"Your background is too wild"
A couple months back, I interviewed at an options trading shop for an intern position. They actually told me that my background is "too wild", and that they don't know how I will fit in their small team. Here is why I have a hard time finding a job. Indeed my background might sound too wild but I am a normal person just like everyone.
I grew up in East Africa until the age of 15. I had one of the highest scores on the National Exam when moving from 8th grade to 9th grade. However, at the time there was alot of political uncertainty in my city and riots broke out like every other day. With the help of some relatives residing here in the US, I came to the US illegally with fake documents . I arrived in one of the Midwestern states and completed my high school degree while living in the basement of a relative. Given that they are not my parents, ofcourse I had to work during high school to buy the basic goods myself. Here is where I started getting on the wrong track, during my senior year in high school, I had no one directing me on how to look for colleges, network with advisors, counselors etc. By the time I have graduated from high school, I have never even heard of the Ivy League or any of the big schools. Therefore, I ended up in a local community college just as everyone in my high school senior class was doing.
But I started to realize that I was surrounded by people in the Midwest who were just comfortable working minimum wage jobs and had no ambitions. I have always been interested in economics and I constantly read about the financial markets and economics so i saved about 1200 dollars and came to New York. I didn't know anyone here. When I applied at Queens College, they told me that I would have to get in first to one of the CUNY community colleges and prove that I can get good grades so I went to a community college in the Bronx for a year completing with good grades. I also got a part time job at the airport but it was proving difficult for me to be at school while working a minimum wage job at JFK airport so I started doing the gypsy cabs (illegal) in the impoverished neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens to avoid the taxi commission officers in other parts of town. I then got approved for a taxi license and also started working on double majors Economics and Finance. As I was already getting into my mid 20's, I wanted to finish school asap and there was even a time I was taking 21 credits while driving a cab during nights 7 days a week. That took a toll on my gpa and I graduated with a 3.2 gpa. I worked 7 days a week because I had to pay for everything myself but also due to my so many ambitions, I needed a lot of money. As soon as I graduated, I went back home with the money I saved and bought a condominium. I also put aside money to fund my trading accounts on which I trade options and stocks. My only problem is amidst all these events, I didn't have a chance to do any internships and I was never involved in the economics club, drama club, or the pancake club blah blah. I was doing real work out there in the real world since highs school. Yet, many employers fail to take me seriously. They tell me that I have no relevant experience and my background is too weak in professional terms even for an entry level position. I used to literally tutor some of my classmates in econometric and finance courses but now they all have jobs except me. I understand that the world doesn't owe me anything and I am not here to complain about it. But some of you are already have some experience in hiring people, therefore I ask for advice on what I can actually do to break in to finance.
Do you have legal residency? A financial firm would have major compliance issues trying to hire someone with past or present fake documents, even if they want you.
If you have your papers straightened out, this story could be spun pretty well, focusing on things like taking 21 credits/cab driving at the same time... I would bring someone in for an interview if I saw that, just to see what they're like. I would leave out things like buying a condo, illegal gypsy cabs, not being involved in pancake club (that screams entitled) - wild is the word that comes to mind, not necessarily in a good way - just thinking WTF is this guy doing. You can spin it though.
Focus on the good parts of your story (working since high school + full time during college) and talk about what you've learned from it. Other users may have specific job recommendations, but you first need to re-work the way you tell things.
You definitely don't have a traditional background. That's fine, but understand that you're going to be working in a conservative environment, and most clients would want someone more 'traditional' than take the odd route. Focus on talking about the hardships that you've went through and how you overcome those, start getting relevant experience, and apply for roles that might suit you better (Consulting/VC).
Don't have advice on this one, but had to at least commend you for the incredible work ethic. Keep grindin
You sound really motivated and might have the entrepreneurial touch... You might not need to work for someone else.
But, what I would recommend is 1) pick your target. Make sure you know what you want to do & then work back from there. 2) sharpen your story up. From what you wrote it doesn't sound "too wild" to me. However I can see where someone can get lost reading it. In an interview someone could easily get lost listening to it also.
Play the long game
Also, congrats on what you have accomplished so far
This. Keep your story tight and to the point. Noone wants to have to think about WHY YOU, they want it easily and quickly laid out. We do too much thinking already at our desk jobs.
I am grateful for everyone here taking their time to read this and provide me with feedback. Currently I am about to get enrolled in a Masters program although I am still trying to decide which subject out of Finance, Statistics, and Quantitative Modelling would be a good idea. Regardless of whether I land a career or go the entrepreneurial way, I want to be resourceful. Again, thank you all for your feedback.
Just want to add one quick thing echoing what you've heard above -- get all of your papers sorted out ASAP. Don't want to continue to have those blemishes on you/behind you if you are trying to go into any sort of professional or financial services career
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