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We're hiring a hardworking Research Associate with strong research, writing, and analytical skills to help launch our London-based Fintech team, as part of our growing team at Business Insider Intelligence. Candidates will have 1 year of relevant work experience.

The ideal Research Associate will have a deep interest in tech news, have a combination of solid writing skills and analytical capabilities, and feel comfortable writing about and analysing a wide range of fintech-related topics.

This is a unique opportunity to help launch and define a new division of a fast-growing international research company and an excellent way to begin a research/data-oriented writing career in the rapidly growing fintech industry.

BI Intelligence is a fast-growing research service from Business Insider. BI Intelligence offers insights essential to companies making strategic decisions across the mobile, digital media, e-commerce, Internet of Things, payments, and digital financial services industries. Our clients are Fortune 1000 companies, startups, advertising agencies, investment firms, and media conglomerates that have come to rely on our timely, forward-looking insights to keep atop of trends shaping the digital landscape.

The Research Associate will be responsible for writing a daily newsletter, focusing on the most important new tech trends, stories, and research reports and adding in their own analysis on what developments mean for the industry. In addition, the Research Associate will speak to industry executives to gain a deeper understanding of the industry.

Those with a degree in social science — including psychology, sociology, and politics — and those with a strong background distilling data, research, and technical topics into compelling writing and persuasive analysis are encouraged to apply.

If this role is for you, here are some of the other traits you possess:

• Ability to quickly sort through masses of data and understand what really matters to professionals and why
• Ability to write clearly about data-driven trends, consumer and business-to-business markets, and the larger tech industry
• Diligence and persistence in researching
• Ability to work in a team-oriented, fast-paced, and fast-changing environment
• Attention to detail

Requirements:

• Proficiency in MS Excel required
• Solid grounding in business analysis fundamentals
• Strong communication and writing skills
• An interest in data-driven visual storytelling
• Internships in market/consumer research, consulting, tech research, or relevant experience in a similar position is helpful but not required

If this is the right opportunity for you, please apply online and tell us why you're a good fit for the role. Thanks in advance.

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As new graduates prepare to enter the "real world," colleges and universities gather them into auditoriums to absorb wisdom from great leaders.

Most of that wisdom is forgettable. A lot of it is clichéd. (Dream big! Follow your passion!) But some of it resonates — even years later, even if you're not graduating, even if you haven't graduated in years.

We've collected some of the best advice from some of the best speeches in recent (and not-so-recent) memory, worth reading and listening to for any grad — or anyone looking for a little guidance.

Max Nisen, and Lynne Guey, and Rachel Sugar contributed to earlier versions of this article.

SEE ALSO: 27 highly successful people share the best career advice for new grads

SEE ALSO: 16 of the best graduation speeches of all time

Barack Obama: Your life will be full of setbacks — how you handle them will make all the difference

During his 2016 commencement speech at Rutgers University, US President Barack Obama told new graduates that they should expect to occasionally deal with foolish people, bad bosses, and not getting exactly what they want.

"So you have to stick with it. You have to be persistent," he said.

He explained that success, however small, is still success, and he warned graduates not to lose hope in the face of naysayers and roadblocks.

"Certainly don't let resistance make you cynical," Obama warns. "Cynicism is so easy, and cynics don't accomplish much."

Read the transcript and watch the video.

Sheryl Sandberg: If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat. Just get on.

Addressing the Harvard Business School class of 2012, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg began with a story from her own career: the time she almost turned down the offer to join Google because it was too low-level. She explained to then-CEO Eric Schmidt that the job didn't meet her criteria.

And that's when he gave her advice she passed onto the newly minted MBAs: "Get on a rocket ship."

"When companies are growing quickly and they are having a lot of impact, careers take care of themselves," she recalls him saying. "And when companies aren't growing quickly or their missions don't matter as much, that's when stagnation and politics come in." So take note: "If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat. Just get on."

Read the transcript and watch the video.

Salman Khan: Live your life like it's your second chance

The Khan Academy founder urged his fellow mega-achieving MIT grads to not lose sight of what really matters. 

