executive search firm
Richelle Konian, member of the University at Albany Alumni Association Board of Directors and School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board, will serve as the Committee Chair of the Excellence Awards for 2014 after serving several years on the Awards Committee. Richelle also was a recipient of the Excellence Awards in 2008 and received the “Outstanding Young Alumni” award.
Learn more about the Excellence Awards and alumni accomplishments at http://www.albany.edu/alumni/excellence_awards.php
Richelle Konian was a panelist for a networking event hosted by University of Albany January 9th in New York City. Business students enjoyed the opportunity to network with NYC-area alumni over winter break.
Published: Tuesday, 19 Jul 2011 | 12:46 PM ET
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Call it the Cadillac of online MBA degrees.
Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill began its first ever online MBA program this month. The $89,000 price tag for the new online degree has been causing sticker shock. But, the concept has been around for a while.
Indiana University Kelley School of Business launched its online MBA program before YouTube, Facebook and iTunes dominated the web. Indiana’s “Kelley Direct” degree began its course load in 1999.
According to the university, the online MBA degree from Kelley Direct costs $60,000 compared to $32,000 when the program began. The cost per credit hour has almost doubled in the past 12 years. It’s now $1,145 versus $625.
Despite the tuition increases, enrollment has been growing steadily over the past five years. In 2006 it had 1,150 students. Last year that number grew to 1,630. The school says Kelly Direct has been getting a record number of applications. They were up by 20 percent last year.
“If a student is making $60,000 a year before they come back to school, then they lose $120,000 in income,” said Indiana University Kelley School Of Business Dean Daniel Smith. “Then, you add tuition for the in-residence program and the uncertainty of the job market and it becomes very expensive. You see why online education at leading business schools just like Indiana, for example, has really taken off.”
As the popularity rises, the worthiness of an online MBA degree has become more controversial.
“One of the questions a lot of employers have is that is this as good as a degree as an in-residence program? We say ‘yes’ because we use the same exact faculty as in our full-time program,” said Dean Smith.
Dean Smith adds most Kelley Direct graduates earn 20 percent more when they complete the program—or just shy of a six-figure-a-year salary.
The Graduate Management Admission Council does not track how many online MBA graduates are out there or how they fare in the job market.
Even though an increasing number of students are racking up MBA credits online, it appears job market acceptance rates are lagging.
Careers On The Move CEO Richelle Konian recruits talent for Wall Street firms and Fortune 500 companies. She said it’s important to remember that an MBA does not guarantee you a job.
Konian said, “The rate of success at traditional MBA programs as to an online MBA clearly shows employers’ preferences with traditional MBAs from tier one schools.”
She acknowledges there is a market for online MBA degrees for those who have already gotten in the door. Konian added that if your only option to move up the corporate ladder is by taking online classes, then it could be worth the time and money.
“We have seen an increase in entry-level sales related positions by smaller and medium sized firms. In the current economy, a good portion of the job requisitions we receive have been for sales positions. Some of our clients are finding hiring fresh, aggressive recent college graduates a way to increase revenue at lower overhead costs. One client, a medium sized investment banking firm in CA, has a preference to hire recent college graduates to their sales force, and train new recruits according to the company’s sales culture. Recent college graduates are desirable in volatile markets when headcounts and salaries are constantly being evaluated.”
– Richelle Konian, Principal, Careers On The Move
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Chess is a game of strategy, critical thinking and analytical skill. So is investing money, making a chess website the perfect birthplace for Long Island’s newest hedge fund.
Bohemia-based Genius Hedge Fund, formed in January by serial entrepreneur A.J. Caro and his two Toronto-based associates, is slowly gaining momentum in a post-Madoff world of skittish investors who are content to sock their money safely away in banks. The three game enthusiasts think their fund will be a success based on their chess-cultivated analytical skills, computer technology experience and network of contacts.
Caro first met Alex Rabinovich, who won a junior world championship for chess as a teen, on an online chess forum in 2002; Rabinovich was teaching Caro, a social chess player, some tricks. Even though they were in two different countries, the relationship flourished and grew over the years into a close friendship and business partnership. Rabinovich met Victor Plotkin, a professional financial investor, on another chess website in 2004 and a few years later, after many trips back and forth between Toronto and Bohemia, the three decided to start up the Genius Hedge Fund.
