I am a current senior who was fortunate enough to be hired at a very reputable long/short equities fund after graduation. While I am extremely pleased with where I have ended up, and I really like the team I will be working with, I am worried about making a poor first impression at what will be my first real job.
I was wondering, current hedge fund employees, what are the biggest pitfalls for new hires? What would you advise me to watch out for?
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Keep in mind that you are 22 years old and that people in the office have been doing this since you are born. Your job is to collect facts and present them in the most coherent form possible. Tread lightly your first month. Even if your title is analyst don't analyze things out loud for quite some time.
The best example I can give is relatively recent and I have been at an excellent L/S fund for a few years. A few of the analysts were discussing a HF manager that was in the news recently and our opinions. The partners knew him personally, had invested alongside him, and had been approached by him for advice when he started his fund. I felt like a total jackass talking about something when there were clearly people in the room who knew a lot more than me about something but weren't letting on.
Focus on being a nice, personable guy and doing your job well. That sounds easy but its all you really need to do your first few months and many fail.
I'd agree with the above - don't be "that guy" who storms out of the gates and swings for the fences from day one. Chances are you're talking to analysts and PMs that have been doing this for a long time and you'll just look silly. Do all the "unsexy" work that's given to you.
That said, what I did when I first started at my shop is try to identify what my "edge" would be and start developing an investment identity. Without knowing anything about your fund, I'd try to look for industries/sectors that may not currently be covered by your team. Maybe your shop's never looked at base metals-related equities before. Maybe you have keen insight into Eastern Europe. Maybe you grew up near an oil field and know everything there is to know about drilling rigs. Find ways where you can add value. Down the line, you may run the risk of being specialized, but personally I'd rather be known as the semiconductor guy than be the third or fourth analyst on the team that sort of knows AAPL, SODA, or whatever the stock du jour is.
SodaStream is a hot hedge fund stock?
Given the close to 50% short interest I'd say yes
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