What becomes of unemployed investment bankers?
I watched some video footage this morning of a well-dressed gentleman with a poster board for a vest, walking up Park Avenue.
He is not a panhandler with a passion for fashion, he is passing out copies of his resume.
The white vest reads “Experienced MIT grad for hire” with his name, phone number and e-mail address handwritten below.
Joshua Persky, a financial engineer who has been out of work for about six months, has taken to the streets in hopes of landing a new job.
He’s on CNN, USAToday.com and has hit the international news scene as well. In a television interview he claims to be famous in Korea and on the front page of a business newspaper in Greece. But, all he wants is a job.
I hope Mr. Persky finds a job. But, with his education and experience, he would be a pricey hire for any struggling investment bank. Something about his technique screams reality TV to me…The Apprentice: Senior Management Edition?
Tags: investment banking, joshua persky, layoffsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Corporate, Economy, Investment, Market, News
9 opinions for What becomes of unemployed investment bankers?
Joel Drosehn
Jun 29, 2008 at 5:52 pm
This should be a reality check for every blackberry-touting Jim-Cramer-watching shoot-ya-an-email self-proclaimed-financial-guru wannabe undergrad that graduates with a 3.2 GPA and a sense of entitlement. News Flash: the financial sector is losing billions in writedowns and this has translated to major job cuts, particularly in underwriting.
Recent News:
June 23:Citigroup plans to cut 10% of investment banking division http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/citigroup_plans_investmentbank.html
Goldman Sachs set to cut 10% of its mergers and acquisition and corporate fundraising staff
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/goldman-said-to-prepare-scores-of-layoffs/?scp=1&sq=goldman&st=cse
Justin Bonifacino
Jun 30, 2008 at 8:10 am
This is a little misleading. We have learned in other various finance classes that buffet protects companies from corporate takeovers. This could make the price go down as well.
Cliff Seals
Jun 30, 2008 at 9:40 pm
So does this indicate that investment bankers are being needed less and less? And who knows what other things may contribute to this man being unemployed. Investment banking seems like a good job, so hopefully they will be in high demand again.
T Silver
Jun 30, 2008 at 10:47 pm
The IB business goes through periods of growth and contraction. This contraction is pretty severe but the services provided by IBs are indeed necessary.
Fotini Aslaouridis
Jul 3, 2008 at 11:08 am
This is actually a sad reality check of the lack of job positions during this period. As a recent accounting grad you expect that after 4 years of studying your brains off once you’re hired you’ll have a stable working position and not desperately searching for one for 6 mos. Also the fact that he’s been receiving such vast attention for his self marketing technique is quite humorous. You’d think that Greek business magazines will be focusing on their politicians accepting kickbacks from German telecom giant Siemens and not on this young man “modestly” passing out his resume.
Tyrone Edwards
Jul 3, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Everyone involved in the Financial world must realize that after the years of economic growth and the bullish markets of the past, the market was bound to hit a plateau and financial declines had to happen. The question we must ask ourselves is for how long? Certainly at this point we have reached the reality that were not all going to be running to a local Mercedes Benz dealership tomorrow because we just made a fortune from the day before, rather the reality is that things take time. And for all of us who have hopes of graduating next year or the following year, we must maintain a positive outlook and believe that we are the next Warren Buffet, or Peter Lynch.
John McMillan
Jul 6, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I’m not sure if the site in the website box above will be posted but more information can be found here. “http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080706/BUSINESS/807060405/1011/BUSINESS” This is really quite a shame for Mr. Persky. But it goes to show that people here are living outside of their means. People’s expenses are too high in relation to their level of income. Six months is a short amount of time to run out of money. But, it seems that he is receiving some assistance from other MIT alumnus and will hopefully find something soon.
Darren Scott
Jul 11, 2008 at 10:33 pm
If it is taking him 6 months to find a job my man needs to do something else in the mean time. He should come lay bricks on the UD sidewalks. He will definitely always have work.
Joshua Persky
Aug 23, 2008 at 5:00 pm
You can follow Joshua Persky’s story on his blog:
http://www.oracleofny.com
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