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TRANSCRIPT
TRADING RECRUITING RAMP UPNovember 5, 2015
Agenda
Overview
Skillset
Recruiting Prep Roadmap
Info Sessions
Informational Interviews
Resume
Interviews
Resources
Overview
Trading jobs generally involve buying and selling stocks,
bonds, currencies, commodities, or some other financial
instrument either to facilitate customer needs or to take a
proprietary position in order to benefit from expected
market movements.
Types of Trading Jobs
Buy Side
• Insurance Companies
• Pension Funds
• Mutual Funds
• Private Equity
• Hedge Funds
• Venture Capital
• Asset Management
Sell Side
• Investment Banks
• Sell-side research
• Trading at Banks
Proprietary
• Proprietary Trading Firms
Make decision that is best for you based on your risk tolerance and personality
What is Sales & Trading?
Sales
Distribution side of the firm’s products Including IPO’s/SPO’s (from IBD)
Direct contact and relationship manager to investor clients
Trading
Execute transactions and manage risk for financial market positions
Trade on behalf of clients and provide liquidity
What is Proprietary Trading?
When a bank, firm or other financial institution
trades on its own account rather than on behalf of a
customer
The instruments traded can be anything from
options, futures, currencies, derivatives, etc.
Involves risking the firm’s capital
Where Do You Find A Trading Job?
Commercial Banks
Brokerage Firms
Investment Banks
Hedge Funds
Asset Management Firms
Proprietary Trading Firms
What Recruiters Look For
General Skillset
Aptitude for math / quick with numbers
Passion / appetite for success
Grit / mentally tough
Level headed / can withstand market volatility
Decisive (often based on incomplete information)
Work smart / react to quickly changing conditions
Strong knowledge of capital markets
Synthesize large amounts of data quickly (read news and assess what this means)
Sales & Trading
A high GPA (3.50+ is informal norm)
Noteworthy extracurricular activities (RSOs, sports,
etc.)
Majors: math, science, engineering
Awards, honors and scholarships
Leader or founder
Recruiting Timeline
Info Sessions
Begin early September through
early January
Informational Interviews
On-going
Resumes and application
process
Begin applying now!
Interviews
OCR begins mid October and will continue through
February
Tip: write down the names of the companies that you’re interested in working for
and look up their deadlines on Handshake!
Info Sessions
A great way to gather information and make a personal
impact on the employer of your choice
Point of Contacts
Every point of contact leaves an impression
Emails
Phone calls
In-person conversations (site visits, treks, externships)
Recruiting maintains feedback on all candidates
Secure an interview from many touchpoints with positive feedback!
Helpful if they know your name prior to the application even being submitted!
General Strategy
Attend and check in to every info session
Arrive early / stay late
Come prepared with questions
Take time to network with representatives
Listen to their advice and follow it
Be professional; make a good impression
Follow up with a thank you note within 24 hours
The Career Prep Roadmap
Info Sessions
Info Interviews / Networking
Resumes & Applications
Interviews
Informational Interviews A meeting in which job seeker seeks advice on
someone’s career, industry, corporate culture, etc.
Way to network
The employer learns about the job seeker and judges your professional potential
Be prepared to LEAD the conversation
Tie questions back to your research – this makes you look prepared
Use Google or LinkedIn to learn more about the informant (e.g. – education, marathon)
UChicago Alum
Professors
Neighbors
Teammates
Strangers
Career Advancement
Family
Informational Interviews Know your story
Why are you interested in their company?
Why are you a good fit?
Get into a casual conversation with traders about the
market
E.g. - “Today, this company announced their earnings, and it
was way below the expectation. How did that affect your
position?”
Talk about your portfolio
Informational InterviewsSome good questions to ask:
How they got to where they are, personal background,
etc.
Why sales & trading, sales vs. trading, equity vs. fixed
income?
Why that specific firm over any other?
What did they do to prepare for their job?
Always ask advice for the recruiting process
(applications / interview process / tips, etc.)
Tips
Be grateful, polite & courteous
Research the firm
Be familiar with common (non-controversial)
headlines for small talk
Interview begins the moment that you make a
connection; take notes & be enthusiastic
Follow up with a thank you email
Stay in Contact After you walk away, write something that you talked about
on the back of the business card
Follow up within 12-24 hours
Stay in contact Interesting article
Change in the market
Additional questions
Follow through with your word
Watch Outs
Don’t ask for a job; ask for advice
Quality over quantity
Don’t dismiss anyone as irrelevant
Don’t take NO personally
Don’t ask to connect during market hours
Don’t gossip or talk controversial topics
Wait to send your resume until you’re asked
Networking Has a Domino Effect
Don’t assume that a connection is useless just because the
person doesn’t offer to get you an interview – connections
help in many different ways, whether it’s with getting
referrals elsewhere, gathering intelligence on the recruiting
or interview process, and so on.
