I second Federal agencies. Specifically, the banking agencies (Fed, FDIC, OCC) and probably SEC or CTFC- they are looking for quantitative/capital markets skills as they try to get a handle on bank activities and regulate going forward. I recently left one of the banking agencies, which hired a lot of wall st people during the crisis - many of whom were in the same situation as your husband: their specialization is gone. Many have since gone back to wall street with new skills others are still there enjoying the work. Of course most of them took large pay cuts, but it kept them in the game. and since so much regulation is being thrown around an understanding of how rules are made and networking with regulators is in huge demand at the moment.

Alternatively, can he reinvent himself to leverage his skills for large banks trying to comply with/game the new regulations?

Op, has reached out to head hunters? My brother IL got his job recently through them.
Also, what about trying temp agencies to get feet in the door?

This is the OP - thanks for the comments. Visiting a career counselor might help. Not sure about the franchise thing - sounds like a big risk, and a lot of upfront money. I've seen a lot of people fail in that, so its not high on my list. To the PP who said something about being too good for a job in Philly - sorry to burst your bubble - but you must think we are some other family, because my husband has never interviewed for a government job there. To the PP volunteering at political campaigns - good for you, and I'm so sorry you are going through the same thing that we are. I am starting to wonder if soon we will have to split up the family so my DH can go off to some other part of the country to find work.
I think there are so many people out there with their heads in the clouds and no understanding of what really is going on in this country with regards to unemployment, lack of jobs and the serious dire straits some of us are in.
To make matters worse, we feel like a lot of our so called "friends" have ditched us because we are no longer "in" with their crowd. Apparently being unemployed makes you some kind of leper. Its bad enough worrying about money and paying bills, but when people who you thought were your friends just stop calling or replying back to you, it really hurts. You find out who your real friends are - that's for sure.

Apologies for the lengthy post. In sum, it recommends volunteering for a political campaign and looking west.

I've been in a similar situation for 3 years now, and as miserable as it is, I am glad to see I'm not alone. For all you "haters" out there: governmental jobs are VERY hard to get these days - it has nothing to do with being "high and mighty." Even those of us with excellent reputations with several contacts pulling for us are having big troubles.

The truth is that the finance markets are overrun with PhDs now. If a bank wants a double finance-physics PhD, there's one out there in his/her early 30s willing to work for $80K for a couple of years. It's a buyer's market, and no matter how great your contacts are, it's almost impossible to get over this.

What I've done is looked at the CVs of people where I want to work - Treasury and FRBs. By far, most of them have campaign work on their CV at some point, and hence I've started volunteering at political campaigns. Unfortunately, I've had to start at the bottom.

The second thing I've started doing is lowering my price. Since I'm priced out of the market, I've fudged my resume to look young and apply for internships or junior analyst positions. This is humiliating, yes. And it promises very little pay. (I should add, my DW and children are currently living at my DW's parents' house. Yes, we're part of the 40+ crowd living with their parents.)

Finally, there was an article in the WSJ on 12/14 that noted that finance jobs are picking up in the midwest and in DC (I've had several interviews in St. Louis, and I often sing choruses from Philadelphia Story to keep my kids' spirits up).

I wish I could talk to my grandparents, who put their kids in an orphanage and traveled around the country looking for work during the Depression. Being separated from my family and giving up all of my alpha and beta is unappealing, but may be on the horizon soon - the prospects aren't good.

OP your DH shouldn't have been so high and mighty about being too good to work for the govt in Philly.

Does he have an MBA? I have some ideas about how he can use the school's resources.

maybe be a small business owner? buy a franchise of some sort? its a living...

OP I feel you. DH has exceptional reviews from his past 13 yrs. We sent him to a career counselor recently and have decided to begin his search with multinational corps overseas starting Jan 2nd. We have some good connections overseas so hopefully one of them can help at least. Obviously a stint in a place like in India or the like isn't for everyone.

If you can afford it, I'd go back to school and retrain for something more in demand.

OP my husband is in a similar situation but is in a different industry. Is also highly educated and was very successful. No advice for you because we're in the same position; it's been really, really tough and very hard on him. Wish I had some good advice for you -- I'm hoping that someone on this board does because it would be helpful for us as well.

A few questions ...
- was he good at what he did or was he riding the wave?
Is this what he wants to do for the next 20 years?

It may be an opportunity to go back to school and move to a place that he will have a 2nd career.

Getting clients is not necessarily about what you know, it's about if you can close the deal. Perhaps some sales training would be helpful. If not for this, then for another field. Sales is a good skill to have.

Does he have a financial certification/qualification? Would he consider getting one?

Has he considered applying at any federal agencies in related fields?

My husband used to work in the financial industry. He worked for a hedge fund which went down the tubes during the whole 2008-2009 crisis and he subsequently lost his job in 2010. Since then he has been trying to find a job, but to no avail. He has 15 years of experience. He has even tried to go out on his own and start his own consulting firm. But he is having a hard time getting clients. he has gotten a lot of positive feedback, because what he does is specialized, but no one is ready to pull the trigger. I can't say he hasn't been trying, because he has. He has called emailed met with every person he knows 100 times over. He goes to networking events, and uses LinkedIn. Nothing is working out. The entire industry has shrunk and as far as I can tell, unless you have a Phd, and a Harvard degree, there are too many people to choose from, so its nearly impossible to get a job. I get the feeling that my family thinks he is "lazy" or doesn't want to work, which I don't think is the case. They say "go in a different direction"...but where do you go when you are in your 40s? How do you start over in a different industry? With so many people unemployed, why would an HR manager look at someone with NO experience in an industry that they've never worked in? To me it looks like the only companies that are hiring someone with no experience are the usual insurance companies etc that don't pay a salary and are just setting you up to fail.

What I am asking is, if this was you, and you needed to start over. Where would you look? Would you try to go back to school or something, or what industries are hiring or growing now? I have no suggestions for him, because it just seems hard to get a job these days even if you have experience in your industry. Please don't reply with hurtful comments about him being unemployed. It is hard enough to deal with. I am looking for actual helpful advice.

Thanks in advance.