The trio officially launched the fund in January, and Caro has the utmost confidence in his partners, explaining that their chess abilities are what have helped the Genius Hedge Fund, so named because all three have IQs above the genius level, generate more than 18 percent returns on the money under management so far.
“He has an amazing gift for analytics,” Caro said of Rabinovich. “It’s very clear – his ability to see what most don’t see, sequences and patterns and how they correlate into investing.”
Analytical skills honed by chess are a desirable trait in the finance world. Richelle Konian, a Manhattan-based recruiter for financial firms across the tri-state area, said analytical skills are highly desired by employers. “Games like chess and poker, if you are really good at it, would translate into quantitative skills,” Konian said. Of the 60,000 resumes in her applicant database, 400 have listed chess as an activity, she noted.
Robert Frey, a former managing director at East Setauket-based hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, who started his own Port Jefferson-based fund of hedge funds, said it is not at all unusual that a group of chess buddies decided to start up a hedge fund. Working at a hedge fund is an exceptionally demanding job intellectually, and many people who enjoy those challenges gravitate toward mentally stimulating hobbies, like chess, he said.
Even with a chess champion on staff, Caro has had to work extra hard to avoid the Bernie Madoff-Nick Cosmo fraudster taint. He uses his experience and track record with his seven other businesses, including a licensed insurance agency, the ever-growing Arrow Security and a marketing firm, to give the Genius Hedge Fund credibility.
“I’m an established business person,” Caro said.
If something were to go wrong in his hedge fund, there would be serious ramifications for his other ventures, he said. Caro is taking the plunge with the hedge fund because of his trust in Rabinovich and Plotkin.
So far, the partnership has worked. Since the fund’s founding nearly a year ago, the associates have brought in a total of $1 million to manage, Caro said. Frey said while $1 million is not much to start with, it’s enough to figure out whether or not the business will sink or swim. He started FQS Capital with $120 million, but he has many connections to investors from his Renaissance Technologies experience.
“It’s not something that could sustain the fund,” Frey said, explaining that hedge funds are expensive to run because of the cost of the talented, highly educated staff, subscription to databases and new computers.
Hedge funds need to get to the $100 million under assets mark to be viable, Frey said.
Caro’s sights are not set quite that high just yet. He aims to have $10 million under management by the end of 2011. To start up the Genius Hedge Fund, the three partners went to their friends and family for money, a tactic reminiscent of Madoff and Cosmo, but a common one in any startup business, Frey emphasized.
“Like any business, you go to friends and family, people who have faith in you,” Frey said.
Caro plans on branching out his network of investors beyond his kin as soon as possible. Just last week he hired a business development manager who will begin a marketing and sales campaign. Caro added that Rabinovich and Plotkin have discussed deals with investors in Zurich, Manhattan and Israel lately, a sign that the Genius Hedge Fund has wide appeal.
While January seemed like the worst time to start a hedge fund, Caro’s said that now is the best time to make money, when interest rates on other investment options are low.
“Our success will be based on public awareness that the fund exists at this point and that it’s a good solid investment alternative,” Caro said.
Copyright 2010 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
The annual School of Business NYC event, held at the Hard Rock Cafe this year, featured a “Conversation with the President.”
University at Albany President George Phillips and School of Business Dean Donald Siegel attended and fielded questions from the crowd. Richelle Konian ’95, CEO, Careers On The Move, and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, moderated the event.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A fixed-income trading boom fueled profits across Wall Street last year and is sparking hiring this year, recruiters say, as banks hope for a repeat performance in 2010.
RY.TO), Jefferies Group (JEF.N) and Nomura Holdings’ (8604.T) U.S. unit as primary dealers of U.S. Treasury securities. These companies have since splashed out on hiring traders and sales people to support this new business.BARC.L), and Jeffrey Michaels from Citigroup Inc (C.N) to co-head its fixed income business in the Americas. The pair, who joined in October, said they plan to hire more people.MF.N), which does not have primary dealer status, has hired staff in anticipation of getting the Fed’s green light.
“There’s been a fair amount of musical chairs in fixed income,” said Lisa Zonino, a consultant at search firm Egon Zehnder in New York.