"Imagine yourself in 50 years," he advised the class of 2012. Reflecting back on your life, "you'll think of all the great moments with your family and friends," he said. Then you'll look back on your regrets. You'll wish you laughed more, loved more, danced more, appreciated more, he said. You'll wish "that you better used the gifts you were given to empower others and make the world better."

Then he posed a thought experiment: what if a genie could take you back? What would you do differently?

Now, do that. "You really do have the chance to do it all over again," he said — starting right now. As of today, "you can be the source of positivity that you wished you had been the first time around."

Read the transcript and watch the video.

In 2014, Global Brand President of Aerie, Jennifer Foyle, decided it would no longer airbrush their models. This decision turned into a movement. Aerie is American Eagle's lingerie brand with a focus on the 15-21 demographic.

Read more stories about the 100 business visionaries who are creating value for the world.

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Ask the Insider columnist Ashley Lutz answers all your work-related questions, including the awkward, sensitive, and real-world ones. Have a question? Email asktheinsider@businessinsider.com.

Dear Insider,

I recently got a job through a temp agency after being unemployed. A few days before I was due to start, I got an email from the company telling me they were terminating the offer because I didn't disclose that my ex-girlfriend has a full-time job at the company, a violation of company policy.

I kept pushing for more information, and the representative eventually said my ex told them she wouldn't be comfortable with me working there and would feel her safety was compromised. They believe I present a danger to this person, but there is no evidence to support that claim.

I feel upset that someone could assassinate my character, damage my reputation, and deprive me of a financial opportunity with no proof.

Is there a way for me to clear my reputation and get the job back?

Sincerely,

My Ex Cost Me The Job

***

Dear Ex:

Your first mistake was accepting a job at your ex-girlfriend's company with zero disclosure. How could you not see this was a bad idea? Did you really not think the past would catch up to you when she realized you would be working there?

No matter what your intentions, it looks sketchy when the employers uncover information like this. They might question if you were trying to use the job to get close to your ex. Because your she is already working at the company, her opinion is going to trump yours.

It sounds like the company has a policy on disclosing personal relationships. You could take another look at the policy and make sure you agreed to it when they terminated your contract. If you see any discrepancies, consult with a lawyer about your options.

Assuming you did agree to the policy, it's time to move on. Sure, it's disappointing to miss out on an opportunity. But dwelling on what your ex-girlfriend may have told her employer about why she doesn't want you to work there won't do any good. They have decided not to hire you, and it's final.

You didn't get this job because of a very specific circumstance, however, your relationship with your ex likely won't hurt your career elsewhere. Accept this with grace and apply at other companies.

***

Ashley Lutz is a senior editor at Business Insider answering all your questions about the workplace. Send your queries to asktheinsider@businessinsider.com for publication on Business Insider. Requests for anonymity will be granted, and questions may be edited.

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We spend the whole week with the same people, so it's only natural that a deeper relationship may develop. But the wisdom (and ethics) of the office romance are hotly debated.

One of the cohosts of "Shark Tank," Barbara Corcoran, tells us to go for it — but remember the breakup could get messy.

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Are you confident in all your job interview answers? Challenge yourself to see if you nail these 5 questions intentionally designed to trick you. 

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When I recently started my workplace-advice column, Ask the Insider, I expected questions about career advancement and navigating office politics.

Instead, hundreds of people starting venting to me about their coworkers' annoying habits.

After receiving numerous complaints from people all over the world, I've identified a few trends.

Avoiding these behaviors might seem like common sense, but readers have shown me that many people still do them.

Your coworkers will probably hate you if you do these things — they're just too afraid to call you out.

SEE ALSO: Help! My ex-girlfriend's company won't hire me

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1. Coming to work sick

Being around a sick person gives everyone anxiety. You might think you're showing your dedication by trekking to work with a cold, but your coworkers will probably think you're a martyr and resent you.

When you have symptoms, it's best to stay home.

2. Being loud

I've received many noise complaints ranging from loud chewers to people who blatantly make personal calls or watch Netflix at their desks. One person complained that their coworker's music is audible through their earbuds, driving everyone else crazy.

