Government Job Fair for Finance Professionals

Can Federal government offer salvation for Wall Street professionals laid off or worried about job security? A leading, New York trade organization for the securities industry wants to help them answer this question later this month.

The New York Society of Security Analysts will hold its first annual government job Fair, Federal Careers: Opportunities for Financial Professionals, on April 24. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at NYSSA headquarters, 1777 Avenue of the Americas.

The NYSSA has 11,000 members and provides a range of information and other resources for people in the financial services industry. Nine Federal agencies will be represented, including the FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The NYSSA expects between 400 and 500 potential candidates from across the financial services industry and at various career levels. The job fair follows a similar event last month featuring the CIA, which has also been on the hunt for capable finance professionals.

In remarks to Bloomberg television, Richard Lipstein, chair of the NYSSA's career development committee and a managing director for the Hawthorne, NY-based recruiting firm, Boyden Global Executive Search, said the government is targeting people with two to 15 years of experience and the ability to analyze balance sheets and income statements. Lipstein said that among key job openings, the FBI is seeking forensic accountants, the U.S. Treasury Department is looking for analysts to dissect "the toxic assets that banks are trying to unload," and the Federal Reserve is recruiting analysts and examiners who can determine "the adequacy of existing capital."

In addition, the SEC is looking for people who can help with investigations of corruption. "The government wants to hire people who can get us out of the situation we've found ourselves in," Lipstein said.