Category Archives: Job Hunting

Hiring in a Dysfunctional Job Market

For 2 decades, I have made a living deploying mathematical models to find hidden value in the securities markets. This is a difficult problem because these markets are very efficient, meaning that it’s very hard to do better than just showing up and stating your needs. Consider the stock market: If you want to buyContinue reading “Hiring in a Dysfunctional Job Market”

The secret to a higher salary is to ask for nothing at all

by Brooke Allen  More than twenty years ago, I developed a powerful approach to negotiating that goes beyond “win-win.” It involves starting by offering the most and asking for the least. It works extremely well, but I was unable to explain why until I read Wharton professor Adam Grant’s excellent new book Give and Take. AdamContinue reading “The secret to a higher salary is to ask for nothing at all”

How to find a calling instead of a career

by Brooke Allen  In my Quartz piece, To get a job, write your story instead of a resume, I talked about the value of finding a purpose in your work, and suggested that in order to do that you reflect on your life and write your own narrative. I talked about how economics is aboutContinue reading “How to find a calling instead of a career”

Stories from Germany

by: Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.com http://www.BrookeAllen.com A Luftwaffe Airman’s Daughter In 1980, my girlfriend and I were traveling on a rail pass. We left from Milan bound for Frankfurt only because that is where the train went. A German businessman sat across from us and asked, “Where are you going?” “Frankfurt.” “Why? Frankfurt is so boring.Continue reading “Stories from Germany”

Rejection

© 2009 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.com http://www.BrookeAllen.com Originally published as Borders in International Family Magazine Republished in Folks Magazine on 9/12/09. Dennis and I had never been to Canada. So, in February of 1971 we decided to hitchhike from Terre Haute, Indiana to Toronto by way of Detroit. A kindly gentleman in a pick-up truck offeredContinue reading “Rejection”

Trade or Profession

© 2008 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.com http://www.BrookeAllen.com Originally published in International Family Magazine I have just returned from the annual meeting of the Chicago Quantitative Alliance (www.cqa.org) where one speaker made a convincing case that the brokerage and banking systems are bankrupt and another made the case that so is the Federal Government. The world isContinue reading “Trade or Profession”

Sally Would be Proud of Me

© 2007 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.com http://www.BrookeAllen.com Originally published in International Family Magazine In 1993 I lost a job in Tokyo and returned to the States with a wife and two young children but no work. Most of my contacts were no longer at the phone numbers in my book and many were unemployed. It appearedContinue reading “Sally Would be Proud of Me”

Learning How to Land a Job

© 2007 Brooke Allen brooke@brookeallen.com http://www.BrookeAllen.com Originally published in International Family Magazine A mentor is someone who stands out in your mind as a model for your own behavior. If you find yourself thinking “What Would Sally Do?” then Sally is a mentor. Here is the story of my Sally. In 1979, my boss askedContinue reading “Learning How to Land a Job”