The Joyous Process of Hiring

This is more so letting me vent, so bare with me here.

I've begun the process of hiring a few new analysts, and it amazes me that the job postings spell out VERY SPECIFIC base requirements and people just ignore this. Now, I'm not talking about "minimum 5 years experience" and the person has 4, nor am I even talking about people applying when they are outside the sector(s) advertised for.

There are people who are undergrad, working as a bartender, applying for a full time equity research analyst job. It is utterly ridiculous and so frustrating to have to dig through all the garbage to find qualified applicants. 250 resumes for a few positions, about 10 qualified. I have never seen so many unqualified people applying to things that are so out of reach it is absurd.

Then comes the resume part. Firstly, and I may catch flack for saying this but I don't give a rat's ass - these are EXPERIENCED positions. What do I mean by this? I couldn't care less where you went to school, I don't care about your GPA, your extracurricular activities, your SAT/GMAT scores, or if you passed a whopping 3 exams and got the watered down CFA. None of these things have anything to do with your ability to do your job. When I find a guy who has 7+ years experience I literally don't even look at his school or major or if he has a CFA, because it is so irrelevant it's laughable.

Show me your damn experience! I care about your ability to cover a lot of names, to add value in your research, to have significant institutional penetration and win broker votes, etc. None of the aforementioned academic nonsense means you'll be good at any of this in the real world. Which institutions did you win broker votes for? How many names did you cover? How did your picks perform versus your sector and peers? How can you write?

Anyway, I'm done ranting. Do any other MDs or DoRs have to deal with this same idiocy?

 

The bartender job is one example, that's like a job within college. But I get a lot of people who are doing things like sales or financial advisory after getting an undergrad degree, despite this being an ANALYST, not associate level, with a good deal of experience required.

Jobs are posted on LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. the usual suspects.

I work at a Boutique.

 

Sorry to hear that. It must be incredibly frustrating.

Just to shed some light on why some people throw their app in the ring when it seems pointless. I go to a non-target, and an alumni got a IBD offer from DB when his background was working in a restaurant (zero finance experience, and he was older going BACK to school after 3 years as a chef). He cold applied and didn't know anyone, or what IB was really. Got the NYC offer. Some times that 1 in a million shot pays off.

 

I never said they shouldn't put it on there, I just think it's worthless once one has a certain degree of experience. Hell if I was applying for a job I'd put it on, too. Perhaps I should have specified my statement: if you're putting CFA charterholder and your test scores above your experience, you're not qualified for a job requiring experience.

 

Couldn't agree more with your comment. Less than 20% of all CFA candidates end up with the full charter. It is extremely difficult to obtain. Also - like you said, it is pretty much designed for equity research, so I do not understand why this individual would get upset at seeing an applicant with their CFA. Maybe they need to reconsider what they are looking for in an analyst.

 
Best Response

I just think that's the modern job market; why would someone not send a resume, it's easy to submit and the worst they can say is no (not saying that's right).

I think a lot of it is that people will apply to jobs because they have been told requirements are a "wish list".

There was a study I read about a year ago that said if there were 10 required parts for a job, men would apply if they had 4-5, where as women would only apply if they had 9-10.

Additionally, there's always the joke about how companies want someone for an entry level role with 10+ years experience (not saying that's you, but people have that mindset.)

 

A few things, just from going through the hiring process myself.

You could use headhunters that specialize in ER/HF recruiting. I know a few good ones. The time it saves might be worth the cost.

LinkedIn is a black hole for people to throw as wide a net as possible, for all front office positions. They'll just apply for anything they possibly can. I'd suggest posting, but then see if anyone reaches out in a creative way (e.g. work sample via email).

CFA job board.

 
DP33:
A few things, just from going through the hiring process myself.

You could use headhunters that specialize in ER/HF recruiting. I know a few good ones. The time it saves might be worth the cost.

LinkedIn is a black hole for people to throw as wide a net as possible, for all front office positions. They'll just apply for anything they possibly can. I'd suggest posting, but then see if anyone reaches out in a creative way (e.g. work sample via email).

CFA job board.

Care to share which recruiters you respect?

 

Can you get HR (or at least someone more junior - say an Associate if you are looking at Analyst positions) to get rid of the 240 unqualified applicants? I know you are at a boutique, but it seems to be a waste of an MD's time to have to do the initial screening. Even our Associates involved in Analyst laterals have HR go through the initial screen first before they schedule calls.

Usually when our MD's see potential Analyst lateral candidates, they see the top three (any one of which would do a good job) and the MD picks the best fit.

 

three other things I thought of;

1) could be worse the other way, could have no one applying

2) going forward, it might be less time to find a candidate that you can train in the areas they need than find a perfect client

3) ER is an appealing job, kinda like a hot chick at a bar. She probably gets way more people coming up to her then she is interested in, but I guess her only alternative is too not go out at all.

 

You're just getting a lot of college-age folks who see "analyst" and - because they don't bother reading the job description - assume that it's an entry-level job. A lot of folks tossing their hat into the ER ring are also gunning for IB/S&T/etc where the analyst/associate titles are switched.