Another reader lamented that her coworker eats crunchy snack Bugles all day every day. Making a lot of noise is invasive to your coworkers. Evaluate your habits.

3. Grooming at your desk

One of the most cringeworthy questions I've received was about a coworker who clipped his nails at his desk. Another letter-writer claimed her boss clipped his toenails at his desk. This is unacceptable in any circumstance.

Other people complain about coworkers who loudly blow their noses at their desks. If you find yourself needing to clip a ragged nail or blow your nose, do it in the bathroom away from your colleagues.

Everyone's got to get their start somewhere.

Sometimes that means taking a strange or terrible job before moving on to something bigger and better. 

Here are 26 of the weirdest jobs that famous people had before making it big.

Samantha Cortez contributed to a previous version of this story.

SEE ALSO: The unglamorous summer jobs 21 successful people had before they made it big

President Obama scooped ice cream

That's right. The current president of the United States worked at Baskin-Robbins in high school, as Business Insider previously reported.

He wrote about the experience on LinkedIn: "Scooping ice cream is tougher than it looks. Rows and rows of rock-hard ice cream can be brutal on the wrists."

Mariah Carey was a hat checker

Like many other rising celebs, Carey worked many jobs. At one point, she worked as a hat checker. According to IMBD, Carey stated that she "got fired from all her jobs because of her attitude and was concentrating on becoming a [backup] singer and mixing demos."

The Pope was a bouncer

Can you imagine getting tossed out of a bar by the Pope?

Pope Francis — who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio — worked several odd jobs before joining the Society of Jesus. These included testing chemicals at a lab and working as a bouncer at a bar, according to the Fiscal Times.

The best way to invite good new things into your life is to make room for them.

Just as you declutter your office and home, from time to time do a check and throw out anything that isn't helping you make your success achievable.

Here are some good places to start.

SEE ALSO: 18 things you need to stop doing if you want to be successful

1. Trying to be perfect.

Perfectionism sets us up for failure. It's not a quest for the best but a way of telling yourself you'll never be good enough.

2. Playing small.

Expand your horizons. Go big. Grow! Sometimes the process is painful, but it's worth it.

3. Faking it.

Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're always strong.

We’re all commitment phobes. We scan, we skim, we browse, but rarely do we read.

Our eyes pingpong back and forth from Facebook posts to open chat boxes, unclicked emails to GIFs of dancing cats, scanning for keywords but barely digesting what we see. Average time spent on an online article is 15 seconds.

In 2014, the Pew Research Center revealed that one-quarter of American adults hadn’t read a single book in the previous year.

And that’s a shame because those who read consistently exhibit significantly greater memory and mental abilities at all stages in life. They’re also better public speakers, thinkers and, according to some studies, better people in general.

Cracking open a book before you go to bed could help combat insomnia, too: A 2009 study from researchers at University of Sussex showed that six minutes of reading reduces stress by 68% (more relaxing than either music or a cup of tea), thus clearing the mind and readying the body for sleep.

The reasoning, per psychologist and study author Dr. David Lewis is that a book is “more than merely a distraction, but an active engaging of the imagination,” one that “causes you to enter an altered state of consciousness.”

It doesn't matter if your book of choice is by James Patterson or James Joyce, fiction or fact, so long as it you find it fully absorbing.

Because when the mind is engaged in a world constructed by words, tension evaporates and the body relaxes, paving the way for sleep.

SEE ALSO: What 17 successful people read before bed

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More than a quarter of business school students want to work for large investment banks, but increasingly more MBAs are setting their sights on startups, too.

That's according to an annual survey from Training the Street, which provides financial training courses to students and professionals.

It asked 293 first- and second-year MBA students which type of firm would be their top employment choice.

Bulge-bracket banks and global financial institutions came in first as the workplace of choice for 26.28% of respondents. 13.65% of respondents chose private equity firms, while 7.51% chose boutique banks.

Of note, 7.17% of respondents chose startup companies as their choice place of employment — the highest percentage since Training the Street started providing that option in 2012.

The percentage of MBAs looking to work for hedge funds was 4.78%, down from 4.9% last year.

Here's a look at the full tally.