Banks that did well are hiring because they expect more business, while banks that did not do so well are hiring because they want to catch up with competitors, Zonino said.
The super-liquid markets for bonds, interest rates and currencies have gained appeal for banks and their customers, who are still smarting from losses on complex debt securities and stocks that plummeted amid the financial crisis.
The game of musical chairs began in earnest last year when the New York Federal Reserve named RBC Capital Markets (
Nomura hired Charles Spero, previously at Barclays (
Jefferies also built out its fixed income business with hires in Europe and Asia. Futures and options broker MF Global (
Still, at the larger banks, it’s hard to tell whether new positions in fixed income are being created or if the hiring is simply to replace employees poached by the new entrants.
Certainly, headcount levels across Wall Street are still lower than before the financial crisis, according to Richelle Konian, co-founder and Chief Executive of search firm Careers On The Move.
And there is a preference for hiring cheaper, more junior staff rather than splashing out on top managing directors, Konian said. “People are being very cost-conscious right now with hires,” she added.
The exception is for senior executives with proven client relationships, said Gary Goldstein, founder and president of recruiting firm Whitney Group.
“There seems to be a fair amount of activity looking for senior coverage,” he said.
(Reporting by Elinor Comlay. Editing by Robert MacMillan)
Richelle Konian, CEO and Co-founder of Careers On The Move, a boutique executive search firm in Manhattan, was interviewed and quoted in the following article. For further company information, please visit www.CareersOnTheMove.com
Good Background, Strong Skills – And No Job?
by Myra Thomas – February 4, 2009
Despite a perfect resume, flawless references and years of experience, some finance professionals are finding it difficult to land a job suitable to their skills. Even people who’ve put in time at Big Four accounting firms or well-known investment banks have sometimes gotten less-than-receptive reactions from prospective employers.
According to Richelle Konian, co-owner of New York City-based Careers on the Move, an executive recruiting firm focused on the finance field, many professionals are simply missing the right opportunity by not specializing in one sector or another.
To understand what specialties are in demand and what areas of the country are particularly receptive to someone with your background, Konian says it’s essential to stay abreast of the marketplace. You might find out there are simply too many people with the right credentials vying for the same position in your state. ”If someone advertises now for a financial analyst, you might see hundreds of resumes from qualified individuals,” she notes.
Probably the biggest failure most professionals make is not keeping their appearance, education or networking skills up-to-date. When they’re busy and times are good, people often let such tasks go, Konian says. Eventually, however, they’ll need to go out on that job search again. When they do, it’s important to be properly attired, equipped with up-to-the-minute knowledge about their business, and a personal network to help them find a new position.
”Contemporary executives shouldn’t be afraid to use technology to distinguish themselves from the competition,” says Don Straits, CEO of Corporate Warriors, a corporate outplacement, executive coaching, and career management firm based in Sacramento. An online resume that highlights financial accomplishments goes a long way toward piquing the interest of a human resources manager. So can including a video introduction of yourself on the site.
Straits adds that many resumes resemble tombstones. ”Far too much time is spent talking about the skills of the past, and far too little emphasis is placed on the executive’s ability to generate bottom line results,” he says. ”A better way to do it might be something like, ‘For the past four years, while I was a key member of the team, I helped to generate annual revenue growth in excess of $4 million a year as illustrated by the following graph.’ ”
First published June 14, 2006
Richelle Konian, CEO and Co-founder of Careers On The Move, a boutique executive search firm in Manhattan, was interviewed and quoted in the following article. For further company information, please visit: www.CareersOnTheMove.com
Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:05pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) – As the financial crisis bites deeper, laid off Wall Street employees used to fielding calls from head-hunters or hearing of jobs through their contacts are searching for new ways to find work.
And sometimes they get to drown their miseries at the same time.
One such opportunity was a “Pink Slip Party” at a midtown Manhattan bar on Tuesday night which drew about 500 people who enjoyed cheap drinks, networking, and a chance to find a new job with the 25 recruiting firms that attended.
The cover price at the party, sponsored by theLadders.com, an online recruiting firm, and Wall Street blog Dealbreakers.com, was $20, or roughly what a employed Wall Streeter would normally drop for a midtown Manhattan martini.
About 13,000 Wall Street jobs have been cut this year and that number could swell to 35,000 by the time the crisis is over, the New York State Comptroller’s office estimates.
