Posted on 08/08/2010 5:22:13 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Filing one mind-numbing risk report after another? Tired of never getting to implement that deal you're modeling? It's easy to unwittingly become mired in the drudgery of less-than-glamorous accounting and finance busy work, professionals in the field say -- especially considering the much less palatable alternative of ending up unemployed.

But how much is too much? The Wall Street Journal recently put together their own list of ten signs it's time to leave your job. We bring you a handy list of tell-tale signs it's time to cash your last bonus check at your current gig and look for something better.

1. You've been spending so much time at work, it's starting to show in the pictures your kids draw of you.

Elissa Ashwood, a former financial consultant at McKinsey & Co. who averaged more than 80 hours a week at work was aghast when she came back home one day to find the pictures her daughter, 11, and her son, 4, had drawn of her. "In the pictures, Daddy was swimming and playing videogames with them," Ashwood says. "They drew me alone, with a computer and BlackBerry. It broke my heart."

Investment bankers are particularly resigned to long hours, says Ashwood, also a former vice president of finance and accounting at Citibank.

"Much of the high premiums that finance jobs offer are because of long hours and high stakes," said Robert Hohman, CEO and founder of Glassdoor.com, an online career resource portal. "That adds up to a work-life balance that isn't always optimal."

Glassdoor is an online career community where users anonymously post reviews of companies they work or have worked for. Nearly 10% of the companies reviewed are finance firms, with over more than 6,400 of them listed on the site.

But gruelling hours need not necessarily mean it's time to leave finance altogether, but maybe to try something different. "Tired of the hours of M&A?" says Ashwood. "Try modeling a new product. Generally it's much better to leave when you can say what you do want -- to work fewer hours and focus on product development -- instead of just being able to say what you don't want."

2. You've been holding back from voicing your grievances.

Afraid of being seen as uncooperative? Or is Human Resources simply not responding to your complaints? It's time to take action, says Dr. Linnda Durre, business consultant and author of "Surviving the Toxic Workplace: Protect Yourself Against The Co-workers, Bosses and Work Environments That Poison Your Day."

"Is HR minimizing your problems? Are they blaming you for it?" says Durre. "Patience is ok, but you need to set a deadline, or you're just being the long-suffering doormat."

But Hohman has some reassurance to offer "long-suffering doormats," that they're not alone. "It's more than likely you're not the only one that feels that way," he says. "You need to make sure you company is the kind of place that would encourage feedback. Goldman Sachs is a good example of a company that has an open environment."

The investment bank ranked 8th among 6,477 finance firms reviewed on the site by its users. "They really welcome feeback and you get the opportunity to work with the kind of people you did at business school," Hohman said.

3. You have no clue where the company is headed.

There is often a tendency to view the power differential between an employer and an employee purely as a function of authority. But it is a difference in knowledge of a company's trajectory that really tilts the relationship in the employer's favor, experts say.

"The relationship is skewed not only in terms of authority but also information," says Hohman. "Senior management often has access to much more information than employees. Especially in a recession -- people should demand visibility into the long-term direction of the company. If there are going to be layoffs, they shouldn't be blindsided by it."

4. You're starting to get stomach cramps, among other psychosomatic afflictions.

Andy Hayes, a former process specialist at ABN AMRO, knew his work was literally hurting him when he began to experience headaches, stomach cramps and fatigue. Hayes attributes a lot of his work tension to micromanagement -- what he calls "being treated like a child," -- and pressures that arose from the RBS acquisition of ABN AMRO.

"Life is too short to go into your office and be treated like a child," Hayes says. "When I found out that the department I had been moved into at RBS had an astronomically high level of complaints, yet rarely any action on those complaints, that should have been a red flag."

5. You start to believe you can't do better.

This is a common pitfall of performing routine tasks such as those involved in financial accounting positions, professionals say. "Say you're always doing the monthly close and everyone accepts that you're going to take care of problems that come up -- they assume you'll take care of it and don't appreciate it," says Ashwood. "But people usually withstand this because part of them thinks that maybe they're not good enough to take on a better role. Your self-confidence becomes undermined or you simply forget that you don't have to keep doing the same job forever."

6. Your friends and loved ones gently propose that you switch fields altogether.

"Normally a spouse or friend will make a comment in passing that's meant to be helpful," says Hayes. "But instead of taking it as helpful, you take it the wrong way. I've seen this happen a couple of times to myself and others." It didn't happen to him for too long though -- Hayes left his former life as a finance professional to set up his own travel-oriented media company in Scotland, Hayes Media Company.

7. You're putting up with it just for the cash.

"Finance companies are invariably big companies," says Hayes. "When these companies roll in billions of dollars in revenue in the good times, there's no real need for anybody to stick their neck out or cause a fuss. If you keep things just floating along nicely, you'll be fine and hopefully you'll get that bonus you were waiting for."

