Merrill Lynch Chat Transcript - Finance Job Interview(金融　仕事　面接)

Versatility is a Virtue: Making it Work in a Challenging Marketplace
Carlos Valle: Managing Director & Global Business Head, Recruiting

WetFeet: Welcome to the Fall 2001 Merrill Lynch chat, brought to you by WetFeet.com.
Carlos Valle: Good evening, everyone. Thanks for joining us tonight. As a matter of background, if you haven't had a chance to review my bio, I've been with Merrill Lynch's Corporate and Institutional Client Group (CICG) for 13 years. CICG focuses on investment banking services and capital market services worldwide for issuing corporate and investing institutions. Given this background, the bulk of my answers will be driven by my knowledge of this business sector of Merrill Lynch. I'll try my best to address questions that you might have about our private client business and our investment management business.
Rocco: To whom do I send my resume?
Carlos Valle: This is a question that a lot of you have asked in the past. Every person interested in a job opportunity at Merrill Lynch must submit their credentials through our website. Our website posts all of the jobs available throughout all Merrill Lynch divisions, gives descriptions of the requirements of the jobs, and provides for an online submission of personal information and resumes. You can reach us at www.ml.com/careers.

Mila Moore: What is the most challenging part of your job?
Carlos Valle: The most challenging part of my job is effectively managing the demands of both an intellectually demanding job with a balanced life of family, friends and other community responsibilities. Much has been said about the intense working hours related with a banking career, but I can assure you that if you're disciplined, efficient and committed to maintaining a balance, it is very achievable.

R Bat Darden: How will Merrill's job cuts (Wall Street Journal stated over 10,000 cuts) affect your MBA recruiting this season - particularly for summer interns?
Carlos Valle: Merrill Lynch's strategy specifically within CICG is to hire our full-time employees out of our summer internship process. Therefore, we size our summer classes based on our expectations of full-time need at the time of graduation. As such, the decisions that we will be making as it pertains to our 2002 summer internships will reflect our expectations of full-time employee requirements in the Fall of 2003. We are currently in the process of determining what those requirements will be for the Fall of 2003, and once we've agreed on that, we will then size our summer internships appropriately.

B Andres: Have you ever had to make difficult career decisions?
Carlos Valle: Every career decision involves risk. If you are not able to accept the risk, then it becomes a difficult career decision. On the other hand, if you embrace the risk and feel that the opportunity presented by that career decision supersedes your perceived risk, then you go into that opportunity with a much different mindset.

Ducks: How does the business differ in the offices located in other cities than New York?
Carlos Valle: Good question! Merrill Lynch strives to run our businesses with a global focus. Therefore, from our recruiting process to our training program to our ongoing development programs, we make sure that every Merrill Lynch employee, regardless of their geographical location, benefits from being in a global firm. For example, our training programs for incoming associates and analysts have a global focus. Regardless of your ultimate geographical assignment, all incoming associates and analysts are trained in one place. This ensures that everyone receives the same quality training, but more importantly, assists the incoming associates and analysts to immediately establish a global network within Merrill Lynch. Once you're in the firm, there are many opportunities throughout your career for assignments in different geographic locations. And as a firm, we support a personal initiative for a career path in different locales.

Carlo R: What is the most exciting opportunity you've had during your career?
Carlos Valle: I joined Merrill Lynch's High Yield group about 6 months before Drexel Burnham closed. So I thought my investment banking career was over in 6 months. Through support that I had developed in my short period at Merrill Lynch, I was given an opportunity to start a new business within a completely different division in Debt Markets instead of Investment Banking. Six years later, that business had grown to be a consistent business unit of Debt Markets and I was a managing director. So, what grew out of a most challenging situation was the opportunity that I needed to demonstrate my abilities.