At the Pink Slip Party Wall Street workers wore pink neon glow bracelets to show their unemployed status exchanged cards and resumes with recruiters. Many seemed resigned to a long and perhaps fruitless search.
“I’m getting interviews, but the feedback that you get is that they put (the job) on hold,” said Dave Cerza, who was laid off from insurance and financial services company AXA in February after working there for eight years.
“A lot of these people that are in this room are not going to have jobs in this industry,” said job-seeker Kevin McKiernan.
BE REASONABLE
Some of the largest firms on Wall Street have either collapsed or been restructured in the aftermath of the credit crisis that hit wall street earlier this year.
The 150-year-old investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in mid-September and Bear Stearns, another large investment bank was sold to JP Morgan.
Jobs may now be in short supply but advice on how to find one was plentiful on Tuesday night. The consensus among recruiters: keep expectations in check.
“Be reasonable,” advised Jack Roth, the managing partner of Distributed Technology Solutions, which specializes in technology jobs in financial services.
Flexibility is also important, recruiters said.
“A lot of people think, I’m going to get the same job I had. That’s not necessarily true,” said Richelle Konian, CEO of the recruiting firm Careers on the Move.
Some recruiters offered advice on dealing with the emotional frustration of getting the dreaded pink slip.
“Release your anger. Write an angry note to your boss, put it in an envelope and tear it up,” said Lou Casale, vice president of corporate communications at TheLadders.com.
McKiernan has resigned himself to spending time with his family and working on his “bucket list” — the list of things to do before he “kicks the bucket”, or dies — before looking in earnest next year when there may be more jobs open.
“Maybe I have to broaden my horizons to another industry,” McKiernan said. “In the meantime, I’m jumping out of a plane.”
(Editing by Daniel Trotta and David Storey)
Richelle Konian, CEO and Co-founder of Careers On The Move, a boutique executive search firm in Manhattan, was interviewed and quoted in the following article. For further company information, please visit: www.CareersOnTheMove.com
Think Carefully When Weighing Counter Offers
by Myra A. Thomas in New Jersey – July 24, 2007
Accounting professionals in New York and New Jersey are obviously happy to find more than one employer is vying for their talents, says Richelle Konian, a partner at New York City-based Careers on the Move, an executive recruiter serving the financial services industry. “Firms are paying more, since most people are getting more than one offer. This means that companies need to commit to an offer quicker, and they are being a bit more flexible on the qualifications, as well.” In the past, she says, employers weren’t satisfied with accountants who might possess most of the skills sets for the position. “They wanted people with 100 percent of the skills.”
Today, however, with the area market tight, “they are willing to take someone with 85 percent of the required skills, and are ready to train them in the rest.”
Jeanne E. Branthover, managing director and head of the global financial services practice for search firm Boyden, agrees. “People now have a choice of where they want to move and what they want to make,” she says. “It’s becoming harder and harder to recruit.”
Still, Branthover cautions to look before you leap, and to think twice before accepting any counteroffers your current employer might make. “We’re finding that when clients are telling their current employer that they are leaving and that they have an offer, they are getting large counteroffers – larger than we have seen in some time – to stay,” she says. “We’ve seen people tell their employer that they are leaving and the firm’s partners simply won’t accept the decision. They’re then wined and dined and descended on with nice lunches and more.”
Before you accept the counteroffer, consider why you thought about leaving in the first place, says Branthover. “Money is wonderful, (but) you need to make sure the role or the situation that made you want to leave is going to change for the better,” she suggests. “Most of the time people are looking to change jobs because they’re unhappy with the conditions, and not necessarily the cash.”
Money Does Talk
Today, with salaries on the rise in the region, CFOs and controllers, especially those working in financial services firms, are able to command larger salaries, bigger bonuses, and more job guarantees than in the past, says Branthover. Although bonuses generally come in February, many have been able to get a guarantee of a partial position after about six months on the job, along with a raise, as well.
“Even those in middle-level positions are seeing greater increases, with pay up some 20 percent and more in the package deals,” Branthover notes. There are now upfront guarantees and more offers of business equity, though she adds equity isn’t the big lure that it used to be. “People want to know about the cash,” she says.