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Go skinny dipping, stay up all night partying in a foreign city, climb a mountain — there are plenty of adventures you should check off your personal bucket list before turning the big 3-0.

But what about your professional to-do list?

We polled the experts and collected the milestones you'd be wise to hit early on in your career.

Here's what every intrepid professional should do before turning 30:

SEE ALSO: 9 daily questions that could improve your life forever

DON'T MISS: 25 signs you're burned out at work

1. Get fired

"Getting fired early on can be a brutally tough life experience, but it can serve as a huge wake-up call for change if there was a performance issue," Michael Kerr, author of "The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank," told Business Insider.

Getting this out of the way in your 20s could also alert you to being on the wrong career path and teach you to develop the skills necessary to always have a viable backup plan, he said.

2. Quit a dud job

"Life's too short to stay in a job you hate, and your 20s are the time to take that kind of a risk," says Kate Swoboda, creator of the Courageous Coaching Training Program.

Swoboda suggests you swap your dead-end job for a salaried position that you like better or that you start working for yourself.

"And before you think that you can't work for yourself, remember: This is the digital age, and anyone with the right amount of heart, hustle, and patience can make a living online," she says.

3. Write a simple vision statement

"You've got to know where you want to go if you want to get there," Swoboda says.

Your vision statement needn't be a long manifesto, she says. You simply need to capture the "why" of what you do.

You can home in on your vision statement by answering: "How do I want to feel when I go into work each day?""How does my work positively impact my life or the lives of others?" and "What feels satisfying about this line of work?"

For a long time, it was believed that people are born with a given level of intelligence, and the best we could do in life was to live up to our potential.

Scientists have now proven that we can actually increase our potential and enjoy ourselves in the process.

We now know that by learning new skills the brain creates new neural pathways that make it work faster and better.

Here is a list of seven hobbies that make you smarter and why.

SEE ALSO: Researchers discovered a linguistic trick that will help you negotiate anything

1. Play a musical instrument

Playing music helps with creativity, analytical skills, language, math, fine motor skills, and more. While these are all great advantages, some people argue that playing team sports might do as many things. What playing musical instruments does that other activities don’t is strengthen the corpus callosum that links the hemispheres of the brain by creating new connections.

An improved corpus callosum helps with executive skills, memory, problem solving, and overall brain function, regardless of how old you are.

2. Read anything

The benefits of reading are the same whether you are enjoying "Game of Thrones,""Harry Potter," or the latest issue of The Wall Street Journal. Reading reduces stress, which makes you feel better about yourself, and increases all three types of intelligence — crystallized, fluid, and emotional.

That helps with problem solving, putting different pieces of knowledge together to better navigate everyday life, detecting patterns, understanding processes, and accurately interpreting and responding to other people’s feelings.

At work, this translates into better understanding how to make things happen and better managerial skills.

3. Exercise regularly

Occasional exercise alone doesn’t do the trick. Regular exercise is much more effective than hard workouts every now and then. When exercising regularly, the cells are flooded with BDNF, a protein that helps with memory, learning, focus, concentration, and understanding. This is also often referred to as mental acuity.

Some scientists speculate that sitting down for prolonged periods of time has the opposite affect and actually hinders our brain from working as well as it could.

Related: Don't Let Too Much Sitting at Your Desk Harm Your Health

Psychotherapist M. Gary Neuman dropped by Business Insider to discuss the dangerous effects of having a "work spouse" and what to do to avoid these sometimes harmful relationships.

Produced by Justin Gmoser and Graham Flanagan.

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Ask the Insider columnist Ashley Lutz answers all your work-related questions, including the awkward, sensitive, and real-world ones. Have a question? Email asktheinsider@businessinsider.com.

Dear Insider,

I work for a large bank, although my department is just a few people. The six of us work closely and collaboratively together. I have no personal issues with any of my coworkers and generally enjoy their company. 

The biggest problem in my department is that everyone seems to bond over a shared hatred for our boss. He can be a jerk sometimes, but I generally find him OK to work with. Regardless, I don't feel comfortable bashing him. 

