Dear Juniper, agony aunt

"Sorry, we can't take your call right now..."

I am into my third year in equity sales after six years as a fund manager. Frankly, I am finding it tough. Clients are cutting back their dealing lists, the firm's research rankings are good but not great and we have just lost a couple of analysts. Ours is not a call that clients 'must have'. I am getting dispirited with leaving voicemails that are never returned.

There are a few clients that I do get to talk to in person, but they are not dealing. The feedback about me from our client surveys is that I am solid but not exceptional and I am getting concerned. I have noticed the head of sales looking at me carefully sometimes and on one such occasion I called my home answering machine and left a message just so that I could look busy.

This is starting to affect my personal life. I am not sleeping well and I have an anxiety that never seems to go away. I do not want to open up to anyone about this because showing signs of weakness is not the done thing in our industry, but I really don't know where else to turn.

Yours, Dejected

Dear Dejected

Wherever you turn to, it probably should not be your own answering machine. The problem is not going to go away unless you do something positive. If the head of sales is already looking carefully at you, why not take the initiative and ask what's up? Maybe it's nothing, maybe they are about to let you go or maybe there are some things that can be done to help. There is no downside in any of these scenarios from prompting a discussion that will let you know where you stand.

You say your performance is solid, so try to build on that. What can you do to make it more dazzling? What could you do differently? Look at the best salespeople and try to learn from them. Their good client relationships have not materialised out of thin air: they have been built over time and you must try to do the same.

Find a role model and learn from it. Some people are information squirrels, others try to be first with the news. Certain salespeople specialise in finding fresh ways to look at issues, others are simply fun to be with. There are endless styles and it is just a matter of finding one that fits your skills and personality.

Even if you are not writing buckets of business immediately, try to help yourself and the firm by contributing more broadly. For example, as a former fund manager you must have views about how to improve the firm's research rankings, so make yourself known. Sitting on the sidelines waiting for the axe to drop will have only one consequence.

This isn't about opening the kimono; it is about finding positive things you can do to improve your performance and so help your anxiety to subside.

Juniper

Anonymous - for now

I am a bond trader. I make markets in illiquid issues that don't trade very often and at the end of the week I have to estimate their price. I have now realised that I have been overestimating these prices and my profits are overstated as a result. Group risk control has not challenged me but I am worried that the year-end external auditors will find me out. What shall I do?

Anon

Dear Anon

Why on earth are you writing to me? Get real. Even if there was no chance that the external auditors would find you out, you have a responsibility to alert the business to the risk in your position. However humiliated and foolish this will make you feel, however afraid you are that you will be penalised or even dismissed, you must tell your manager what you have told me. What have you or anyone else got to gain by letting this one ride? Grit your teeth and be a grown-up or you won't be anonymous for long.

Juniper

On the beach

After four years with the bank that I joined as a graduate trainee I was headhunted by a leading firm and I have been here for three years.

It's been a mixed move. Having a bigger platform and a wider range of products to offer clients has been great, but the industry environment has been difficult. There is not that much business to go round and there are lots of people vying for the few transactions that do exist.

Everyone pushes to get their name on the big tickets in the hope of justifying their existence. Jockeying for position doesn't come naturally to me and my profile has suffered.

I am probably lucky not to have been laid off already and I am getting to that point when I need to take a career decision.

Do I stay in the business and tough it out or do I look for a new career now? If I leave it much later I am worried I might be left on the beach.

Yours, Sandy

Dear Sandy

You can't expect to be in a bigger firm in the current business climate and just wait for success to walk through the door. You have to do something to make it happen. Think back to when you were hired: what qualities did they see in you? Was it your technical knowledge, your client service skills or your ability to manage business transactions? Whatever it was, it made you stand out enough to get the job, so what is holding you back now you have got it?

Before you take any decisions about your career you need to ask yourself what you have done since you joined that has impacted your profile and what is it that the people who do stand out are doing better. Is it really all about being pushy?

Look at the feedback in your appraisals and ask someone whose advice you can trust for their assessment of you. This might help you to identify the weaknesses in your profile that you can then address. Only after you have worked out what is going wrong and whether you can put it right, should you consider changing careers.

Don't just tough it out, work it out.

Juniper