Practical analysis for investment professionals
04 January 2016

Best of 2015: Career Management

Posted In: Best Of

At the end of the year, we have the privilege of looking back over the past 12 months and calling attention to some of the more interesting content we’ve encountered. For this post, I’m going to point out five Enterprising Investor posts and five items the @CFACareers Twitter account highlighted this year that have career management messages worth remembering.

Enterprising Investor Posts

1. Five Battle-Tested Strategies for Success

I have the good fortune of hearing very qualified individuals present very useful career management advice more often than most people. Carla Harris’s presentation at this year’s Women in Investment Management Conference is far and away the best I’ve encountered. Her advice is solid for men and women alike. The key points of her presentation are very well summarized in this post, which includes a link to a video of the presentation.

2. Effective Salary Negotiation

This was the most popular career management webinar we’ve hosted in terms of registrations, live attendance, and views since the piece was published. It is no surprise that professionals are keenly interested in negotiating favorable employment terms, and the webinar presenter, Robert Hellmann, provides easy-to-use, practical advice for doing just that. This post highlights some key takeaways from the webinar and provides a link to listen to it in full.

3. Job Interview Preparation

Being ready for the interview phase of a job search early in the process can actually make your entire search more efficient and effective. This post summarizes a webinar on the topic of preparing for interviews, though the webinar in full is certainly worth your time if you are contemplating a job search in 2016.

4. A View to the Future: Changes in the Investment Industry

This CFA Institute Magazine interview with Tom Brown of KPMG’s investment management group discusses what skills the finance sector will require in the years ahead. Obviously professionals need to be scanning the horizon for changes in the field that have long-term implications for their careers. Two attributes will be especially essential for success in the investment industry, according to Brown. Spoiler alert: They are fluency with technology and strong people skills.

5. Flexing, Code Switching, and Leadership

Being aware of your communication style and that of others and then being able to adapt your style to ensure your communication efforts are successful is a priceless quality. This article and the summary post of executive coach and author Jane Hyun’s session on “flexing your style” from the 68th CFA Institute Annual Conference are nice introductions to this skill.

Twitter Recommendations from @CFACareers

1. We’re All Terrible at Understanding Each Other

Social psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson reminds us that it is incredibly difficult to both understand and be understood. As a result, as leaders, co-workers, and fellow citizens, we have to be ever-vigilant in our relationships with others and take 100% responsibility for both communicating clearly and grasping the communications we receive.

2. One Simple Skill to Overcome Peer Pressure 

Despite the questionable branding — “The BS Guys”?!?! — I enjoy the Behavioral Science Guys and their fun and informative video series. As the description of this video states: “Never underestimate the power of one. When you feel you are the odd person out, don’t stifle your concerns, but learn how to express them respectfully. It turns out the quiet, polite expression of doubt can turn the rest of the group of zombies into thinkers.”

3. Books to Help You Answer Big Questions about Yourself

I can’t count the number of times that I’ve asked career experts what advice they have for achieving success and in response received some version of “Read. A lot. Of everything.” Combine that with the fact that so much of managing your career, yourself, and others really just comes down to self-awareness and it is no shock that this is on my list this year. The best part is that at the bottom of Thu-Huong Ha’s list of recommended books, there are more lists of recommended books. Happy reading!

4. Carole Robin: How to Create a Feedback-Rich Environment

“Feedback can actually strengthen a relationship,” Deborah Petersen writes, “because knowing that another person is going to tell it to you straight creates and builds trust.” Trust makes relationships work and working professional relationships make you more successful in your career.

5. 30 Questions to Help You Discover Your True North

As I noted before, knowing yourself is fundamental to your career success, your leadership style, and your relationships. Bill George has written and spoken a lot about authentic leadership and how important it is to understand the essential values that matter to you. This list of questions is great to run through over and over again. Ask yourself one question every day or every week, and when you finish them all, ask them again.

We look forward to bringing you more career management content throughout 2016. If there are topics you are especially interested in, let us know in the comments.

Happy New Year!

If you liked this post, don’t forget to subscribe to the Enterprising Investor.


All posts are the opinion of the author. As such, they should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute or the author’s employer.

About the Author(s)
Julia VanDeren

Julia VanDeren, manager, career services at CFA Institute, serves as the subject matter expert in career management skills, curating and developing career resources for members and program candidates. Previously, she served CFA Institute as career services representative, managing the CFA Institute JobLine (now Career Center) and Career Centre (now Career Tools) resources. VanDeren holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MPA from Virginia Commonwealth University.

1 thought on “Best of 2015: Career Management”

  1. Seth says:

    What you said made a bunch of sense. But, what about
    this? what if you added a little content? I
    am not saying your information is not good., but what if you added a title that grabbed
    people’s attention? I mean Best of 2015: Career Management is a little boring.
    You ought to look at Yahoo’s home page and note how they create news headlines to get people interested.
    You might add a related video or a picture or two to
    get people excited about what you’ve got to say. Just my opinion, it could bring your website a little livelier.

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