Monday, October 13, 2008

The Sisyphean Challenge


"As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, but before he could reach the top of the hill, the rock would always roll back down again, forcing him to begin again" (thanks Wikipedia).

As markets continue to decay, you might be feeling the pain from this Sisyphean task of securing a job on Wall St.. You are not alone. You and me, along with everyone else on the Street, are wondering where we will be in a year from now. How is this credit crisis and economic recession going to shake out? Which bank is next on the chopping block?

I left my crystal ball back in my cubicle at the bank I interned with last summer - so my apologies for not answering these questions. Many of us will have to accept the reality that Plan A is not feasible and turn our energies to Plan B and C. Unfortunately, in a game of musical chairs, no participant can control when the music is going to stop.

I can't tell everyone that their hopes will be fulfilled, but I can say that pushing the boulder upwards will make you stronger. Keep pushing but find a way to hedge your efforts. Start exploring Plan B and Plan C. There is plenty of opportunity to come back to Wall St. as an Associate after an MBA.



5 comments:

Ming Min Hui said...

This might come off as an overly philosophical take on the myth of sisyphus that has nothing to do with finance, but think again =)

http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/hell/camus.html

David Calder said...

Minhui-

I'm having trouble interpreting your comment. Can you clarify?

I'm using the myth of Sisyphus in an allegorical sense. A "Sisyphean task" or "Sisyphean challenge" is a proper form of speech.

see: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sisyphean

Thanks for the comment.

james hill said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

"There is plenty of opportunity to come back to Wall St. as an Associate after an MBA."'

I am curious to know how? Now that the class of 2009 have all graduated, do you think you could post about this topic?

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