Charlie Panoff is a hedge fund recruiter at Objective Solutions International (www.e-osi.com), an international finance and technology search firm.
Tell us a bit of background about yourself.
I started in the industry when I was 19. It was right as the market started to turn bad, and I did it for a few years. I was good at it, but it was very hard to make money. I was making a lot more money than I ever thought I would at that age, but I wanted to further my education and further my level of experience and knowledge.
So I ended up leaving and going to a large company. I worked for Institutional Investor News for a few years. Then it came time when I reached my peak of earning potential and star power there, and I called OSI because I always had a good relationship with their president, and said, “All right. I’ve learned what I need to, and now I’d like to come back and make some more money.”
Initially, when I was doing this, it was strictly technology jobs and I had to learn a lot. In my time in Institutional Investor, I ended up learning a lot about the financial world. I actually focused on the hedge fund world there — selling their alternative investment news product and their hedge fund daily product and a couple of the Journal Of Alternative Investments, and setting up large access deals, and speaking with lots of different people. I got to meet a lot of people in that world, and took that back to the recruiting world.
I focus on the combination between technology and business, when it comes to hedge funds, and in the private banking world, I recruit bankers with books of business, figuring out what their books are comprised of, and seeing where they would best fit.
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Kathy Graham of Highest Quality Search (www.hqsearch.com) in Chicago discusses the past, present and future of the job market, confidentiality, and managing career trajectory.
How did you get started in recruiting?
They don’t teach Recruiting 101 at college, so generally most of us kind of trip over it and land up in it. I started off in Cleveland and moved to Toledo, where there wasn’t really a lot of opportunities. I went to a search firm looking for a job, and instead they offered me a job. And I wasn’t sure, so they put me on the phone, in the middle of the downturn, with a phonebook, and a half hour later they came back to see how I had done. I had five companies that wanted to talk to me further about positions, so they offered me a job on the spot. And immediately I started work that very first week, and filling the first position I got.
So from day one I was a top award winning recruiter. I worked for three firms before starting HQ Search, and we’re going to be celebrating 10 years in the business this October. I love finding that perfect fit, where someone can really succeed in the job, and where they really provide value at it. They get promoted for our clients. That’s not something someone can teach you. I think it’s more of an art, but that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 20 years, finding “who fits best.”
Very, very quickly I moved over to financial services because I find that whole field fascinating. In fact, I got my Masters over at the University of Chicago in Analytic Finance, Econometrics and Statistics. I think I’m one of the few recruiters who can actually crunch the numbers, and understand the intricate areas of hedge funds. I learned how to do the hedges and the risk management, &c, of portfolios as part of my degree training.
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Long hours are the standard within the hedge fund industry. In our survey of hedge fund insiders we asked the participants about their work and personal life balance. Now, we realize this is a subjective measure but, at the same time, it couldn’t be more important to long term job satisfaction. We found that:
- 15% felt they had an excellent work/personal life balance.
- 65% said they were striking an average to above average balance.
- 20% felt the balance was off, that is, below average or poor.
Striking the right work-life balance
Finding that best balance between your personal life and your work life is hard to do and isn’t a one-time effort. Here are some tips based on insights from Mayo Clinic to help you find the perfect balance:
- Keep a log. Track everything you do for one week. Decide what’s necessary and satisfies you the most. Cut or delegate activities you don’t enjoy, don’t have time for or do only out of guilt.
- Take advantage of your options. Work flexible hours or a compressed work week.
- Communicate clearly. Limit time-consuming misunderstandings (this means both talking and listening carefully).
- Fight the guilt. Remember, having a family and a job is okay — for both men and women.
- Recharge. Set aside time each day for an activity that you enjoy, such as walking, working out or listening to music.
- Set aside one night each week for recreation. Put down the crackberry, power down the computer and turn off the TV. Do activities that will rejuvenate you.
- Protect your day off. You’ll be more productive when you return.
- Get enough sleep (not just some sleep). There’s nothing as stressful and potentially dangerous as working when you’re sleep-deprived.
Balance doesn’t mean doing everything. Examine your priorities and set boundaries. Be firm in what you can and cannot do. Only you can restore harmony to your lifestyle.
