possible paths
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jungle
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2004 12:00 am
possible paths
i think trading is pretty good experience for doing a lot of other front office sheah. for risk, then you know how traders game the system, and for analysis/research/strategy, having traded definitely gives you a more realistic perspective of how markets work. (apologies for the threadjack).
it's axiomatic, deal with it.
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drews
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2004 12:00 am
possible paths
[i][b][u]Energetic wrote[/u]:[/b][/i] [i]You got it wrong. Don't wait. Pick up the the phucking phone and call every head of the desk you know. What? You don't know anyone in that capacity? That may be a bit of a problem[/i]
What is reflected in this and many other threads (and what I noticed in general) that pretty often even front office quants want to switch to business side. I thought before that once you’re inside the bank it shouldn’t be that hard to make a wide range of careers moves. Oh, how wrong I was!...
Just as an example (I can extrapolate form this one as far as I want), I was doing this internship in a big i-bank (which I mentioned in a couple of threads) and I took it hoping to be able to network in the first place. I thought that I could just knock to a person’s door and he would spend 5 minutes talking to me, yeah right… no freakin’ way! In that bank there were receptionists on each floor (I thought it’s gonna be kinda university environment: once you’ve got in there’re offices with names, I was so naïve…). People whom I knew personally were health industry/biotech brokers who didn’t know anybody quant/business related… I couldn’t even enter any floor without telling a receptionist where I was going…
My last attempt was just taking people’s names from the database and e-mailing them. I sent like 40 e-mails to Derivatives, FX etc. 3 people got back to me: 2 said there were no openings, one said he could talk to me informally, but disappeared after my next e-mail asking what’s the best time for him to meet. I could have called them instead, but I think (I know many disagree) that e-mail is better then phone, but never mind it’s not important for my point.
I also contacted HR asking about graduate trainee programs at that bank and saying that I was doing an internship there. I was redirected from person to person until I found the one who does recruitment for graduate programs, and of course that person never got back to me.
People say that networking is a way to go, that the best positions are distributed internally/through personal contacts. Is it really so?! ‘cause I’m not sure (I mean I know several people informally too but I doubt they'll be of much help). I mean I spent all this time trying to reach people out, just to see how far this approach can get me, and than compared with e-mailing a HH, who sets me up for 2 interviews a week next day I call him. And I don’t do no shit work, I don’t spam people, I don’t cold call, I don’t take a freakin’ internship just to get inside the bank …and you know what, of course those ‘networking’ and ‘knowing the right people’ advices are interesting but is there anybody on this board who’s got a job this way or know people who did that, it’d be interesting to hear from them.(I mostly mean entry level or let’s say middle office->trader, not front office->trader ‘cause they’re somewhat related. I mean somebody completely new to the field in which he's looking for job, like me in quant field or Martingale in trading)?
What is reflected in this and many other threads (and what I noticed in general) that pretty often even front office quants want to switch to business side. I thought before that once you’re inside the bank it shouldn’t be that hard to make a wide range of careers moves. Oh, how wrong I was!...
Just as an example (I can extrapolate form this one as far as I want), I was doing this internship in a big i-bank (which I mentioned in a couple of threads) and I took it hoping to be able to network in the first place. I thought that I could just knock to a person’s door and he would spend 5 minutes talking to me, yeah right… no freakin’ way! In that bank there were receptionists on each floor (I thought it’s gonna be kinda university environment: once you’ve got in there’re offices with names, I was so naïve…). People whom I knew personally were health industry/biotech brokers who didn’t know anybody quant/business related… I couldn’t even enter any floor without telling a receptionist where I was going…
My last attempt was just taking people’s names from the database and e-mailing them. I sent like 40 e-mails to Derivatives, FX etc. 3 people got back to me: 2 said there were no openings, one said he could talk to me informally, but disappeared after my next e-mail asking what’s the best time for him to meet. I could have called them instead, but I think (I know many disagree) that e-mail is better then phone, but never mind it’s not important for my point.
I also contacted HR asking about graduate trainee programs at that bank and saying that I was doing an internship there. I was redirected from person to person until I found the one who does recruitment for graduate programs, and of course that person never got back to me.
People say that networking is a way to go, that the best positions are distributed internally/through personal contacts. Is it really so?! ‘cause I’m not sure (I mean I know several people informally too but I doubt they'll be of much help). I mean I spent all this time trying to reach people out, just to see how far this approach can get me, and than compared with e-mailing a HH, who sets me up for 2 interviews a week next day I call him. And I don’t do no shit work, I don’t spam people, I don’t cold call, I don’t take a freakin’ internship just to get inside the bank …and you know what, of course those ‘networking’ and ‘knowing the right people’ advices are interesting but is there anybody on this board who’s got a job this way or know people who did that, it’d be interesting to hear from them.(I mostly mean entry level or let’s say middle office->trader, not front office->trader ‘cause they’re somewhat related. I mean somebody completely new to the field in which he's looking for job, like me in quant field or Martingale in trading)?
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jungle
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2004 12:00 am
possible paths
drews,
if people aren't calling you back, don't assume the worst. they are probably mad busy. the onus is on you to chase them. think of yourself like one of those nasty little terrier dogs. you have to be persistent.
i have had a number of job offers this year, all of which have come through former colleagues. so i think there is definitely value in networking, though it isn't always immediately apparent.
if people aren't calling you back, don't assume the worst. they are probably mad busy. the onus is on you to chase them. think of yourself like one of those nasty little terrier dogs. you have to be persistent.
i have had a number of job offers this year, all of which have come through former colleagues. so i think there is definitely value in networking, though it isn't always immediately apparent.
it's axiomatic, deal with it.