No Coffee, No Jobs, No Insurance
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How do you know things are really bad? When you can't even get a headhunter to buy you a coffee anymore.
How I remember the good old days.
Our knowledge on funky derivatives was a sparse asset, and when you wanted to be treated to a coffee, you could just call up the headhunter of your choice and tell them that you were interested in opportunities. They would meet you for a coffee - their expense, of course.
As a sign of just how far the market has plummeted, I recently got a phone call from a recruitment agent about an opportunity - the first call of that sort in a long, long time.
We met up at a local Starbucks and the recruiter went on about the exciting opportunity, just like in the old days. But this time, we were sitting at Starbucks for the biggest part of half an hour - WITHOUT BUYING ANY COFFEE!
Nobody mentioned it, nobody offered it. They didn't have a beverage and neither did I.
Of course, I could have bought one for myself, but that defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
Slightly bemused by the fact, I went back to the office where I found an e-mail from my financial adviser about how insurers are no longer writing unemployment insurance for anyone working in financial services anymore.
So nobody pays me when I lose my job, nobody pays me to take on a new job, and nobody buys me a coffee to tell me about any jobs.
Looks like I'll be downsizing from a double-shot Venti soy Caramel Frappucino to a regular filter coffee.
Our knowledge on funky derivatives was a sparse asset, and when you wanted to be treated to a coffee, you could just call up the headhunter of your choice and tell them that you were interested in opportunities. They would meet you for a coffee - their expense, of course.
As a sign of just how far the market has plummeted, I recently got a phone call from a recruitment agent about an opportunity - the first call of that sort in a long, long time.
We met up at a local Starbucks and the recruiter went on about the exciting opportunity, just like in the old days. But this time, we were sitting at Starbucks for the biggest part of half an hour - WITHOUT BUYING ANY COFFEE!
Nobody mentioned it, nobody offered it. They didn't have a beverage and neither did I.
Of course, I could have bought one for myself, but that defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
Slightly bemused by the fact, I went back to the office where I found an e-mail from my financial adviser about how insurers are no longer writing unemployment insurance for anyone working in financial services anymore.
So nobody pays me when I lose my job, nobody pays me to take on a new job, and nobody buys me a coffee to tell me about any jobs.
Looks like I'll be downsizing from a double-shot Venti soy Caramel Frappucino to a regular filter coffee.
Here Is The Writer : Billy No Box
Billy No Box has worked in the city for six years, and currently works in Derivatives for a North American bank. He enjoys playing golf, reading books by Umberto Eco, singing "Copacabana" in the shower and at karaoke bars, and occasionally updating his blog about London and everything else.
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