Former Goldman exec says best thing he did in his career paid off big

Former Goldman exec says best thing he did in his career paid off bigFormer Goldman exec says best thing he did in his career paid off bigYouve heard it 1,000 times 80% of success is showing up. The quote is often attributed to Woody Allen, in an interview after his breakout 1977 hit, Annie Hall. By now, the comment has almost become a cliche.For Marc Spilker, work ethic, and fostering a reputation for getting things done, is actually an explanation for his success. Spilker, a former Goldman Sachs partner whos now chairman of a small but fast-growing asset manager, said its the single best thing he did to get ahead during a 30-year Wall Street career.If you look at the industry I grew up in, theres notlage a big diversity in terms of raw intelligence of the people, yet some do wildly well and some dont, Spilker said in an interview with Business Insider. Theres always a little bit of luck, but work ethic is way more important than people think.After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Spilker joined a derivatives trading house in Chicago named OConnor. It welches the late 1980s, just as global stock and bond markets were beginning a meteoric expansion. As a young trader, Spilker signed up for unpopular work shifts in order to gain experience and soon gained a reputation for efficiently executing on the projects he was assigned, he said.I was willing to work the Japan shift from Chicago - come into the office at 6 oclock at night and work through the night, Spilker said. I was willing to work the London shift, come to the office at midnight and work through breakfast the next morning. To me it was like, the more you work, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you were. The better you were, the more opportunities you saw, and back to this virtuous cycle.After a few years at OConnor, Spilker joined Goldman Sachs. In 20 years at the Wall Street firm, he rose to co-head of its asset-management arm with a key position on the firms powerful m anagement committee. In 2010, Spilker left for Apollo Management, where as president he helped the private-equity firm sells share to public. Spilker later founded GPS Investment Partners with two ex-Goldman colleagues and together they built Chiron Investment Management, a manager of $2.7 billion where hes chairman.Over many years, Spilker said he got opportunities to work on cool projects and earn promotions by establishing a reputation as someone who could get stuff done. It was all part of building his personal brand and showing his colleagues that he could be trusted to finish the job, he said.You want to be in a position to see opportunities as they come up, he said. If you have a brand, a personal brand, known for being somebody that will do excellent work but will actually get the work done, then youre more likely to see the opportunities than others. And thats the best thing you can have happen in your career.This article first appeared on Business Insider.

What Counts as Relevant Career Experience

What Counts as Relevant Career ExperienceWhat Counts as Relevant Career ExperienceJob seekers often think if they havent held a full-time position in a certain industry that they will be rejected as unqualified for that discipline. It pays to remember, though, that relevant career experience comes in a variety of forms. What matters is being able to demonstrate to employers how your background and attributes set you up to be successful in a given role.Show hiring managers that your past accomplishments match their needs by pointing out these relevant career experiencesVolunteer WorkThe lack of a paycheck does bedrngnis discount your efforts. In fact, providing services for free reveals much about your character as well as your interest in utilizing and developing certain skills. Impress an employer looking for an exceptional communicator with stories about grant writing for a nonprofit, or use your experience as a Sunday school teacher as proof of your passion for working with childr en.InternshipsNo longer just for college kids, many seasoned workers take an internship in a new field to gain knowledge and experience. Again, employers are much more interested in what you learned, not what you earned, and how it pertains to the job at hand.Part-Time or Freelance WorkThe route to full-time employment often starts with demonstrated ability in another capacity. The part-time help desk position you held while raising young children definitely has bearing on your candidacy for a 40-hour-per-week customer service job now that they are older. Likewise, someone who has designed websites on a freelance basis certainly can use those samples as proof of competency when seeking a traditional position in a digital marketing department.Transferable Skills from Past EmploymentWhile nobody can expect to get hired as a surgeon without completing very specific training, many abilities a rolle develops in one job can be applied to roles in a different area. Evaluate your so-called transferable skills, and chances are youll discover a great deal of experience new employers will find attractive.Probably the most important aspect of crossing from one position to another is that you- the job candidate- think in terms not of what your past position WAS, but what it was that YOU brought to that position, and how your skills translate to a new position, says Alan Guinn, managing director ofThe Guinn Consultancy Group, Inc.For instance, if you have a proven track record of effectively managing a team of 20 in the insurance industry, chances are youll be equally capable of leading a similar-sized group at a nonprofit. Similarly, talent in areas such as project management, negotiation, sales, customer relations, and communication are valued across many fields.Dont rely on the hiring manager, though, to make the connection. Highlight your transferable skills as relevant work experience to create a clear picture of why youre the right candidate for the job.Readers, are y ou surprised to learn about which of your experiences count as relevant career experience? What will you add to your resume as a result?