Ulas: First of all I would like to thank Mr. Carlos Valle for giving us the opportunity to chat with him. My question is: what is the biggest challenge an analyst faces during his/her first two years?
Carlos Valle: The work demands of an analyst are very hard, and an analyst must in many cases be willing to sacrifice some well-planned personal time as a result of a business imperative. The ability to manage that and at the same time be able to utilize some time within an hour's notice for your own personal satisfaction is perhaps the biggest challenge. An analyst is not a master of his/her time but must also be quick to capitalize on any free time available for their personal relaxation and well-being. Mastering that time is the biggest challenge of an analyst's job, or a first-year associate's job, for that matter.

Liesl 226: Mr. Valle, I am very interested in pursuing a career with Merrill Lynch but as I have not graduated from an Ivy League university, I am afraid that the online application does not allow my resume to be noticed since I fall under the "others" category. Would appreciate if you can give me some tips on how to get my application "noticed".
Carlos Valle: I must admit that you're right. It is difficult for someone who does not go to one of our targeted recruiting schools to be noticed, given the large number of applications that we receive through our online system. My best advice to you is to establish a Merrill Lynch contact in the most efficient way that you see fit. Even though we might not hire directly at your school for our training programs, CICG does a significant amount of lateral hiring. Because of that, it is quite likely that some of your school's alumni are Merrill Lynch employees. I suggest that you research through your careers office or through your alumni relations office who is a Merrill Lynch employee that is also a graduate of your school, and you contact that individual and ask that person to become your sponsor through the recruiting process.

Jinkys: What's the most common mistake you see students make when interviewing?
Carlos Valle: Believe it or not, the most common mistake that I see students making is not being completely knowledgeable about what they've written in their resumes and the implications of what they have written. If you go into an interview, the resume is your calling card. And everything that you say and you focus on and you try to get across during an interview needs to be reflected in what you've written and stated in your resume. So make sure of what you've written. Be completely factual; do not embellish; and be in complete control of the knowledge that is required to defend what you have written.

Akhil: How long have you been with Merrill Lynch, and if you could go back in time what would you do differently?
Carlos Valle: I have been with Merrill Lynch for 13 years. I don't think I would have done anything differently. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch and immediately after graduate school, I was on the "buy side". Even though it wasn't investment banking, I felt that it was a sound base and tremendous experience that was a building block for my career within Merrill Lynch. I have had numerous job assignments in the time I've been at Merrill Lynch, and I have enjoyed each and every one of them, and I view all of them as incremental experience in what I've done. So quite honestly, there's nothing I would have done differently.

WetFeet: Is it important to have had an educational background in finance, or do you consider applicants with all types of academic backgrounds?
Carlos Valle: Let me be really clear about this. The answer to your question is unequivocally no. It is not a requirement to have a background in finance to earn a job at an investment bank. Having said that, two things are critical.

Carlos Valle: 1) You need to demonstrate that you have knowledge of financial services and the business that we do. So, you might not have taken a finance class, but you better have a very good understanding how our business operates and the important business services that we provide.

Carlos Valle: 2) The burden of proof will be on you to demonstrate that in the background that you have you can point to specific skill sets or experiences that demonstrate that you meet the basic requirements of a job as an analyst or associate in an investment bank. Namely, your background and your experiences or your independent studies, if you will, need to show us that you have demonstrated analytical capacity or capability, outstanding written and oral communication skills, proven leadership, ability to work in teams, and a strong passion for financial services and the business that we do. So the only difference is without a finance background, as I said, the burden falls on you to demonstrate that you have the skill sets.

Winston Ma: Carlos, I was a capital markets attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell New York before attending Michigan Business School. How can I best leverage my legal experience in the finance industry?
Carlos Valle: Again specifically talking about jobs in investment banking and Merrill Lynch's CICG business section, there are a number of jobs where a legal background are a strong asset. Specifically, mergers and acquisitions, coverage of financial sponsors and private equity firms, and some of our corporate finance product specialty groups. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't know, but I think that if you can demonstrate that you have effectively enhanced your legal background with your newly-acquired business knowledge, you will be a highly sought out individual for any one of these assignments.