Currently: future neurologist, current psychotherapist Previously: investor relations (top consulting firm), M&A consulting (Big 4), M&A banking (MM)
 
ironman32:
3) ER is an appealing job, kinda like a hot chick at a bar. She probably gets way more people coming up to her then she is interested in, but I guess her only alternative is too not go out at all.
ER is typically the fugly, high IQ annoying chick that hangs out with the hot chick (IB) at the bar thinking that she possesses beauty just because she is in proximity to it.

Have never heard of anyone describe ER in the way you just did. Then I realized you're in ER. So sorta proves my point.

 
ThrowADart:
How did your picks perform versus your sector and peers?

You were making some pretty good points up until this quote above.....what ER shop gives a rat's ass about the performance of your picks? See the 95% Buy or rare Hold ratings which permeate this industry. ER is not paid for the performance of their stocks, plain and simple. That's the buy side's job.

 

Ummm no.....in fact at most boutiques it's the other way around. Pretty much all Buy ratings at most boutiques....used to work in a boutique myself.

Also, a reputation really has nothing to do with the performance of your stocks. You can have all Buy ratings on your names and still have a reputation as someone with great insights. I think that you're fundamentally confused about how the business works.

 

Why is HR not screening resumes? Why is a supposed MD doing this? Honestly, if you're at a boutique, this is the norm. Candidates are applying to your firm because they view it as a stepping stone. The same thing happened when I started in IB at a boutique and we would post analyst positions. We would get 1,000+ applications per position, and 98% were unqualified.

 
Sil:
Why is HR not screening resumes? Why is a supposed MD doing this? Honestly, if you're at a boutique, this is the norm. Candidates are applying to your firm because they view it as a stepping stone. The same thing happened when I started in IB at a boutique and we would post analyst positions. We would get 1,000+ applications per position, and 98% were unqualified.

assume he's sellside ER - it's because ER is dead... if he is newly minted MD and can't sift through his network to hire someone you may want to reevaluate

hiring is extremely frustrating but if finding qualified candidates is your pain point, again, something is very, very off here.

 
Whiskey5:
Sil:
Why is HR not screening resumes? Why is a supposed MD doing this? Honestly, if you're at a boutique, this is the norm. Candidates are applying to your firm because they view it as a stepping stone. The same thing happened when I started in IB at a boutique and we would post analyst positions. We would get 1,000+ applications per position, and 98% were unqualified.

assume he's sellside ER - it's because ER is dead... if he is newly minted MD and can't sift through his network to hire someone you may want to reevaluate

hiring is extremely frustrating but if finding qualified candidates is your pain point, again, something is very, very off here.

Ya, something is very off here. In a post from two days ago, he claimed to have four years of work experience with a $130,000 base salary. Maybe ER is just different than IB, but all of my MDs had 10+ years of work experience and base salary many times that.

 

Yup, ignore this OP's gripes about sifting through resumes and apply to any job you want to try to get. If someone posts a job on indeed, linkedin, etc, they're going to get alot of resumes. It's not your responsibility to worry about if the job poster dislikes going through resumes or has rigid beliefs about resume formatting. The OP is basically saying he wants a talent pool to self select good applicants for his needs which isn't realistic.

 
rebelins:
Yup, ignore this OP's gripes about sifting through resumes and apply to any job you want to try to get. If someone posts a job on indeed, linkedin, etc, they're going to get alot of resumes. It's not your responsibility to worry about if the job poster dislikes going through resumes or has rigid beliefs about resume formatting. The OP is basically saying he wants a talent pool to self select good applicants for his needs which isn't realistic.

yeah, and hopefully by then I will be qualified because of internships and a degree.

Array
 

lol good one! Had me laughing my fucking ass off. At least I didn't ruin my chances of getting a job, since I hate equity research! I thought to work in ER you had to had have good attention to detail, but I guess not, since you couldn't even tell that I am a student!

Array
 

Just want to say: Great Thread.

Love seeing all the MS from losers putting in an extra 4 hours a night on top of their 12 hour a day job in the back office in order to get their CFA (none of you will) and all the college-junior tryhards getting pissed at an MD saying he doesn't give a shit where they went to school and what their GPA was if they can't do the job he's hiring for.

Would drop a 2nd SB if I could.

 

Cause you have to SHOOT YO SHOT. You never know what May happen. The worse that can happen is no response or a flat out no.

It's like that girl you thought was GORGEOUS and you said Fuck it, and shot your shot and now you are with her and her 100k per month spending habit.

I mean, you can't win the lotto if you dont buy a ticket.

 

If I got with a girl that looked like Kate Upton and she was trying to spend 100k a month she'd be out on the streets by end of day. Guaranteed.

 
Vinsanity:
Your comment left a lot of monkeys extremely butt-hurt because it applies to them. They come here to be babied and reassured that their certifications and formal education will throw the doors wide open, and you're raining on their snowflake parade.

Well said. +1 SB

Array
 

OP - guys with 7 years experience, covering stocks, winning broker votes may have a lot of options. They may be able to go to the buyside or work for a company. So my question is what are you offering? Are you and your firm offering this individual a path to become an independent senior analyst, a path to earn $300,000 or more, a path to personal development? If not, expect to receive only poor resumes.

 

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The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 

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