Information About Advertising Careers

Information About Advertising CareersInformation About Advertising CareersWhether youre still in school and ready to launch your advertising career, or youre looking to switch professions, you need to know exactly what to expect, and that can vary greatly depending upon what role you want to fulfill in an agency and which area of advertising you want to work in. Location can be a defining factor too. Account Side vs. Creative Department Before you get into advertising, you have to decide what you want to do when you get to an agency. In general, there are two roads to take - creative or accounts. This is, of course, a massive generalization there are many roles not even covered by those descriptions. A typical advertising agency structure includes, but is not limited to, the following key roles species DirectorAccount Executive/SupervisorAccount PlannerCopywriterProduction DesignerProduction DirectorMedia Buyer/PlannerCreative DirectorWeb DesignerTraffic Manager Say Goodbye to Regular 9 to 5 Hours All too often, inspired advertising is not produced in a traditional working week. Be prepared for long nights, weekends and a whole lot of rejection. The creative work is the heart and soul of any ad agency. Its the product. Which means it has to be great work. Its also subjective, so a great idea to one person is a complete head-scratcher to another. That means that, unlike an accountant, there are no right or wrong answers. You are at the whim of the creative director, who is at the whim of the client. The Client is Always Right Something you will discover very quickly is that money is power in advertising. With the exception of the powerhouse ad agencies (Crispin, Porter Bogusky, Weiden Kennedy, TBWAChiatDay) the clients have all the money and most of the power. So, be prepared to have your 120 creative ideas flushed down the toilet in favor of a Frankensteins monster of an ad that the client designed with his or her daughter and the babysitter. S mart Creatives Are Highly-Prized Possessions You have the ideas that make the agency successful, and thus, you will be treated like a king when you get it right. Keep doing it for a few decades, and you will one day have your name on the door of the agency, joining the ranks of Bill Bernbach, Tim Delaney, David Abbott, Leo Burnett and many more. Work hard, and you can carve your name into the advertising history books and earn a handsome living doing it. The Roles of the Account Teams On the other side of the coin, working in accounts has its ups and downs as well. Despite what you want to hear, you are there to serve the creative work. Heres just a short list of what various account service roles entail Expect to work equally long hours as the creativesBe prepared to fight for work that you may not agree withKnow how to formulate a solid strategyLearn to service the client without giving in to every requestBalance a budget and meet firm deadlinesPresent work, often several tim esWork closely with the creative directorBe a diplomatAssist with production of TV and video shoots Knowing When to Say Yes or No You have a client to satisfy, and will often be caught between the two worlds. If you work for an ad agency that values great work above billings, you will be fine. If you work for an agency concerned only with the bottom line, expect to get your head bitten off regularly by the frustrated creatives who see their work limping back to the agency as a shadow of its former self. Go Beyond the Walls of the Agency Theres more to life in advertising than just doing the work. Advertising is part of pop culture, and to be good at it you have to immerse yourself in it. Which means that, as a good ad agency employee, you will involve yourself in many extra-curricular activities that expand your mind and your horizons. You should Take vacations that expand your mindRead interesting and diverse books, magazines, ?and blogsSee more than the usual moviesGo to t he theaterWrite a blogRead newspapers and magazines outside of the industryTake up some interesting hobbies A well-furnished mind is a good advertising brain. The best agencies will expect you to fill yours with experiences that will benefit the work, so if youre a social wallflower, advertising is not for you. Its mora About Working Hard Than Playing Hard When it comes to the decadence and debauchery, saying that it doesnt happen anymore, anywhere, would be disingenuous. Dont expect to lead the life of a rock-star by working in advertising. While its true that a certain amount of exuberance and decadence used to proliferate the profession (Mad Men is one such example), it has all but vanished since the stock market collapse of the late eighties. These days, just like any other profession, its all about working hard and making money. Keep your head down, and its a fantastic and rewarding career that can take you all around the world.