UK
Hi. I am looking for a job – ideally something in Hedge funds / asset management. I left in 2008 as I was unhappy with life in London, my pay, and the firm I worked in. I moved to a public sector employer in the North of England. I would now like a job, somewhere that’s a good place to work, which recognises the flaws in the City, and which allows me to make use of my skills. In 2009 I almost tripled the value of my account (and I have done well in previous years too) – so I must have something to offer. Unfortunately I have not been able to garner any interest whatsoever. I dont understand why.
EDUCATION
· 1998-2001, Oxford University: 2:1 Economics and Politics
· 1996 to 1998 4 A-Levels: History (A), Physics (A) Pure & Applied Mathematics (B), Economics (B)
· 1991 to 1996, GCSE 4 A* 4 A, 1 C
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
June 2007: CFA Level one pass (first attempt)
· February 2006: IMC – Investment Management Certificate – February 2006 passed first time, Topics covered include:
o UK regulation
o Financial instruments
o Taxation
WORK/INVESTING ON OWN ACCOUNT
June 2008 – Present Investment on own account
· Have invested since 2001 on and off due to limitations imposed by employers, developed understanding of gearing, multiples, business strategy and other drivers. Achieved good performance.
· 2009 achieved c170% increase in account size (using limited leverage), was able to identify and ride opportunities in natural resource stocks / Russian equities amongst others.
· 2010 ytd down about 10%
June 2008 – Present Public Sector Employer North East England
· Responsible for producing data for submission to funding bodies and for internal use.
· Much use of Microsoft Access and Excel to extract data from internal databases.
· 9-5 job allows me to focus on investment.
September 2006 – May 2008 Investment Associate (European and Emerging European Telcos / European Utilities), Large US asset manager London
· Building complete Financial Models
· Analysing company accounts
· Building Comparison sheets to rank stocks. Use of Bloomberg.
· Developing a view on companies and rankings between them
· Finding out market views through discussion with sell-side analysts, investor relations and company managements.
· Resigned as was unhappy with company culture, my lifestyle, hours, and remuneration.
June 2005 – September 2006 Quantitative Analyst, Fund of Funds
· Quantitative Analysis for fund of funds.
· Performance analysis – quartile rank, relative performance, reconciliation as well as risk adjusted measures of return.
· Performance attribution – analysing the generators of performance within a portfolio.
February 2005 – May 2005 Graduate Trainee Futures Trader, Prop firm.
Learnt how to use Bloomberg, TT, CQG and to trade the markets using the firm’s capital. Learnt how to respond, research and analyse news and economic announcements. Learnt chart analysis techniques. Cleared through Refco / Macfutures. I left as I was self employed and believed profit here unlikely.
May 2002 – Dec 2004 Economics / English teaching China.
SKILLS
· Competent level of written and spoken French, Basic conversational level Mandarin Chinese
· Touch typing (about 80wpm)
· High level of computer literacy
· Advanced Excel (including VBA / Macros)
· Advanced Access
· Powerpoint
· Some knowledge of Front Page
· Basic Visual Basic for Applications
Outside Interests & Hobbies:
· Practicing the Martial Art San Da / San Shou.
· Keeping in shape through going to the gym and running.
· I read a great deal, particularly regarding the market, financial analysis (such as Graham and Dodd and Damordan) and IT.
· I keep up to date with current events and business developments I regularly read the FT, Investors Chronicle and Economist.
Referees: Written references are available upon request:
Problem number 1: You trained at a prop shop.
Problem number 2: The hours ARE hard. FAct.
Amazed you got into Oxford with such poor A-levels.
You’ve butchered what could have been a pretty tidy CV.
The 2 + years gap in your cv is now an almost impossible barrier to overcome, primarily because most employers will assume that if no one else has hired you, why will they want to. This is the reason why most head hunters don’t want to talk to you.
@ Cobblers
Please could you tell me why it is a problem to get trained at a prop shop? I would be interested in knowing why because I am in a similar situation as the guest?
@Tony – time in a prop shop means you weren’t good enough to get into a bank. Why else would you be working there?
Essentially what I think has happened is similar to what happened to me (except I didn’t leave for the same reasons and ultimately I did get back in): you are too senior for graduate recruitment but too junior for MBA recruitment (and you don’t have an MBA). You have not stayed in any one role long enough to make a real impact and have not made yourself into a ‘franchise’ that will put you in demand. It would have been better if you had moved to another job from your existing role.