Former Goldman Sachs banker Antonio Garcia-Martinez makes an eloquent argument for why you shouldn't work just for the big January bonus check.

8. Your hobbies and interests are a faint memory.

Has your idea of a good weekend become all about catching up with sleep? It's time to take back the reins on your personal interests.

"Finance and accounting people are control freaks at heart," says Ashwood. "I knew mild-mannered accounting analysts who raced Ferarris on the weekends and built vacation houses. Your job will never satisfy everything you want in life but it should make it possible to do all those other things."

9. You're nowhere close to doing the things you got into the job for in the first place.

Let's not kid ourselves: The allure of perks and hefty bonuses is often a big incentive that attracts professionals to the field. But for some, it may be something else, like a passion to efficiently plan and save a company money.

"But sometimes your boss may not really care that that's what you want, might not let you talk to product development professionals to allow you to do that," says Ashwood. "But don't get let yourself get beaten down. There are many finance and accounting roles so if you don't love the one you're in, sample others at your same employer."

10. You're creating work that no one is using.

We're looking at you, risk manager whose reports go overlooked. "One of the biggest dissatisfiers is when you know the work you're doing doesn't matter," says Ashwood. Unread reports are often the result of a client asking for a certain piece of information once, Ashwood says, and which the finance and accounting group decides it should generate it periodically. "These take time to create. And if nobody's using them, either they should be canceled or someone should find a use for them."

---

Regardless of your reason for leaving your work, it's important to remember that the grass often looks greener in faraway pastures. Sometimes the job you had, as bad as it might have been, seems pretty good once you've moved on.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: finance; job; leave; regination
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To: SeekAndFind

Ten signs it’s time to leave your job:

1. Your wife takes the kids on vacation to Spain and you don’t get to go.

2. You’d like to play golf more but people are starting to complain about it.

3. The food at work is OK, but you’d really rather go out for a cheeseburger.

4. You didn’t think you’d have to quit smoking, but there’s just no way to sneak out to light up.

5. The woman who wanted your job is still mad that she didn’t get it, and deep down you just know she’s plotting something.

6. You really don’t know what you’re doing.

7. Everybody is starting to figure out that the guy who had your job before you was waaaay better at it than you.

8. The guy they got to stand in for you when your out is a real joke.

9. Your boss has already decided to fire you and is just waiting for the right time to come, and you know that will happen in a couple of years.

10. If they find out that you are an illegal immigrant you could get in real trouble.


21 posted on 08/08/2010 7:04:06 PM PDT by advance_copy (Stand for life or nothing at all)
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To: SeekAndFind

11. You can’t find your red Swingline.


22 posted on 08/08/2010 7:39:39 PM PDT by Poison Pill
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To: Poison Pill

"If they take my stapler then I'll-- I'll have to-- I'll set the building on fire."

23 posted on 08/08/2010 7:42:43 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: SeekAndFind
6. Your friends and loved ones gently propose that you switch fields altogether.

(everyone) "You should switch fields."

/Airplane! joke

24 posted on 08/08/2010 7:49:41 PM PDT by Ken H
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To: Repeal The 17th

No fooling, where I live the closest community is 50 miles further where I could possibly approach what I make close to home.

Here is the reality, millions hate their job, but will do anything to keep it, there is no jobs available and its not worth leaving what you do have unless its a job that is literally killing you.


25 posted on 08/08/2010 7:59:39 PM PDT by Eye of Unk ("In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act" G.Orwell)
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To: advance_copy

Ten signs it’s time to leave your job:

1. Your wife takes the kids on vacation to Spain and you don’t get to go.

2. You’d like to play golf more but people are starting to complain about it.

3. The food at work is OK, but you’d really rather go out for a cheeseburger.

4. You didn’t think you’d have to quit smoking, but there’s just no way to sneak out to light up.

5. The woman who wanted your job is still mad that she didn’t get it, and deep down you just know she’s plotting something.

6. You really don’t know what you’re doing.

7. Everybody is starting to figure out that the guy who had your job before you was waaaay better at it than you.

8. The guy they got to stand in for you when your out is a real joke.

9. Your boss has already decided to fire you and is just waiting for the right time to come, and you know that will happen in a couple of years.

10. If they find out that you are an illegal immigrant you could get in real trouble.

(Post of the day!)

Anyone who cannot figure “who” this person could be must be an obot.


26 posted on 08/08/2010 8:02:42 PM PDT by Eye of Unk ("In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act" G.Orwell)
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To: nascarnation

My last day of work is this Friday and then I’ll be entering the world of the retired. I look forward to those nice long sleep-filled mornings.


27 posted on 08/08/2010 8:25:22 PM PDT by murron (Proud Mom of a Marine Vet)
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To: Pollster1; writer33

Ya Gotta Love Don Rickles!

Hello, dummies! Oh my God, look at you. Anyone else hurt in the accident?

