Brokerdealer.com blog post made possible through the courtesy of the NYTimes and William Alden and Sydney Ember  

 

Working on Wall Street once conferred a certain prestige, a path to riches and an oh-so-important swagger. The big-name investment banks had top candidates lining up at their recruiting tables and thousands of applicants for the few coveted spots for future broker dealers.

But that image held by future broker dealers has been clouded in recent years by horror stories of weekends spent at the office, frequent all-nighters and seemingly unsympathetic bosses.

Wall Street now finds itself with the public relations challenge of having to woo and retain young talent. As part of the effort, many new hires found out this week that they could be paid roughly 20 percent more than their counterparts were offered last year.

The reason: The top banks, after decades of easily attracting the best and brightest from Ivy League campuses, are now worried about losing their favored status, especially as companies likeGoogle and Facebook can offer similarly high pay combined with luxurious benefits. A rash of cuts, regulatory issues and other problems after the 2008 financial crisis has not helped. Continue reading →