For guys at Schony, Trillium, Opus, Hold, or institutional traders

S

SwingOutOn5

Yeah, so I'm mentioning those pie-in-the-sky firms.....again. Before you go squawking back with the requisite, "you'll never [blah blah blah]," I have to tell you that I believe I have the minerals to get into a salary based trading position - or at least I should try! (pretty sure Hold doesn't do this, but I've seen Steve say some good things about them)

Ok, here's the situation: I'm graduating w/ my MBA in December. By then I'll be trading for 2+ years retail. I'm not that great of a trader (in fact I've been sucking hard ones these last few months), but I was profitable enough last year to pay for school and living, plus a few toys. I don't think I have the educational pedigree to get into Goldy, Bear Stearns, or other IB's as a trader, nor do I want to work 72 hrs a week.

I want to work in a major metropolitan area, preferably in a warm climate. As a quick note, my gf performs w/ Cirque, and her current show ends in December, so we're trying to find a city that has 1.) a Cirque show she can get into, and 2.) an office I can work at.

List of cities:
1.) Orlando
2.) Miami
3.) ATL
4.) NYC
5.) Las Vegas (please don't say BT unless you have something revolutionary to say)
6.) anything overseas near the same time zone as the US markets (such as in South America. I don't want to be working at 2AM)
7.) Eastern Canada, if I must (gf is from New Brunswick)

I don't care whether I'm prop or institutional - I think the latter would be a VERY valuable experience. On the prop side, risk capital is not a problem, although I'd rather keep it in my pocket.

So here it is in a nutshell:
1.) No risk capital to put up
2.) Salary during training/licensing, maybe beyond
3.) Good location
4.) Fun company culture
5.) excellent back office support

I'm sure there will be a lot of nay-sayers, but please refrain from posting. Anyone can open an account at a typical prop shop, but that's not what I'm looking for. You know what; I think I'll attach my resume for anyone who cares to help out.

What I need from you:
1.) Advice about these firms
a.) whether to apply or not
b.) what to expect
c.) tips on interviewing
2.) Firms I haven't considered
a.) Saxon's NYC office? how are they?
3.) Honest assesment of my resume to get into these firms
4.) Contacts (feel free to PM me)

I know resume and education don't mean the same thing to every firm, and that many of the ET members don't have much in the way of these. However, those of you who know me from the PnL board know my track record, and I would appreciate it if you would chip in, as well.

BTW, please don't prank call me! :D Happy Tax Day!
 

Attachments

lol swing you're funny. you make squat and you want someone to give you a job. put 25k down with a prop house get 20-1 and show that you can make 5-10k every month. or better yet i see you're a musician so go and play on the streets on nyc
 
Quote from bighitter1:

lol swing you're funny. you make squat and you want someone to give you a job. put 25k down with a prop house get 20-1 and show that you can make 5-10k every month. or better yet i see you're a musician so go and play on the streets on nyc
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thank you for proving my point.
 
Kendrick,

I have interviewed with Opus and Hold, will be meeting Trillium in the coming weeks.

From what I understand, Opus is doing 1 large recruiting for their prop division this year which will be completed very shortly, if you haven't interviewed with them yet, you are probably too late. (Don't hold me to that though) I believe Trillium may be on a similar system but not positive as I have not met with them yet.
Hold Brothers seems like they do not have a set recruiting schedule so you can probably apply any time. But they do not pay a salary.

I have never recruited for a prop firm so I can't tell you exactly what they look for as far as resumes go.

Feel free to fire me over a PM and I will try to answer any questions the best I can.

-CTT
 
You're asking for a lot of feedback, which I'm not willing to give, but I'll simply tell you that you would be very well-served to think about what level of flexibility you are looking for. It will make the difference between success and failure.

Yes, you want to separate the wheat from the chafe. But, you also don't want to join a firm that requires you to be entreprenuerial (read: Get paid based solely on P/L), yet doesn't let you execute your trade any way you please.

For example, I would never work for Schony because thier "quants" are known for forcing traders out of trades. I also would never work for a firm that overzealously pushes volume. I also would never work for a firm that offers "training" or that "helps you pick your stocks each day."

If you are going prop, you need to be asking - how freely will I be able to execute my strategies at this place?

If institutional, you're just a bookie, so it doesn't matter.
 
I've heard that about the quants, but to what extent are they forcing trade exit? Is it so much that a trader would think twice about entering, thus limiting overall volume? Seems contradictory for the business.

Thanks for the valuable reply.
 
Quote from SwingOutOn5:

How did you feel about the cultures at Opus and HB?
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Not sure what I can say about the culture of the firms as I have not actually worked there. During the interviews I try to get a feel for how things are run, such as the training or what you can and can't do as a new trader.
They all seem fairly similar in that they want to bring you in, help you to get started and be successful. Sounds good, but it's really up to the trader to see what they can do and what they are open for.

So to really answer your question.... guess I can't :D
 
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