Seeking Alpha on my resume?
Hey everyone,
I'm currently an undergraduate student with the hope of landing a hedge fund gig out of undergrad. One of the things I've started doing recently is writing for Seeking Alpha. I'm wondering how this would be perceived by people reading my resume that would most likely be familiar with the site. I feel like my articles are quite above the average SA quality, as I put a lot of thought into them and assess both qualitative aspects and valuation in every article I write. If I put it on my resume, it would just be at the bottom under Extracurricular activities or something of the like. I just don't want to include it if it will basically lead to a chuckle/laugh for the reader.
Thanks in advance for your answers!
Think it would show some interest and would be perceived positively - just make sure articles really are up to scratch in case anybody actually wants to read them.
It's a good idea if you think the work represents you well. If I saw that on a resume I would ignore the rest, go read a couple of your articles, and then decide whether to interview you based on whether I thought you were trainable and had any sense.
Could it be a double-edge sword? What if the firm you are targeting is short on one of your long investment ideas/articles or vice-versa on SA?
I don't think that disagreeing with a firm's view on a certain company is a bad thing...
Depending on your content, if its really extreme it could hurt you. Otherwise it would be great to put on a resume.
Maybe include short links or some other way to direct people to a couple of the best/most recent one?
If your work is quality, this could be a big positive. It also opens you up to critique so make sure you stay up on any companies you've written about.
this. I'd have a friend in the industry review what you wrote to see if he thinks it'd pass the sniff test in an interview setting. and don't just cherry pick your best stuff, show him a couple articles.
I put golf champion on my resume, so I don't see why not.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. As I'm just getting started writing, I think I'll get a little more practice putting my investing ideas into an essay form and get feedback before I expose myself!
I would say no for a few reasons: 1) Many firms are sensitive to PR/reputation and would not want an analyst/employee publishing research to the public 2) Your entire body of work is out there to be seen, for better or for worse. No one bats 1000, but it's better to be able to focus on the positives in an interview context 3) Many firms look down on Seeking Alpha, for both good reasons (a huge % of the stuff on there is garbage or pure hucksterism) and bad (general disdain for the unwashed masses of non-professionals)
Instead I would just include some of your best pieces with your application.
Interesting take for your first point. I would stop writing if/when I get a job of course, but articles before I get hired could influence their decision from a PR perspective? As for #2, I have a spreadsheet available to anyone with every company I have written about and every trade I have made personally. I could supply this to prove my track record and I think it could actually be a positive. Your Third Point was my biggest worry and reason for my post. I have no idea how firms view Seeking Alpha, whether as a complete joke or an actual source of decent info. Like I said, I believe my work is better than a lot of stuff that gets published, but interviewers may not even take the time to look at my work and just assume it's garbage? I may just have to consult with someone in the industry after all haha.
Without going into detail, I still think the pros outweigh the cons (before FT employment). I doubt anyone's going to assume your work is crap just because you're utilizing the most widely known platform for people to voice their opinion on the markets that would also be accessible to students. It's not like you have much of a choice here if you want your work to be seen in the public domain.
I would agree the @TheFamousTrader. You are a college student. Most people will assume that you know very little to nothing and probably not have many expectations. So mention it and also be sure to mention your PA (have you written anything for Seeking Alpha that you have a position in?) - since that's like real practical research and market experience. Bring your PA log to the interview as well and be prepared to discuss the names on that (you probably won't have to go into a ton of detail but be sure to speak of them intelligently).
How are you applying? If you are e-mailing, along with your email, attach a brief trade/stock idea. 2-3 slides with key points and a small model attached (a very basic one). Even if they laugh at it, disagree, think its bad, its ok - YOU ARE A COLLEGE STUDENT, not some full time professional, and it shows that you can bring ideas and are hungry and willing to take the time,. Good Luck
I think you should put Seeking Alpha in the "relevant experience" section of your resume. It says a lot that you were willing to publish ideas for Seeking Alpha when you could been drinking beer.
I would recommend leaving it off. The reason is that it opens you up to a lot of scrutiny in your interviews. To be honest, your articles may be above average, but that's a pretty low bar. If you put it on there, the resume reviewer will go look and tear your writeups apart. Moreover, you will want to be able to pitch your best couple of ideas in the interview and you don't need them knowing them beforehand (assuming you wrote them up).
For my fund (we've interviewed college kids for jobs) it would be much more impressive and interesting for you to talk about your PA (real money), performance, and select tickers. I usually hate it when SA authors don't have any positions in the articles they write up.
If you're still wondering if your articles are good enough to show, submit your best to VIC. If you get in, put VIC on your resume instead. If you get rejected from VIC, it's best to leave SA off.
Thanks for the response. I log every trade I've ever made with my personal money, and will definitely have that available along with my rationale for all my positions. You have an interesting take in that it both opens me up to scrutiny and reveals the pitches I would have made during the interview process. Thanks for your input, and I'll be going with your advice. I haven't looked into VIC too incredibly much, but most of the stocks I write about are growth stocks. Is VIC strictly value? I realize this is probably a dumb question, but I'm not very familiar with VIC. Thanks for your help.
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