Right now, I stay silent during the bashing because I don't want to look like a teacher's pet or brown-noser. I don't want my coworkers to snub me. But I still worry that being a part of this boss-hating culture will come back to haunt me later. 

How can I navigate this without offending anyone?

Sincerely,

Reluctant Defender Of My Boss

***

Dear Reluctant:

It's funny how elementary school dynamics persist into adulthood. You're afraid to set a boundary or defend the boss because you're worried about seeming like a "teacher's pet." 

If the bashing is happening electronically, over email or other kind of chat, don't engage at all. Keep it completely professional and only contact your coworkers to discuss pertinent work stuff. 

In person, I'd change the subject when the boss comes up. Whether you decide to talk about work or the latest Game of Thrones episode is up to you. 

I also don't think there's anything wrong with occasionally defending your boss and saying something like, "he's not so bad compared to other people I've encountered." The unprofessional behavior is their problem, and you shouldn't feel pressured to enable it. 

Eventually your coworkers will get the hint and stop putting you in this awkward situation. 

***

Ashley Lutz is a senior editor at Business Insider answering all your questions about the workplace. Send your queries to asktheinsider@businessinsider.com for publication on Business Insider. Requests for anonymity will be granted, and questions may be edited.

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Writing an email isn't so hard, but figuring out how to sign off can be a real challenge.

Is "cheers" too casual? Too pretentious? Too British? Is "sincerely" timeless and professional, or stodgy and overly formal?

Perhaps, as Matthew J.X. Malady persuasively argued at Slate, we should just call the whole thing off and ditch the email closer altogether.

But as anyone who has sat staring blankly at a screen, weighing "best" vs. "all best" vs. "all the best" knows, not signing off doesn't feel quite right, either — especially if the context is professional.

"Not closing seems way too abrupt," business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter tells Business Insider. "If you have a salutation, you should have a closing to balance it out."

Will Schwalbe, who co-authored "SEND: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better" with David Shipley, agrees, pointing out that "we don't go around in life barking orders at one another and we shouldn't on email either."

And, manners aside, the email close serves a practical function. It helps "define the personality of the email's content," says Aliza Licht, author of the career guide "Leave Your Mark."

It's also an opportunity to define or redefine your relationship to your correspondent, Schwalbe adds. A shift from "love" to "best," for example, indicates that you may have a problem.

If we accept — at least for the moment — that email sign-offs are here to stay, the question becomes which one to use, and in what contexts to use it.

We had Pachter, Schwalbe, and Licht weigh in on 29 common email closings. Here are the ones they say to avoid in most situations — and which one to use when you're just not sure.

This is an update of a story originally written by Rachel Sugar.

SEE ALSO: 15 email-etiquette rules every professional should know

THE WINNER: 'Best'

All three experts agree that "best" is among the safest possible choices, inoffensive, and almost universally appropriate.

So when in doubt, go with "best."

Sign-offs to avoid in most situations:

'Thanks'

Parties where you know virtually no one can be awkward, especially if you're not sure how to start a conversation.

You could rely on the classic "So what do you do?" But then you run the risk of coming off as the least interesting or original person at the party.

Maybe you're interested in making a new professional contact, or perhaps you simply want to make a good impression on a friend of a friend.

Whatever the reason, busting out the clichés upon the first introduction is never a good idea.

To mix the conversation up a bit, try using one of these 17 icebreakers. They should help ease you into an engaging conversation with people you've never met before.

Natalie Walters contributed to an earlier version of this article.

SEE ALSO: Here's why you should keep your smartphone in your pocket the next time you're bored

'Hello.'

A smile, a name, and a confident handshake can sometimes go a long way, writes Ariella Coombs, a content manager for Careerealism.com.

"Sometimes the easiest way to meet someone is to offer a handshake and say" hi, she writes.

'I'll be honest, the only person I know here is the bartender, and I just met him two minutes ago. Mind if I introduce myself?'

Humor is a good method to put another attendee at ease and jump-start a lighthearted conversation.

'Hmmm, I'm not quite sure what that dish is. Do you know?'

Rather than silently standing in line for food, take the opportunity to start a conversation about the topic on everyone's mind: food.

