Retail Price: $25.00 LS Price: $17.50 You Save: $7.50 (30%) Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Format: Hardcover, 288pp. ISBN: 9781118917022 Publisher: Wiley Pub. Date: April 21, 2014 Average Customer Review:

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An honest and heartening account of personal growth and professional success

The Bigs is Ben Carpenter’s first-hand account of his life’s journey that started with a tumultuous childhood of frequent moves and the downward spiraling of his family’s finances. From this precarious beginning, Ben tells how he progressed from a naïve liberal arts graduate, to the owner of an out-of-control bar in Manhattan, to the CEO of a major international investment company. The book originated as a list of instructions for the author’s daughter as she was preparing to start her first job after college. Eventually, that list evolved into The Bigs, an invaluable guide for all college students, young professionals, and anyone seeking the hard-earned wisdom of a man who has won and lost many battles while winning the war of personal fulfillment.

In addition to being a captivating story, The Bigs tells you all the specific real world secrets you need to know — for instance, how to:

• Get internships and stand out as an intern
• Get informational interviews and turn them into job interviews
• Get that great job even when competing against more qualified candidates
• Get promoted by being identified as a leader
• Have fun and be happy while working hard to achieve your hopes and dreams

During your 16-plus years of school, you have read countless books that provided you a valuable academic education, but did little to further your knowledge of how the real world works. In this highly entertaining book, The Bigs will bring you up to speed with unique stories and advice that will give you all the tools you need to survive, thrive, and have fun in the big leagues of life.

What is The Bigs?

In baseball, “the bigs” is slang for the big leagues. When you become responsible for yourself, and you are being paid to do a job, you are in the big leagues. The real world is tough, competitive, and a lot is expected of you.

This is a quintessentially American story of one man’s journey through his career and life. Wall Street veteran Ben Carpenter chronicles the people he met, the experiences he had, the mistakes he made, and the lessons he learned along the way. Readers will encounter a colorful cast of real-life characters which include Big Hank, Hoops, Sweater Girl, The Zombies, Mr. Nuts, The Cheese, Deep Throat, and The RAT. Their tales illuminate Carpenter’s progress from newly minted liberal arts graduate, to the owner of a wild bar in Manhattan, to the CEO of a major Wall Street firm.

While the real world can be very fun, it’s also very much a battle, and that battle is not easy for anyone. The Bigs is an eye-opening book with specific, comprehensive, and practical advice you won’t hear anywhere else. This is a book that parents will want to read and give to their children – and their children will want to read and share with their friends.

Ben Carpenter began his career as a commercial lending officer at Bankers Trust Company. Two years later he joined Bankers Trust’s Primary Dealer selling U.S. Treasury bonds. After a brief stop at Morgan Stanley, Ben joined Greenwich Capital, which, during his 22-year career there, became one of the most respected and profitable firms on Wall Street. At Greenwich Capital Ben was a salesman, trader, sales manager, Co-Chief Operating Officer, and Co-CEO. Currently Ben is the Vice Chairman of CRT Capital Group, a 300-person institutional broker-dealer located in Stamford, CT. He resides in Greenwich, CT with his wife, Leigh, and three daughters.

	Preface: Welcome to the Big Leagues	xi
	How The Bigs Came to Be	xii
	Introduction: Before The Bigs	xv
	Part ONE HOW TO SURVIVE, THRIVE, AND HAVE FUN IN THE BIG LEAGUES	1
1	Managing a Corporate Career
2	Being an Entrepreneur
3	Being a Leader
4	Staying Out of Trouble
5	Living a Happy Life
	Part TWO HOW TO CHOOSE, GET, AND DO A GREAT JOB	145
6	How to Choose Your Career
7	How to Get a Great Job
8	How to Do a Great Job
9	How to Manage Your Finances
10	One Last Story
	Letter from the Author
	Acknowledgments
	Index

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