Margaret: How did you decide that Merrill Lynch was the place for you?
Carlos Valle: There are a number of factors which in my opinion make someone happy at an organization. First is the job content. I knew that if I went to a firm that was a leader in its field, I was going to be on the cutting edge of market transactions and executions. I was going to be working with the best people in the business, and I was going to be challenged every step of the way. Second, and in my opinion equally important, you can only be happy at your job, particularly such a time-demanding job, if you're comfortable with the people you work with and the underlying values that the organization or the company pursues and lives by.

Carlos Valle: On that front, I feel that Merrill Lynch is quite unique in that certainly what I value in terms of integrity, respect for every person that you come in contact with and deal with, teamwork, and responsibity - giving back to the community that you live in - were very important factors in how I valued a culture. Therefore, Merrill Lynch was an easy fit for me from a cultural perspective. So if I happen to be a leader in the field that offers me a culture that is similar to the values that I hold dear, then it becomes a winning combination, and that is what you need to pursue.

HCL: We're Health Care Leadership Nursing Graduate Students at UPenn and are curious about Merrill Lynch in the Health Care arena. What can you tell us?
Carlos Valle: Merrill Lynch has a strong presence in serving health care clients in the research arena, from a provider perspective, from an insurance perspective, etc. There are many instances that I personally know of at Merrill Lynch where people that had had prior medical or health care backgrounds have made a successful transition into the banking side of the business. Having said that, your background helps in your industry focus, but you still need to demonstrate the necessary skill sets to perform the financial aspects related to that industry. So I applaud your focus in the industry given your background. Now all you have to do is focus on demonstrating your ability to do the job.

Margaret: What should we be doing now, as undergraduates, to demonstrate our potential?
Carlos Valle: Get excellent grades. If you're interested in this industry, do as much research as you can, not only on the industry but the company that you're interested in working for within the industry, and get involved in activities that will give you an opportunity to interact with individuals that can be helpful to you in providing introductions to people in the industry. Clearly focus on summer internships, since specifically at Merrill Lynch we aim to hire our full-time employees out of our summer programs.

JNA: How much does the US Private Client Leadership represent of Merrill's actual business.
Carlos Valle: Merrill Lynch & Company has three major businesses. Private Client, which is both U.S. and international. Investment Banking and Capital Market Services. And, Investment Management. One of the strengths of Merrill Lynch is the fact that the U.S. Private Client business is clearly a recognized leader in its field and provides a tremendous base of operations for the rest of our businesses. I would urge you if you want more specific details to review our annual report for specific information about percentage of revenues or profitability contributed by each one of our three business segments.

WetFeet: How should students outside of the U.S. go about applying for positions in different regions?
Carlos Valle: As I mentioned earlier, anyone that wants to apply for a position at Merrill Lynch must submit their application through our website. In the website, you will have an opportunity to direct your resume by division and by geography. Regardless of your current geographic location, the challenge remains not only to submit your application to us but to find a way to establish a contact within Merrill Lynch through your school or prior business involvement or experience and use that contact to further your application.

Rick S: Is it common for institutional sales people to be trained at corporate HQ (NYC) and then relocate to a field sales office, i.e. Boston, etc?
Carlos Valle: All of our training programs are global in nature. So whether you join Merrill Lynch as an analyst or associate, you will be trained in New York in an effort to ensure that everybody receives the same high quality training and receives exposure to the broader organization. Once your training has concluded, then everyone will be directed to their ultimate geographic location. It's also important to note that when we hire out of school, we focus on hiring for CICG as a whole and not for a specific location.

Akhil: Is it bad to say in the interview you are interested in Investment Banking because of the money?
Carlos Valle: Quite honestly it sounds pretty shallow to me. I think it is appropriate to say that you recognize the enormous demands that are placed on someone pursuing the career, but you also recognize that the financial rewards associated with such a career are quite enticing. That's a better way to put it.

Winston Ma: Merrill emphasizes diversity in its workforce. How do you perceive the link between a diverse workforce and firm performance?
Carlos Valle: That's an excellent question, Winston. We pursue diversity for a number of reasons. One is economic. Clearly Merrill Lynch is a global firm, which operates in many different countries and has clients that come from many different backgrounds and cultures. As such, given our client focus, we need to have an employee group that represents the same diversity of the clients that we serve.