Ask about the dish they think looks good, or the mystery dish, Coombs writes. "Who knows, you might leave the buffet with a better plate of food AND a new contact."

Checking your email on vacation can be just as tempting as checking your text messages at work.

In fact, 44% of working adults say they check work email every day while on vacation, according to the American Psychological Association. About one in 10 check email hourly.

The temptation is understandable. Who wants to click through hundreds or thousands of emails after returning from a time of rest and relaxation? Some say this post-vacation email deluge even makes them dread going on vacation in the first place.

However, research shows that stress levels tend to increase when you have access to your inbox, and that in order to return to work refreshed and rejuvenated, you need to unplug completely during vacation.

Here are five email hacks that can hopefully help you do that:

Natalie Walters contributed to a previous version of this article.

SEE ALSO: The majority of Americans are making this huge mistake that can hold them back at work

DON'T MISS: Here's the truth about whether it's OK to be unreachable during your vacation from work

Set your auto-responder to expire a couple of days after you get back from vacation

"The most important hack is to setting the expectation that you will be back later," Dmitri Leonov, VP of growth for Sanebox,previously told Business Insider. This buys you a couple of extra days to play catch-up at work before responding to emails, and gives you the peace of mind while you're away that your return to work won't be totally overwhelming.

Plus, when you come back to work on Monday but your out-of-office email doesn't expire until Wednesday, people are really impressed when you get back to them first thing Wednesday morning, Leonov says.

Install a filter to separate important or urgent emails from unimportant, non-urgent ones

Everyone should have a filter that sorts emails into "important" and "unimportant" folders, Leonov says. These filters, like Google priority or his own tool, Sanebox, allow you to quickly scan through your unimportant emails and delete them all at once when you return to work.

"Having an active filter is going to save you a disproportionate amount of time when you're back," Leonov says.

Filter out recurring emails

Daily updates from your go-to news sites or weekly notifications about meetings are helpful — if you're in office.

While you're out of the office, though, make sure to filter out these recurring updates, notifications, and newsletters so you don't waste time deleting them during or after vacation when they are obsolete.

Ask the Insider columnist Ashley Lutz answers all your work-related questions, including the awkward, sensitive, and real-world ones. Have a question? Email asktheinsider@businessinsider.com.

Dear Insider,

I work at an ad agency. Our company is great to work for, except for the office plan. We work in an open-office environment with no "quiet spaces" or refuge from the constant conversations, thumping bass of the ever-on music, or barking dogs (yes, we even have dogs, I really shouldn't complain.) My headphones don't block the noise well enough and I don't want to spend upwards of $200 on a decent noise-canceling pair, nor do I think that it is reasonable that I should have to.  The other offices around the country are much calmer and quieter.

The constant noise in my office makes it very difficult for me to concentrate. My job requires a lot of writing, which I prefer to do in very quiet places. I am the only person in my role and department in my company and I do not expect things to change simply on my account since everyone else (30 or so employees) seems to tolerate the environment without issue. I love my job and want to do it well but I cannot hear myself think! What would you do?

Sincerely,

Hating My Noisy Office

***

Dear Hating:

Open offices are great for cutting costs, fostering communication, and keeping everyone connected. But my inbox shows that many professionals are frustrated with the host of distractions that come along with this arrangment.

Common complaints include loud eating sounds, overpowering perfume, fear of catching illness, and some unsavory hygiene habits that distract from work.

Your best bet here is to buy those noise-cancelling headphones. From my research, these start at about $50. This pair of Sony headphones with great reviews costs $127. 

Yes, it is an expensive investment, but spending less than $150 to significantly improve your mood and concentration at work is worth it.

Short of moving to a new office or getting a new job, you aren't going to escape the noise. I'd also recommend against complaining about this to the higher-ups. It seems that everyone else is happy with this office environment, and taking away the music and dogs could make them resent you. 

Buying headphones is an easy solution that will pay dividends for your productivity and mental health. 

***

Ashley Lutz is a senior editor at Business Insider answering all your questions about the workplace. Send your queries to asktheinsider@businessinsider.com for publication on Business Insider. Requests for anonymity will be granted, and questions may be edited.

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