Hi all,
As a recent graduate in financial markets, I felt like posting some of my thoughts and experiences from my recent job hunt. I've been making the circuit applying for junior trader jobs all around Chicago.
In my previous life as an IT consultant, I am used to throwing out a resume and getting tons of interest from recruiters. However, looking for trading jobs is totally different. Whenever I log into job search sites, I see little animated tumbleweeds blowing past my resume.
Frustrated, I figured I'd vent on ET about some of the barriers to entry I've encountered while job searching.
1) Firm Secrecy: Even *FINDING* firms to apply to can be challenging. Sure, there are your standards like Peak 6, Optiver, Jump, Velocity, etc. However it seems like a lot of the trading firms out there dont advertise, and a lot dont even have web sites. Unless you're in the business, they're "invisible".
A humorous anecdote, I was at a recent job fair. I saw a company on the roster called "Cardiff Giant Trading". Apart from a movie referece, the Cardiff Giant is also a famous American hoax.
I was speaking to their recruiters, mentioned I had never heard of them and asked what was up with the name.
They told me they were actually from one of the largest and most prestigious firms in town, however, they dont like to draw attention to themselves. So, whenever they are looking for people, they check into career fairs under a bogus name. They proceeded to tell me if a candidate with the Right Stuff approached them they would have no problem hiring them right away, but otherwise they just go to career events to scout the scene. Ugh.
I know of no other industry where you cant even find out who you are applying to until THEY want you to know !
2) Ya Gotta Know Someone: The easiest way to get into the business is to know someone. Trading is a very insular world. If you dont have friends or colleagues in the business, it can be a tough, almost impossible industry to get into.
3) Pedigree: If you dont know someone, pedigree is a huge advantage. If your diploma says MIT, University of Chicago, etc, you're golden. If not, well, you'd better do well on your aptitude test(see below). Trading firms seek to hire what they beleive are the absolute top talent in the world.
4) Tests, tests,tests:If you dont know someone and dont have a college pedigree, then you get to take the aptitude test. Trading firms do not care what prior work experience your bring to the table. They do not care whether you earned a degree specific to trading, or if you earn a B.S. in the mating habits of the north american screech weasel.
Rather, most firms toss your resume and cover letter and make all candidates take an aptitude test, which usually are designed such that 15-20% of the applicants will pass. Then they pick the best candidate out of the people who pass the test. This lets them get the "geniuses" who didnt graduate from ivy league schools.
There is never any studying you can do for the tests and you never know what to expect: It can be a Mensa IQ test, quantitative reasoning, speed arithmetic.
There usually are no retakes of the exam, so if you have a bad run at it, cross that firm off your list.
5) Age: A lot of firms seem to prefer young candidates who just receieved their BS, or earned their MS immediately following their BS. My feeling is that if you have prior work experience in another industry, it lessens your desirability to trading firms. I may be wrong here. Has anyone has different experiences regarding age ?
**************************
Anyways, maybe I'm way off base here and cynical because my job search has been so difficult. However, these were my observations based on what I have seen while hunting.
Comments ?
-T
As a recent graduate in financial markets, I felt like posting some of my thoughts and experiences from my recent job hunt. I've been making the circuit applying for junior trader jobs all around Chicago.
In my previous life as an IT consultant, I am used to throwing out a resume and getting tons of interest from recruiters. However, looking for trading jobs is totally different. Whenever I log into job search sites, I see little animated tumbleweeds blowing past my resume.
Frustrated, I figured I'd vent on ET about some of the barriers to entry I've encountered while job searching.
1) Firm Secrecy: Even *FINDING* firms to apply to can be challenging. Sure, there are your standards like Peak 6, Optiver, Jump, Velocity, etc. However it seems like a lot of the trading firms out there dont advertise, and a lot dont even have web sites. Unless you're in the business, they're "invisible".
A humorous anecdote, I was at a recent job fair. I saw a company on the roster called "Cardiff Giant Trading". Apart from a movie referece, the Cardiff Giant is also a famous American hoax.
I was speaking to their recruiters, mentioned I had never heard of them and asked what was up with the name.
They told me they were actually from one of the largest and most prestigious firms in town, however, they dont like to draw attention to themselves. So, whenever they are looking for people, they check into career fairs under a bogus name. They proceeded to tell me if a candidate with the Right Stuff approached them they would have no problem hiring them right away, but otherwise they just go to career events to scout the scene. Ugh.
I know of no other industry where you cant even find out who you are applying to until THEY want you to know !
2) Ya Gotta Know Someone: The easiest way to get into the business is to know someone. Trading is a very insular world. If you dont have friends or colleagues in the business, it can be a tough, almost impossible industry to get into.
3) Pedigree: If you dont know someone, pedigree is a huge advantage. If your diploma says MIT, University of Chicago, etc, you're golden. If not, well, you'd better do well on your aptitude test(see below). Trading firms seek to hire what they beleive are the absolute top talent in the world.
4) Tests, tests,tests:If you dont know someone and dont have a college pedigree, then you get to take the aptitude test. Trading firms do not care what prior work experience your bring to the table. They do not care whether you earned a degree specific to trading, or if you earn a B.S. in the mating habits of the north american screech weasel.
Rather, most firms toss your resume and cover letter and make all candidates take an aptitude test, which usually are designed such that 15-20% of the applicants will pass. Then they pick the best candidate out of the people who pass the test. This lets them get the "geniuses" who didnt graduate from ivy league schools.
There is never any studying you can do for the tests and you never know what to expect: It can be a Mensa IQ test, quantitative reasoning, speed arithmetic.
There usually are no retakes of the exam, so if you have a bad run at it, cross that firm off your list.
5) Age: A lot of firms seem to prefer young candidates who just receieved their BS, or earned their MS immediately following their BS. My feeling is that if you have prior work experience in another industry, it lessens your desirability to trading firms. I may be wrong here. Has anyone has different experiences regarding age ?
**************************
Anyways, maybe I'm way off base here and cynical because my job search has been so difficult. However, these were my observations based on what I have seen while hunting.
Comments ?
-T
