Monday, April 20, 2020

Private Equity Resume - Tips on How to Create One

Private Equity Resume - Tips on How to Create OneA private equity resume consists of a description of your unique experience in the financial sector. That is, it is an overview of the companies and organizations you have worked for that includes the strategies used by you to accomplish the business objectives and whether you have made any recommendations. When you build a private equity resume, the first paragraph of each section should contain a statement of why you are the best person to be hired by the company. As a private equity recruiter, your resume should indicate how successful you have been in each of your jobs.After you have described your track record, your personal background, and other accomplishments, the first paragraph of the resume should contain a description of your hiring experiences. In the private equity resume, the hiring information is usually a list of the agencies, co-workers, and employers where you have worked, what positions you held, and where you have worked for other firms. Although private equity firms typically make the first cut at all positions, some recruiters prefer to work from a single company, in which case you may choose not to include the companies. However, as a private equity recruiter, you should always include all the information about your previous experiences. Private equity recruitment firms may send you separate resumes to submit for employment by the firms in which you work.When you are creating a private equity resume, you should include specific details about your personal relationship with the firm, your board experience, the companies you have worked for, the firms that employed you, and the working environment you lived and worked in during those jobs. Your experiences may include managing a team of financial professionals, working with a variety of different clients, or the financial strategy you developed that resulted in the creation of the new private equity firm. In addition, your accomplishments mi ght include developing your skills through your investment in the business, which you will continue to utilize throughout your career.For many recruiters, including private equity recruiters, time spent managing a portfolio of different corporations will be the most valued. There is nothing more rewarding than working closely with seasoned professionals who can quickly develop the necessary expertise and experience needed to help a new company succeed. From this experience, they will look for those individuals who can make these investments into their own firm, and you can then make the best possible impression upon them.You might not think that extensive work experience is necessary for a position as a private equity professional, but it is a strong advantage in the current economic climate. Managing projects, as well as developing budgets and strategy is much different from a conventional employment role. If you can demonstrate a high level of skill and a commitment to maintaining the integrity of your projects, a private equity recruiter will find you to be a valuable asset to their firm.When you are creating a private equity resume, you should consider the company where you will work, and the type of firm that you will be interviewing with when you submit it. It is important to highlight the benefits of the private equity recruiting firm that you have worked with.Finally, remember that your resume should be a reflection of your own interest and character, so when you create a private equity resume, you should consider the requirements of your recruiting firm. This will ensure that you show the most relevant skills and experiences to the new position you are applying for.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

9 Things Every College Grad Should Know When They Get Their First Paycheck

9 Things Every College Grad Should Know When They Get Their First Paycheck When you’ve been living on a college budget, the first real paychecks from your post-graduation job can feel like more money than you know what to do with. Here’s how to spend, save and invest that income while paying down debt and splurging a bit, too. 1. Create a simple budget Yep, a budget is the first step. Once you give each dollar a purpose and ensure you’re meeting essential needs, you can spend on things you value and feel confident that you can afford them. The 50/30/20 approach is a good budget starting point. Spend 50% on needs like rent, groceries and minimum loan payments. Spend 30% on splurges like trips, takeout and concert tickets. Spend 20% on savings and extra payments on high-interest debt. 2. Make a money priority list You can’t do everything at once when you’re saving money and repaying debt. Prioritize in this order: Save $500 for emergencies in a high-yield savings account. Contribute enough to your 401(k) to get your employer’s match, if there is one. Pay off high-interest debt like credit cards. Save for retirement. Aim for 15% of your pretax income. Grow your emergency fund. Aim for three to six months’ worth of expenses. 3. Understand investing basics While buying individual stocks is one investment option, it’s not what personal finance experts recommend for beginners. Your first priority is a retirement account like a 401(k) or Roth IRA, even as you embark on what will likely be a decades-long career. The money in these accounts is invested in stocks and bonds and grows over time due to compound interest. For example, every $1,000 invested at age 22 becomes nearly $20,000 when you are 72, assuming a 6% rate of return. 4. Establish a retirement plan So how do you actually start saving for retirement? If your employer offers an account like a 401(k), make a transfer from each paycheck to it. If the employer offers to match your contributions to a certain amount, aim to contribute at least enough to get the full match â€" it’s free money! If you don’t have an employer-sponsored retirement account, open an individual retirement account through an online broker or automated financial advisor. A Roth IRA is a tax-friendly option for new graduates. 5. Take an inventory of student debt Saving for the future is crucial, but you’re likely facing something more pressing: student loans. Start dealing with them by answering these questions: Are the loans federal, private or a mix of both? How much do you owe? What are the loan interest rates? Most student loans are owned by the Department of Education. To see your federal loan details, visit the Federal Student Aid website. For private student loans with a bank like Sallie Mae or Discover, check your account with that lender. 6. Begin making student loan payments Most student loans have a six-month grace period, meaning payments won’t come due until late fall. But if you can start making payments earlier, you’ll save on interest and establish the habit of paying. For federal loans, you’ll make payments to your loan servicer, the company the government hires to handle loan repayment. If your monthly payments are too high relative to your earnings, apply for an income-driven repayment plan that caps payments at 10% to 20% of your income and forgives the remaining balance after 20 or 25 years. Private student loans aren’t eligible. 7. Work on your credit You may be hard-pressed to name a benefit of student debt, but here’s one: Consistent on-time payments reflect positively on your credit. And a credit score in the high 600s or above is essential to accessing the best rates on loans, insurance and a mortgage. Some employers and landlords check credit, too. Review your credit report to see where you stand. Chances are, you don’t have much of a file. To start working on your score, apply for a secured credit card or a basic credit card at your bank. 8. Use credit cards as a tool Having a credit card doesn’t mean you have to carry a balance. Instead, pay off your card on time every month and use less than 30% of your available credit. If your card limit is $3,000, for example, limit your balance to $1,000 or less. As your credit improves, you’ll qualify for cards with more benefits like cash back and points or miles. 9. Make your money work for you Earning credit card rewards is a prime example of making money work for you. Another example: If you have good credit and relatively low debt compared with your income, you can refinance student loans to a lower interest rate. This will free up money to invest, spend on a vacation or save for a down payment. More From NerdWallet Accepted! How to Decipher Your College Aid College-Bound Students Could Face $37,400 in Loans. Here’s How to Ease the Load What It’s Really Like to Win Money to Pay Down Student Loans This article originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Friday, April 10, 2020

