Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor Trainee Program

I got a call from a recruiter. It's about financial advisor trainee program in Merrill Lynch BOA. Although the position is not what I want, the company name is freaking big. I am going to go for it. I have done some research about the interview process online. It has many sessions, including phone interview, aptitude test, 1:1 interview, group interview. It's not gonna be easy, which is good. I can practice my interview skills. I wish it could go well.

FDM Group, Entry-level Business Analyst

It's funny. I ran into a scam company again. This is a totally different type of scam. The company is called FDM Group. It has a program which provides candidates 8 weeks to 12 weeks training. The interviewer said it would be about SQL. To get into the program, you need to go through the introduction session, logic test and a 1:1 interviewer. After the training, you are guaranteed to work in some blue-chip companies for 2 years. Blue-chip companies include HSBC, UBS, CITIGROUP, etc. The interviewer Liz asked me whether I want to relocate to Hongkong or London and whether I speak Cantonese and Mandarin, which made me desire this position. I thought it was a very good chance to get back to Hongkong with a nice job in HSBC. Liz sent me an interview confirmation email, asking me to go for an interview next Tuesday. I then started to search this company online. It turns out to be a scam! WTF! People said the contract tied you into a 2-year contract before you start your training. If you quit the program, you have to pay the company $20,000. However, the company has right to kick you out without any reason anytime. Some people said the company didn't get them job related to programming. FDM forced them to accept jobs like calling IT support, and the salary is way below the market rate. FDM takes commission from your salary! Some people said the training is no good! Material is from internet. You can totally get it from internet by yourself.

I will still go for the interview, just to have some interview experience and take a very good at the contract. But, I won't sign the contract.

The tea station boss Michael called me today, noticing me that I am assigned to work in the tea station in Brooklyn for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am to go to the tea shop next Wednesday to meet up with people and have an orientation. It is actually not bad. Because working part-time on weekends won't conflict with interviews. But Brooklyn is quite far. It's gonna take more than one hour I guess.

Huang Ma is very nice person. She just introduced me to a church person who's working in an insurance company. She said her company's hiring accounting position. She would email me the description of the position tomorrow. And I need to send her the information of my insurance. I'm going to church tomorrow for probably the very last time, since next week I gonna do the part-time job on Saturday. The work ends at 17:00, so I'm not gonna make it to church. It's kind of good thing, because I'm not a fan of religion...

Best Luck to me. :)

I went to downtown Manhattan to meet up with Kevin Zhang, a financial engineering alumni from CGU. He's pretty nice and funny guy. We had a good time. He's working as a temp in a small consulting company, earning $25/hour. The company wouldn't offer H-1 visa, so Kevin doesn't have much time left. He told me he came to NY last September and couldn't find any job until this July. Geez... it was a long time!!! Sean is doing in Bloomberg as a temp. It seems that temp is a good way to go. Kevin actually got couple interviews from big companies, such as JPMorgan, Citi, HSBC...but he couldn't get into final round. I guess the lack of work experience and communication skill is crucial. Damn, it seems to be so hard. I dont know... Anyway, I will keep trying until I don't see hope any more.

I got a call today when I was in downtown Manhattan. It was such a mistake!!! The call was from a company!!! It was so noisy that I could hardly understand what she said! It was a horrible experience! It teaches me that never pick up unknown phone when you are not prepared!

Trading company

It seems that there are a lot trading company hiring people. What they require you to do is to open an account with your own initial capital, which is $2500. The company will assign some experienced traders to train you and guide you. You don't have any salary. All of the compensation is based on how much you earn to your account. If you do good in trading, the company would raise you to an official trader.

I got a call from this company Diamond Trading Group. It offers me this chance to be a trader. The number is 646-399-1430. It doesn't sponsor H-1 visa. But still it's a source.

I just called the Starline Alliance Capital Partner, which invited me to its career open house today. It turned out to be another trading company and it requires $5000 initial capital contribution. The phone number is 212-931-6848. The website is http://www.staralliancecapital.com/dimensiontrading/.

I can't believe that I totally forgot this blog. I guess that is because I stopped hunting for job for a while.

Now I have graduated and have moved to Jersey City, which is only a few subway stops away from Manhattan New York.

I have to mention about one person before I report what I have done recently. This person is Eric Cao. He is a very straight forward person. He would express whatever is in his mind to me without any modification. Although I feel being disrespected sometimes, I have to say I learn many things from him. He gives me pressure and advice to learn, to grow up, and to live and think like a mature person. I am very grateful to him.

Below are my weaknesses in general:

1. Messy, not organized

2. Doesn't plan forehead, not enough pre-action

3. Not purpose-oriented, give up very easily

4. Doesn't think hard enough

5. Not responsible

Below are my weaknesses in job hunting:

1. Language, communication skill

2. Weak resume

3. Not focus on one area

4. Not enough programming knowledge

5. Not prepared for interview

What should I do to improve myself in general?

1. Keep my room and my desk clean and organized

2. Plan things ahead and stick to schedule

3. Think about what I need and figure out a way to get it

4. Try to be responsible. Admit the mistakes I make

5. Know what to do, learn to reject people and don't waste time on unnecessary stuff

What should I do to improve myself in career?

1. Practice English. Watch English Talk Show, Friends, News. Read English Books. Go out and meet ppl and talk to them (using meetup.com).

2. Write different resumes specific to different positions

3. Read more about Hedge Fund news, website and books

4. Study VBA

5. Practice for interview

consulting

I have attended the Information Session of Bain & Company last night at CMC. I am pretty interested in consulting job now. I really hope that I can have a chance to get into it. Through the presentation, I know that the job will be very intense and challenging. And an important thing for consultant is to relax, and make friends with colleagues. Because it is crucial that ppl can get together and talk about case fluently and with open mind! After the presentation, I talked to Craig, and another man whose name I forget... I made a mistake!!! I should take his business card!! Anyways, I get Craig's card, but we didn't talk that much...

After the presentation, I went back home and applied for job in B&C. And also, I applied jobs on Boston Consulting Group as well! I hope there's good news!