Carlos Valle: More importantly, we also live and operate in communities around the world, and one of our key principles is responsible citizenship. Therefore, we must also make sure that our employees represent the cultural and background mix of the countries where we work. Then we can truly be focused on responsible citizenship and community service. And finally, and I speak obviously from personal experience. There is nothing more gratifying than a diverse work environment where your views and your outlook, not only in business situations but on life as a whole, are benefited by the opinions and views of a very diverse group of people that you work with. So all in all, this is not only about an economic benefit to the company but about making Merrill Lynch a better place to work.

WetFeet: What makes a resume stand out from the others and why? In addition, how important is relevant summer work prior to an internship or full-time employment at Merrill?
Carlos Valle: A resume, in my opinion, stands out if after I read it I can clearly see the three or four themes that you were trying to get across. You need to determine what are these three or four attributes that you possess that you want to make sure that someone clearly sees after they read your resume. And then whatever you write has to build on these three or four themes. Some of this focus should be on your work skills like quantitative, analytics, logic, interpersonal leadership, etc. Others should be about your ability to work under stressful environments. You pick what it is you want to say and then whatever you put on paper, your educational or work experience or any other area you decide to highlight, there must be a common thread throughout the areas that you're looking to highlight for us. Therefore in response to your question about summer experience, it only becomes relevant if the work you did served or proved to further highlight the attributes which you look to demonstrate through your resume.

Eric: Where do you think Merrill Lynch stands in relation to other bulge bracket firms?
Carlos Valle: I can answer that question quantitatively and tell you we are the world leader in underwriting of debt and equity securities, that we're consistently in the top 1, 2, or 3 of the advisory business or that we have $1.8 trillion of customer assets deposited with us, but I'm sure you knew all those numbers by heart already. I can tell you where we stand. We stand as a company committed to being a leader in every business that we feel we can be good at, and we are constantly re-examining and repositioning our company to make sure that we provide the absolute best focus to our clients' needs. I feel pretty bullish on our ability to remain a leader among the bulge bracket firms.

MB: How easy or difficult is it to move from Asset Management to Investment Banking - Corporate Finance?
Carlos Valle: I think I'm a live example of someone that did it. And I'll tell you my own personal experience. When I left grad school, I went to work on the buy side for an insurance company and specifically in their bond investment operations. I developed a clear expertise in credit analysis and securities pricing. I was able to demonstrate to the folks at Merrill Lynch that my background would be very useful when I was going to ask a client of Merrill Lynch to trust in me that I could sell their securities more effectively because of my credit background and pricing background. So, as with any job that you want to consider in terms of changing, you just have to demonstrate that the skill sets that you've developed in your prior experience not only are applicable to the new job that you want to pursue but, in fact, give you an advantage over anyone else that they would be considering for that position.

Akhil: Do you think there are an advantages to working at a smaller bank over the bulge bracket ones?
Carlos Valle: It's a matter of personal choice whether you want to work in a large organization or not. Clearly as it pertains to the larger organizations, there are a number of factors that would drive me to consider working for a larger firm. First, their resources. Undoubtedly a firm like Merrill Lynch is going to have significantly more resources at your disposal than a boutique. Second, is transaction flow. A firm like Merrill Lynch is going to give you significantly more transaction experiences over your career than if you worked at a smaller firm, and thirdly is opportunity for having a rejuvenating and successful career at one place.

Again, take my example. I joined Merrill Lynch in investment banking, then joined the Debt Markets group where I first worked in corporate bond trading, then syndicate, then sales and trading, and finally capital markets. After doing all that, I went back to investment banking to join the Private Equity group. And finally, I was asked to come offline to head up all CICG's recruiting efforts. So, in terms of challenging positions, I doubt seriously that a smaller organization is going to be able to offer you as many opportunities as a firm like Merrill Lynch.