The Career Prep Roadmap
Info Sessions
Info Interviews / Networking
Resumes & Applications
Interviews
Make Your Resume Stand Out
Highlight analytical and quantitative abilities
Focus on results & recognition
Computer Science, Physics, Math, Statistics
major(s)
Use UChicago resume template
Think of your interests that closely correlate with
the job (e.g. – poker, high risk activities, etc.)
Make Your Resume Stand Out
Start bullet points with ACTION VERBS (found on BCS Sharepoint site)
Describe your actions, not the tasks that you did
Better bullet points = WHAT you did + HOW you performed your duties + the IMPACT or RESULT of the task within the organization
Basic bullet: Directed actors in productions
Better bullet: Directed 5-10 student actors and managed technical team in both short and full-length productions attracting audiences of 100+
Make Your Resume Stand Out
Quantitative Ability
Math or math-related major or minor
Quantitative coursework
High math SAT scores (750+)
Math club / math-related competitions
Previous quant heavy internship or experience– think
number-crunching, engineering, anything with
spreadsheets, etc.
Make Your Resume Stand Out
Analytical Skills
Coursework
Analyzed company’s strategic position vs. competitors as
part of a case competition or a business class
Analyzed firm’s marketing efforts and found ways to
save money and improve the ROI of their spending
Analyzed a stock and decided to invest via your personal
account based on valuation metrics and value investing
criteria
Make Your Resume Stand Out
Passion for the Markets
Your major
Previous work experience related to trading or markets
RSOs
Mock trading accounts
Interests: poker, gambling or high risk activities
Cover Letter
Keep it short and simple
Complement your resume
Mention people that you’ve spoken with
Address how your experiences are relevant to who
you are
Outline on BCS Sharepoint
The Career Prep Roadmap
Info Sessions
Info Interviews + Targeted
Events
Resumes & Applications
Interviews
3 Main Question Categories
Market
Overview
Sales & Trading
Likely start with behavioral and fit in first round
Prop Trading
Going to start right off the bat with brainteasers
& math questions as a screening method
First Round Interview Preparation
Do your research! And be prepared.
Industry, position, points of difference, culture,
business, etc.
Dress professionally: business formal
Arrive 15 minutes early
Have a firm handshake
Speak eloquently / confidently
Practice, practice, practice
Sales & Trading| First Round
The Big 3
Why did you choose your school/your major?
Tell me about a time you were a leader/worked on a team?
What do you consider your greatest strength/weakness?
If I asked your friends about you what would they say?
They’ll focus on why S&T over fields in finance and why their firm over others.
Sales & Trading | Superday
At company headquarters
Several 30 – 45 minute interviews
How do you stack up against candidates from other
schools?
Meet 1:1 with 4 interviewers and have breakfast or
lunch with candidates and some bankers
Interpersonal interactions to determine your fit
Prop Trading | First Round
Much more random!
Looking for a specific fit
Looking for someone who thinks like a natural trader
Will get brainteasers, math, market questions to determine if you can perform under pressure, think on your feet, and reason way your way to solutions
Getting answers wrong is OK – they care more about your thinking process than your answer
Don’t freak out, apologize or second-guess yourself constantly
Enthusiasm & attitude are KEY
What is your trading approach?
Prop Trading| Second Round
Mix of behavioral, market, brainteasers and math questions
How do you cope with stressful situations?
What would you do if random disaster X happened?
If you have a large cube that is made up of a length of nine smaller cubes on each side, and it’s painted on the outside, how many smaller cubes are painted on two sides?
You bought a stock, and you told yourself that you would sell it at a certain point. Then, the stock dipped below that point, but your colleague told you that the stock was going to go back up. What do you do?
The Big 3
Tell me about yourself / Walk me through your resume
Why trading?
Why <<company>>?
Tell Me About Yourself
Framework for your response
The “Beginning”
Your Finance “Spark”
Your Growing Interest
Why You’re Here Today
Your Future
Highlight your skills and competencies that tie
to the job
Why Sales & Trading | Prop Trading?
Real question: why are you a good fit?
Tell your story; make it unique
Demonstrate understanding
Answer the question they are really asking
Minimize talking about what you will get from
them
Why <<company>>?
Express enthusiasm for the company
Show off what you know! Incorporate your
research, conversations, etc. into your response.
Align your skills and experiences with the role
Use the job description and correlate to your skills
Connect to your career trajectory
Show that you’ll be around for the long run
Behavioral / Fit Questions
STAR Method: Themes
Teamwork Initiative
LeadershipCommunication
STAR Method
Situation Task Action Result
STAR Method: Situation
Describe the task that you needed to accomplish
Be specific
Give enough detail for the interviewer to understand
Can be from a previous job, volunteer experience, RSO,
game, competition, etc.
