Out of work for six months and desperate to find a job, one innovative New Yorker donned his new power suit — a sandwich board — and hit the streets of Manhattan to lure potential employers.
"Experienced MIT Grad For Hire!" read 48-year-old Joshua Persky's advertisement as he paraded around midtown Manhattan, a key location for commercial banks and investment houses.
He was also just blocks away from where he worked for two years as a valuations consultant for Houlihan Lokey, a mid-cap investment bank, before he was laid off.
"I chose that area because that's where the money is. There is always people strolling outside around lunch time. I've handed out a lot of resumes and gotten some leads but no offers yet," said Persky.
The job seeker has encountered many well wishers, and offers of potential jobs across the country and the world, but nothing concrete in New York yet.
"Yesterday, I received a phone call from a recruiter in Singapore, who was looking for a quantitative hedging specialist for its Tokyo office. I've also been contacted by a hedge fund in Boca Raton, whose looking for someone to value derivatives," he said.
He recently interviewed with a hedge fund and investment bank but said competition is fierce given the rising tide of unemployment in the financial industry.
"Big commercial and investment banks are laying off all kinds of people. It started back with the subprime mess and the situation has gotten worse and worse," said Persky.
Two weeks ago he was forced to leave his Upper East Side Manahattan apartment and move in with a friend, while his wife and two children have temporarily relocated to Omaha, Nebraska to stay with family.
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