R Bat Darden: How have your Merrill Lynch managers helped you in your career development and/or advancement?
Carlos Valle: I just reviewed for you my career path at Merrill Lynch. I can be very clear about it. I've had a number of different jobs at Merrill Lynch, and not a single one did I find through a job posting or a bulletin board. Each job opportunity I've been given has arisen out of my supervisor directing me towards an opportunity or out of my own pursuit. Even in those situations where job opportunities materialize out of my own pursuit, I have always received the complete backing of everyone I have worked for in the career decisions that I have made. So from that perspective, I would say that Merrill Lynch for me has stood out as a place that has encouraged moves that have clearly served to develop my knowledge base, my breadth of experiences, and ultimately, in my opinion, have helped me become a more valuable employee for the firm.

Michael: Is movement between the three major business - Private Client, Investment Banking/Capital Markets and Investment Management - typical during one's career at ML?
Carlos Valle: There is no such thing as a typical movement. Senior level positions are not going to be advertised. Having said that, even though you work in investment banking, for example, you are going to have significant interaction with your counterparts in other businesses because we do offer a one-firm approach to our clients. Through those contacts, you will develop knowledge of opportunities in other areas either through your own pursuit or through active calling by the folks you come in contact with. And then it's up to you to decide whether you want to pursue that opportunity in another division or not. That decision will be based on many factors, one of which is the state of your career and where you'll have the opportunity to make a clear personal mark in the fastest way.

Kevin: Versatility is a virtue, but how can I best sell my versatility when job ads place emphasis on previous experience in a particular highly specialized role?
Carlos Valle: I don't think a highly specialized role truly exists. Unless you're a heart surgeon. In our business, you might focus on a given industry or given product, but unless you remain abreast of everything that affects your clients, you will fail even at the task that you feel that you're an expert at. What I mean by versatility is the ability to have a personal drive and a skill set that can adapt to the changing needs of your clients as a result of market conditions or any other change that affects it . We obviously have a very clear example from what happened on September 11th. So versatility should be about your adaptability to react to a constantly changing environment and not necessarily about doing many different things at once.

Bill CFA candidate: In Canada, bonds are going online to create a more efficient market. Do you see the U.S. bond market moving that way?
Carlos Valle: As you know, there are a number of online exchanges that have been actively supported by Wall Street firms. Specifically, Bond Book, and Market Access. Those exchanges had begun to show some active usage prior to September 11th. Beyond that, the need for liquidity by some of the active participants in the market has perhaps driven the participants directly to the intermediaries and away from the online systems. I believe that there is a commitment not only from an efficiency perspective but from a cost perspective to move toward a more electronic market, but I also believe that it will take some time before that market becomes a major force in the institutional bond business.

WetFeet: What sets Merrill apart from the rest of the crowd, either within its competitive marketplace or amongst successful companies worldwide?
Carlos Valle: I think there are a couple things that will set any company apart. One is its ability to manage a very delicate balance between responsibilities to clients, employees and shareholders. I think that Merrill Lynch has always been managed with the importance of those three constituents in mind. Therefore, Merrill Lynch will remain a market leader in terms of services to our clients, both in the advisory business as well as in the capital access business as it pertains to its employees.

Carlos Valle: Merrill Lynch will continue to strive to be a rewarding workplace in terms of the job content, the financial rewards, and a great work environment for its employees. For shareholders, and I must point out that I believe that 35 percent or so of the company is owned by its own employees, Merrill Lynch will continue to focus on delivering outstanding returns and therefore growth in the stock. So that's what sets Merrill Lynch apart: maintaining a keen eye on these three constituents.

Carlos Valle: If you want to know what we're about, I urge you to read about us and specifically focus on how we live and practice our principles, which are client focus, teamwork, respect for the individual, integrity, and responsible citizenship.

Carlos Valle: Thanks everybody for joining us. Please keep a keen interest in us as we do in you, and we'll see you on our website.

WetFeet: Thank you for attending the Fall 2001 Merrill Lynch chat, brought to you by WetFeet.com. The transcript of today's chat will be archived on Merrill Lynch's company profile on WetFeet.com for your future reference.