You should look into an MBA from a top school, it would also broaden your horizons although you may be too old. If the cost puts you off then you aren’t dedicated enough (although the cost and lack of respect for the qualification did put me off!). But the network you develop can be invaluable…
Otherwise back/middle office quant/IT and work your way up. The money is still good (100k+ after 5-10 years for risk/compliance), the stress is lower and the hours are better (08:30 – 18:00 usually). Also your CV is not particularly outstanding. Its good, but there are 1000s out there like it and your reason for leaving sends the wrong message. Supply and demand.
nonsense Cobblers, he managed to get two other good positions irrespective of that. There are lots of reasons why he might not have got into a bank, he may not even have applied. Not everyone knows about banking etc. at uni, they learn once they get into the city and he has other strengths on his CV (good academics/Oxford). There are plenty of muppets in banks. Fewer in hedge-funds I would say (although I’m biased 8) )
One think thag worries me as a headhunter is that you’ve passed the CFA level I. That’s not all that hard, andwith the time at your disposal, I’d have expected you to have done level III, and be well into the CQF or something.
Ditto VBA, you should have aced that by now.
I’m trying hard to question your effort, but on top of having worked in local government, I wonder just how happy you would be ?
But there is a way forward, and frankly you won’t like it.
You are nearly a spreadsheet jockey, you’ve picked up some financial knowledge, and if you worked through Walkenbach from cover to cover you could probably get a job.
In all the things you might try Excel / VBA is the only one where a plausible (3 month) effort can get you above effort, but…
That’s >1000 pages, and you have to do every last bloody one. If that intimidates you in any way at all, then you ought to stick to local government.
And the hours have not got any better.
Nothing wrong with the cv at all
Your problem is the job market ,,it is tight and will remain so (possibly even more so !!)
Persevere..it will happen
in answer to the sillier comments..
Good Degree and in 1998 those grades would easily see you into Oxford or Cambridge
The Graduate Futures trainee role at a “prop shop” was for a very brief time..and so no problem
Dominic..what an arrogant series of comments (written very badly) and making little sense
JIMC, I had arguably even better CV than he does and yet I fell out and found it hard to return. Finally got my break but I went back to school to make it happen … the job market is tough now and arguably set to get worse (double dip recession). But why risk it? better off doing some VBA and continuing applications. Working for money is not a bad thing after all (although the limited mindset of some in the city would make you question it sometimes!! people terrified of having the ‘wrong’ experience, how can that ever be a constructive point of view?) and if hedge funds/trading doesn’t work out then you are at least 6 – 12 months into something that might get you there in the longer haul but is at least paying 60k + with prospects and options …
And what about internships? everyone knows times are tough. But … if you have something to offer you will gain valuable contacts and experience to boot. We pay for the luxury of working for *nothing* at uni after all so why not work for free for some skills that are actually useful in the real world?
I would not train in a prop shop. Fact. Smells of desperation.
..I don’t think anyone out there will give you any credit for you PA portfolio performance. Doing well in 2009 wasn’t that hard everything went up and its only 1 years good performance.
On its own your current job isn’t great, unless you can find better things to say about it.
I think your best shot is the MBA and the jobs market should be better in 2 years. If your trading performance is that great paying for it should be easy.
Think long and hard about doing an MBA..in these straitened times it is not as useful as before.I am not sure about in the U.S but certainly in London we do not look at these in the same way..there are just too may around and often suggest that the candidate for a role has just extended therestudying rather than “learning anything”. the cost can also be prohibitive ..unless of course Daddy is paying (Easy to ascertain..and a real loser in an interview)
And ..is that really a comment from Dominic the recruiter..um .I hope that your I.D has been stolen.It does not reflect very well on you I am afraid
Your CV comes across really negative – lots of self-interested, pathetic reasons for leaving previous jobs. Try and make these positive and don’t bother including them in the CV – if an interviewer wants to know why you left a job they will ask you in the interview!
Also – you talk about what each job entailed and not the achievements that you contributed. Lose any first person references – using ‘I’ makes you sound like a 13 year old looking for a paper-round!
You also need to address whether you *really* want to come back. Is it just the money? because again, you can make good money as a quant dev/risk manager with better hours and less stress and lower risk. You have a science background which means there are fewer people to compete with for more jobs than on the investment side. Thus salaries tend to be higher. Could be the city will contract substantially (most data suggests deflation which is not good for the city. Markets historically moved in long 20+ year cycles) and the days of mega bonuses will be gone … you need to do what you are really passionate about but the fact you left does suggest that you aren’t quite ‘narrow’ enough to commit. Therefore maybe a compromise might suit. Only embark on MBA if your *passionately* want to be an ibanker etc. in fact it probably won’t help you get into hedge funds directly (few of them respect it) but it would help you get into sales etc. which frankly pays more on average than buy-side. And do not settle for a school that is not top-ranked like Harvard/LBS etc. People from different schools go to different places and you need to research this
Goodness! Dominic selling the CQF on the side. How self-serving… But then what else would you expect of someone in this industry?
