YCIF - Managing Your Career... In a Downturn

The Young Canadians In Finance team hosted a phenomenal event tonight titled: "Managing your career... In a downturn" and it was hosted by Fraser, Milner and Casgrain and was MC'd by Bill Vlaad of Vlaad & Co, one of the top recruitment firm in Toronto. The main speaker was Brent Belzberg, Senior Managing Director and Founder of Torquest capital partners.

The theme of the talk was about the lessons to be learned in a recession (the ones that can't be taught in school) and how credibility and reputation are the only true assets that anyone really has. While things may seem bleak for most of us, especially the ones who are looking to get out of the gate running, a depressed economy with few opportunities can certainly strain our ability to perform to our full potential.

Although readily admitting that his circumstances were much different, Brent was gracious to the audience by attesting to the competitive environment we were in and gave those of us with "irregular" backgrounds hope for still being able to pursue our interests if we showed the right traits. Bill had previously expounded that the two most important qualities of candidates in his mind were integrity and passion. Brent built on this point by saying that technical skills are table stakes, that without them you can't expect to perform in the most junior roles. However, he was also quick to point out that you can't expect to succeed in this business if you are lacking in the fundamental ability to build relationships. This is a common theme I've heard, specifically as it relates to the "magic line" between moving from an Associate to a VP.

The talk was very informative and enjoyable (the open bar didn't hurt) and it is always good to meet people from different walks of life with similar interests.