STAR Method: Situation
“Advertising revenue was falling off for my
college newspaper, The Maroon, and large
numbers of long-term advertisers were not
renewing contracts.”
STAR Method: Task
What goal were you working toward?
STAR Method: Task
“My goal was to generate new ideas,
materials and incentives that would result in
at least a 15% increase in advertisers from
the year prior.”
STAR Method: Action
Describe the actions you took to address the
situation.
Keep it concise and focused on YOU.
Be specific; what was your particular
contribution?
Use “I,” not “we” when describing actions.
STAR Method: Action
“I designed a new promotional packet to go
with the rate sheet and compared the
benefits of The Maroon circulation with other
ad media in the area. I also set-up a special
training session for the Account Executives
with a Booth professor who taught me about
competitive selling strategies.”
STAR Method: Result
Describe the outcome of your actions
Don’t be shy about taking credit for your
behavior
What did you accomplish? What did you learn?
Your answer should contain multiple positive
results.
STAR Method: Result
“We signed contracts with 15 former
advertisers for daily ads and 5 for special
supplements. We increased our new
advertisers by 20% over the same period last
year.”
Behavioral Interview Questions
Tell me about a time when you had to complete a deliverable under a tight deadline and how you dealt with the situation.
How do you choose your friends?
How was your relationship with your boss in your former internship or work experience?
What do you think are the best qualities for building strong client relationships?
Tell me about a time when you were on the receiving end of difficult feedback. How did you respond?
What do you think differentiates this firm from others?
3 Main Question Categories
Market
Market - Based Questions
Tell me about a recent article (or recent trend) you read in the Wall Street Journal.
Pitch me a stock (or other trading idea)
If you had $10MM, how would you invest it?
Tell me about major world events.
Know: asset classes, what are the important indices in your region and where are they are trading, oil prices, treasury yields, currency exchange rates, the DOW, S&P 500, gold, the debt to GDP ratios of European countries, etc.
How to Structure a Stock Pitch
Aim for 60 – 90 seconds – more than that and they’ll lose
interest.
Start by giving the company’s name, briefly describe what it
does, say whether you like it or don’t like it, whether you’re long
or short, and the price target.
Give 3 supporting reasons that explain your thinking and why
you think the stock’s price and value are different.
Estimate the potential upside from the stock in a certain
timeframe, and how you plan to exit the investment.
Give the potential risks and how you could hedge against those.
3 Main Question Categories
Market
Brainteasers / Math Questions
Speak and reason out loud to talk the interviewer through your
thought process
Explain where your assumptions are coming from and how you
got there
If you get stuck, explain what you need to do next to continue
If you get the same brainteaser twice, tell the interviewer
Brainteasers / Math Questions
How many cabs/windows in NYC?
How many ping pong balls fit in a Boeing 747?
How many gallons of white house paint are sold in the U.S. every year?
How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the United States each month?
How would you estimate the weight of the Chrysler building?
Why are manhole covers round?
Solve the Monty Hall problem.
What is 32 x 32?
Remember to speak and reason out loud while solving this brainteaser!
Questions to Ask the Interviewer
Ask targeted questions such as:
“What attracted you to your group?”
“What skillset did the successful interns have?
Ask questions that span various categories
Don’t ask anything about the interviewer (e.g. –
career path).
Don’t ask about anything negative or related to
bad press.
After the Interview
Prepare smart questions for the interviewer
Practice “The Icing” - have a concise “closing
statement” where you share anything that you
have forgotten to address or that you’d like the
interviewer to remember about you
Write a thank you note!
Review | What to Prepare
Your story
5-6 STAR stories
Market knowledge
At least 3 stock pitches; 1 long, 1 short
1-2 trade ideas
1 recent article or event and your opinion on it
Practice with brainteasers and mental math
The “Icing” or the close
Questions for the interviewer
Practice Interviews
Search “practice interview, Career Advancement”
Select your interviewer prior to calling
Send your resume in 24 hours prior
Available via the Front Desk (773.702.7040)
Behavioral, and Technical Interviews Available
Resources
Wall Street Journal
Financial Times
www.mergersandinquisitions.com
Seeking Alpha
BCS Sharepoint Site
Investment Related RSOs
Blue Chips
Chicago Club for Alternative Investments
Maroon Capital
Phoenix Funds
Smart Woman Securities (SWS)
Other business-related RSOs found on
Blueprint https://blueprint.uchicago.edu/Organizations
Business Career Services
Lauren Rath
https://collaborate.uchicago.edu/depts/bcs
Thank You!