How To Spot A Bot On LinkedIn - Work It Daily

How To Spot A Bot On LinkedIn - Work It Daily Spot a bot on LinkedIn? Either you are wondering what the heck I’m talking about, or you know all too well. A “bot” on LinkedIn is a profile that has been created by an automated software program. It’s fake. Why would someone want to develop an army of not-real people on LinkedIn? To mine your data. Not a good thing. The problem has become so huge that LinkedIn has filed a lawsuit against an unknown “Doe-defendant” who is using Amazon Web Services to set up these profiles and scrape data for online recruiting purposes. In this case, they are trying to get out of paying LinkedIn to use LinkedIn’s proprietary recruiting software. While this might not seem so terrible, it really is cause for concern. First of all, because it compromises your privacy. You don’t know what this person or company collecting your data is going to do with it. Other LinkedIn bots may attempt to send spam e-mails to hook you into a scam, send you messages with questionable content (porn), or even steal your identity, equaling a LinkedIn code red! Plus, LinkedIn is spending vast sums detecting and deleting these profiles, boosting security, and paying attorneys to fight this lawsuit. (It’s a good time to be a lawyer!) This means the company has less money to put into making its platform secure and its business model profitable. Add damage to its reputation and LinkedIn has got some problems. But, all hope is not lost. If we are all a little savvier about who we connect with, I think we can defeat the bots. If no one connects with these zombie profiles, they can’t get our information as easily, and there will be no point to what they are doing. I declare guerrilla warfare on this evil empire! I used to connect with just about anybody. People would ask me if it was safe to connect with people they didn’t know and I would respond by saying that it was fine and a great way to build your network. How else are you going to get to know someone unless you connect with them and start the conversation? Now, I’m a lot more cautious. How To Spot A Bot On LinkedIn I still connect with people that I may not have met. But, only if they look like real people who could have a legitimate interest in connecting with me. If something seems off, I might just ignore them. And, if they look like a bot, I report it. Here are some indicators of fake profiles: 1. Stock profile photos. If the profile image looks like a knockout gorgeous model, be suspicious. These images are from stock photos. It is easy to figure out if they can be found online somewhere else. Simply drag the image into the Google image search box in another tab or window. The results should tell you whether the image has been purchased from a stock image site. (If you would like to know what makes a good profile photo, I have some tips in my post “How to Avoid a LinkedIn Profile Photo Epic Fail.”) 2. Incomplete profile. Proceed with caution when you see a profile that has no summary and few details in the professional experience section. I am always hesitant, myself, when there are no capital letters for the name, too. Many groups joined, but few details in the profile. Why would someone join a ton of groups, but not even fill out their employment? Because they are trying to gain access to large volumes of profiles quickly. That type of activity definitely is evidence of a bot that is scraping for data. 3. Few connections. These profiles usually have very few connections. Unless it is somebody I know, who is just getting started on LinkedIn, I don’t connect with anyone that has fewer than 50 connections. Why 50? It’s just a random number I picked. 4. No recommendations. How do I know if a person is real if there is no one vouching for them? If a profile has no recommendations and I have no idea who the person is, I don’t connect. 5. Stolen identities. I have read cases of people getting requests to connect with CEOs or bigwigs from prominent companies, only to find out that there is another profile belonging to the *real person* also on LinkedIn. After a Google search and some investigation, it was determined that the connection request belonged to impostor. Creepy. Going forward, I now recommend being more selective in who you connect with. If you suspect something is fishy, consider removing the connection and reporting the profile to LinkedIn. You can do this from the pull-down menu on the person’s profile. If you are uncertain, but interested in making the connection, use your network to find out more about the person. Send them a message back, asking to talk via phone. Job seekers are particularly vulnerable and should be wary of the following messages: Those that contain a link, requesting personal information in order to be contacted by a recruiter. Messages about job opportunities that you have to pay for. Promotions, get-rich-quick schemes, work-at-home opportunities. Of course, connecting with people you haven’t met yet has advantages. Real people may request to connect with you because they are interested in doing business with you, hiring you, or otherwise adding to your success. In this digital age, connecting on LinkedIn is equivalent to sending an email or making a phone call. So, don’t give up on LinkedIn, or be too confused or irritated when someone you don’t know reaches out. Just be smart. Know how to spot a bot and what to do about it when they connect with you. Then, move on to the next new friend you just haven’t met yet. Are there other ways you have been able to recognize these zombie profiles? Have you been duped by a bot? 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