I also left two years ago to work in a financial institution and want to get into buyside not back to sellside. Started sending CVs out 2 weeks ago. I have an interview for a fund. Headhunters are useless. Try to find positions yourself.
Your CV goes straight in the bin 99 times out of 100
Who on earth complains about work life balance on their CV a CV is not a place for complaining or anything negative, it is an attempt to show yourself in the strongest possible light,
Don’t put down your A level grades the only question they raise is how did you get into oxford with a B in maths ????
I would try dress up your trading as an attempt to seed a hedge fund and axe the public sector 9-5 comment it makes you look very lazy
There is a problem is with your investment track record: don’t over-emphasize that because employers are not that naive, they know that rough perf dosen’t mean anything if you don’t explain how you got this. Moreover, investing in natural resources at that time was a very commun trade so it won’t show you have an edge. Except from that, good CV but to me the biggest problem will be to explain that you left because you didn’t like the lifestyle and that now you want to go back : they will interpret that as: he can’t cope with the business but still want the money… So work very hard on your personal story, try to convince them that you have really changed your mind. Good luck
Dominic Connor, your post is total non-sense. I would have expected recent crisis would limit quants arrogance but i see it’s not the case: you and your mates still think that everyone needs to know useless formulas that proved to be wrong to get a job! Quant will soon be replaced by computers, for the better. So guest, please forget about his post, it’s rubbish
.Biggest problem you have is that your CV doesn’t look like you’re actually committed to the work. You’ve been out for 2 years and have effectivly missed working through some of the most challenging markets in the last 100 years.
Also, your CV is strewn with errors. If you have really done CFA 1 you would know that you can’t say first time pass as it goes against the ethics code. You don’t need to tell people what is on the IMC paper – it is the basic competency for investment management, for that reason you dont need to tell people you passed it first time.
Leave off the prop shop, its only for 1 month and looks like you couldnt get into a proper grad scheme.
Put your own trading in the interests section and dont prattle on about it. No-one is impressed by PA trading.
You lived in China for 2 1/2 years and you are not fluent in Mandarin? This is a big warning sign…
Lastly, dont mention the hours in the public sector job.
Dont listen to these comments. A friend of mine was out of market for one year and ended up with a better job… keep at it.
Dont listen to dominic connor, he is a wilmott believer and thinks that solving equations helps you understand markets
Self-pitying CV… think about putting in a bit more passion and enthusiasm into it. Don’t think quants would miss the fact that you’ve butchered the spelling of Aswath Damodaran’s name either. Attention to details- if you can’t get it right on a CV, how can they trust you to run portfolio positions?
I’m a new grad, also on the lookout for a job but still I must say, buck up man! Your background is way better than mine in the sense that you have full time experience- use it to your advantage!
@Guest. I`m in a similar position as u are, so I understand well what u are going through = it is like walking in sewer, extremely frustrating and consuming self-confidence. I left industry right before Christmas 08 and therefore I was lucky to be at a floor for the Lehman passing and the aftermath. Unfortunately I was stupid and started to look for job too late because I had enough money saved and didn’t want to take worse job… well I am still looking and my CV is getting hit.
Advice I can give is not to give up, keep sending CV, as many as you can, don’t wait for job agencies, they tend to look at you like you had AIDS because you were out for a while… that is my feeling. Sharpen your CV as u were already advised. Focus more on your financial experience… leave your gym, typing and Front page stuff out, honestly who cares.
Your experience is perfectly fine… it s just the story you communicate it s completely wrong. Your stort is… went into the city, got disillusioned and left, now looking for my way back in…..
nah
your storty should be : always wanted to be a trade, so joined prop shop, joined othe r buy side firms, learnt , picked up contacts, set up my own investnment fund, performed well, now looking to leverage my direct experience for new opportunity in the CIty…. Forget about mentioning that u worked in Newcastle filling up database… who cares
I’m afraid you come across as a self-obsessed loser. Focus on tangible achievements, results and impact you’ve had on your employers, not on pointless generic skills, activities, or what you gained personally.
Lets be honest with one another. You left you city career because your personality did not suit it. No shame here, you made a decision, now live with the consequences. Do something different with your life. I think it is safe to assume even if you do get back in you will still be unhappy. Move on.
Bored is right, U try to come back for the money, don’t do that mistake and try to find something that really thrives you.
If you read such a great deal as you claim, you should know that the guy’s name is Damodaran, not “Damordan” as you’ve decided to spell what you probably overheard in an accidental & very brief brush with academics. This, of course, assuming that you refer to the author of rather famous finance & investment textbooks… This detail alone would make me think twice before extending an invitation for an interview.
…Yeah it’s sounds like you wrote your CV when you were tired. I think you are underselling yourself. Sell yourself. Watch Boiler Room. Think about your marketing. You could make your achievements sound much better. Good luck.