Lied in Ops interview about not ever wanting to be FO
Hi,
I am looking on how to navigate this.
I was on an interview for a MO/ops role at a large AM. I was asked what I want in my long term career. I answered with the correct and usual answers (the ones we all use and know: continue to learn, more challenging role, build skills etc.)
They asked me the same question again.
I knew what they were really asking me: "Do I want to leave after a year or two and go on the FO path?"
I panicked and said I do not want to be in a FO role and want a to be in MO long term. This was not true, obviously. I really sold it too.
My concern was I said this to the head of the division. Should I schedule some time with the head and revisit this answer - rephrase it as I don't really know what the future holds? What I do know is I want this role and to be considered by them as someone who does have an interest in progressing if the opportunity arises.
Should I talk to the head? Rephrase my answer? Accept it and "change my mind" a few months in about wanting to be FO?
Ok I'm going to write and phrase this as essentially I am talking to my younger self as for my own career I've gone Compliance -> Trade Ops -> Trading which relates to going from BO->MO->FO
Do you actually want to go FO with a specific role in mind or is it just that you eventually want to go some ambiguous idea of FO?
In your long term career does that mean that you want to go FO in the next 1 year or in the next 5+ years your goal is to make a transition?
If you do want to go FO does it have to be at the current place you're at?
These all matter from the sense of you feel like you "lied" about wanting to not go FO when you have more ambition while you answered what is "correct" I wouldn't doubt that most in your place don't have some further ambition or that your company doesn't expect that you have some more ambition than just MO. But bosses/companies are more concerned whether you are someone who is going to try and force the idea that they have to be moved or given an FO role within 1-2years (not that it's an impossible timeline) but that is a very aggressive timeline and more something that is presented as an option to a stand out player compared to an entitled employee that just wants something. Managers want you on the timeline of when they expect that a normal employee may cycle out (quitting/fired/poached) so if you give them a timeline to FO longer than that it appeases a lot more than just seeming entitled.
Back to the questions I posed at the start - if you have a real ambition for a very specific role that is FO then I may bring up that it is your ambition in a cautious manner. But if you just want to be a "quant" or a "trader" at some point in the future then no reason to actively bring up that you lied and even if it is your ambition I would caution bringing it up unless it's under the guise that this is a long (5+year) ambition of yours since it's just such a vague ambition.
And secondly even if you "lied" to your current company that doesn't mean you lied to any other company that you might apply to an FO role in the future for. All of my role switches came with a company switch. Stopping here as it feels like I've already rambled too much.
Thanks a lot for the feedback.
For reference, I am currently trading at a firm on east coast (vanilla products). This MO would place me in direct exposure to traders/PMs trading a variety of products/strategies.
I would not necessarily say that a 2yr timeline is aggressive for seats like this especially with execution experience under my belt. Ideally from here > execution > PM is the path.
I agree to some degree that anyone in these seats (or at least the vast majority) want to continue to progress/advance throughout their career out of this seat.
The middle management team understands this. The head of division is skiddish to these ambitions and that’s why I played FO down so hard.
I would just say that you changed your mind after getting in more close contact with PMs, etc and seeing that side of the biz first-hand
Things change. That firm you "lied" to wouldnt have hired you if you hadnt. put in 1yr in MO function at new firm then at YE review mention that you'd like to FO after more closely with XYZ team. etc.
I invited a girl over to watch a movie, and when she asked if I REALLY just wanted to watch a movie I lied and said yes. She's on her way over. Should I call her and let her know I don't really know what the future holds but I may be interested in more than just a movie?
unironically have done this
If you didn't tell her that was gRAPE!!!!!!
She mentioned w could study together at her place and I was like nah man im pretty good w the concepts i dont think i need help. looking back i was pretty retarded..
Lying to a company about your thoughts/long-term goals when you're trying to get hired is never a bad thing. Less than 0.01% of companies truly care about you and your long-term (we're talking 10+yrs out) wellbeing, you're just a number on a spreadsheet to be cut without a second thought should it be favorable to the business. You can't be prosecuted and punished over your thoughts, and since they can never verify them (unless you naively come out and say you lied) then there's nothing to show they weren't true when you shared them and just changed over time.
Just say what they want to hear. Play the game, do your job well, get promoted, and look for opportunities to get closer to wherever you want to be. Life's too short to care about what the head of some division you don't care about and don't want to be in long-term will think when you up and leave for something objectively better 2-3yrs down the line. Always put yourself before your feelings about the job, just be conscious of which version of yourself you're thinking about (e.g. how you feel now vs where you anticipate being in 5yrs and which is more dependent on your decisions today).
That said, whether or not you're believable or so transparent they ding you from the process is the real question here... results may vary.
Nobody cares bruh. This guy won’t remember what you said when you leave. They just want to make sure you won’t immediately dip after joining, which would be a waste of time for everyone involved
You don’t need to bring it up again. Focus on doing well in the current role first. Once you’ve proven yourself and built trust, you can naturally express interest in FO work later. People change goals all the time, and no one will hold that early answer against you.
They probably won't even remember. Agree with you.
I’d just leave it. You don’t need to backtrack now — honestly it will probably only draw attention to it. And you don't want that... If you get the job (fingers crossed!), you can always later come back and say you 'found yourself new interests'.
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