Seriously, Senator Reid has a face of a Saint - A Saint Bernard. Now I know why they call you the arithmetic man. You add partisanship, subtract pleasure, divide attention, and multiply ignorance. Reid is so physically unimposing, he makes Pee Wee Herman look like Mr. T. And Reid’s so dumb, he makes Speaker Pelosi look like an intellectual. Nevada is soooo scr ewed! If I were less polite, I’d say Reid makes Kevin Federline look successful.

Speaking of the Speaker ... Nancy Pelosi, hubba, hubba! Hey baby, you must’ve been something before electricity.Seriously, the Speaker may look like an idiot and talks like an idiot but don’t let that fool you. She really is an idiot.

Charlie Rangel ... still alive and still robbing the taxpayers blind. What does that make, six decades of theft?Rangel’s the only man with a rent-controlled mansion. He’s the guy who writes our tax laws but forgot to pay taxes on $75 grand in rental income! So why isn’t he the Treasury Secretary? Rangel runs more scams than a Nigerian Banker.

Barney Frank ... he’s a better actor than Fred Flintstone. Consider that he and Dodd caused the whole fi nancial meltdown, and they’re not only not serving time with Bubba and Rodney, they’re still heading up the financial system!
Let’s all admit it ... Barney Frank slobbers more than a sheepdog on Novocain.. How did this guy get elected? Oh, that’s right ... he’s from Massachusetts . That’s the state that elects Mr. Charisma, John Kerry — man of the people!

You know, if Senator Dodd were any more crooked, you could open wine bottles with him. Here’s a news flash, Dodd: when your local newspaper calls you a “lying weasel,” it may be time to retire. Dodd’s involved in more shady deals than the Clintons . Even Rangel looks up to him!

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, I really respect you ... especially given your upbringing ~ All you’ve overcome. I heard your birth certificate is an apology from the condom factory. I don’t know what makes you so dumb, but it really works for you. Personally, I don’t think you’re a fool, but what’s my opinion compared to that of thousands of others?

As for President Obama, what can I say? They say President Obama’s arrogant and aloof, but I don’t agree.
Now it’s true when you enter the room, you have to kiss his ring. I don’t mind, but he has it in his back pocket.
His mind is open to new ideas — so open that ideas simply pass through it. Obama lies so much, I was actually surprised to find out his first name really was Barack.
Just don’t ask about his middle name! But Obama was able to set a record ... he actually lied more in 60 days than Bill Clinton.

FOR THOSE THAT VOTED FOR “HOPE AND CHANGE”.....

BEND OVER AND PREPARE TO RECEIVE YOUR BOUNTY!
President Obama just completed the UNHOLY and ANTI-AMERICAN TRIFECTA:

- 1st president in 110 years to miss the annual Army-Navy Football Game.
- 1st president to not attend any Christmas religious observance.
- 1st president to stay on vacation after a terrorist attack.
- 1st president not observe a national day of prayer so he would not offend his muslim brothers.
- 1st president born in another country and still get away with being president.
- 1st president to work harder to destroy America than any in history, by bankrupting it.
AND ALL IN HIS FIRST YEAR! WHAT A GREAT PRESIDENT.

DON’T YOU JUST LOVE BEING IN A SOCIALIST NATION LIVING UNDER ALL THOSE LIBERALS TERRORISTS????


28 posted on 08/08/2010 8:55:11 PM PDT by B4Ranch (America was founded by MARKSMEN, not Marxists.)
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To: B4Ranch

Somehow I don’t think this is from Don Rickles.


29 posted on 08/08/2010 8:55:58 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Eye of Unk

11. You win a Noble Prize for nothing.


30 posted on 08/08/2010 9:09:38 PM PDT by Jumpmaster (Defund the Left!)
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To: advance_copy

Excellent!


31 posted on 08/08/2010 9:27:27 PM PDT by jim35 (Tea Party former Republican)
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To: Repeal The 17th

This must be aimed at ladder-climbing brown-nosers who ooze their way to the top. We are losing the middle class and becoming a nation of elites and “riff-raff”.


32 posted on 08/08/2010 9:34:22 PM PDT by Pining_4_TX
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To: SeekAndFind

bump


33 posted on 08/08/2010 11:01:17 PM PDT by Christian4Bush (Mike/Chris Wallace: Did you give in? Palin: "HELL NO!" 87 days til the midterms, if they're held..)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar
What the heck is your problem? Why would you call me over to this thread? Get a life!
34 posted on 08/08/2010 11:18:11 PM PDT by ladyvet (WOLVERINES!!!!!)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

I have done the rotating shift work. It really sucked ! It was a blessing in disguise to get pulled off from that position. Why ? Someone complained I was nodding off during the night shift. I will not take a job where I have to work overnight shift unless it is a “last resort” job !


35 posted on 08/09/2010 2:32:36 PM PDT by CORedneck
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