Coffee trading

Hi! I worked in origin as a junior coffee trader (physical). I learned the basics of the industry, everything I needed to know about the mkt, was in charge of the company's trading position,

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Yes, I graduated recently. I plan to eventually manage a team, and the way things work in the industry are still awfully traditional and outdated. While coffee roasters change their practices, this specific type of trading doesn’t. As a professional in my 20s, thought it was the right time to be exposed to knowledge from other industries and technologies. Also, for me this was more of a personal decision too. I couldn’t stay in origin any longer. It’s not easy living in a third world country for 2 years, and wouldn’t want to do it again.

 
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I would caution you on the "outdated" take. I'm not in coffee but the traditional model for a lot of commodity traders has been incredibly resilient over time. The fact these companies are around after the invention of the internet and instant communication says a lot. I'm in metals and the way my desk is run seems to ignore pretty much any management theory from the past 100 years, yet somehow it works. I would never hire someone who told me they knew better how to run a trading desk unless they had experience doing it somewhere bigger than my shop, and I suspect it will be much the same for the traders you reach out to.

This said, don't underestimate how hard Covid has made recruiting, things will hopefully loosen up in the next 6 months to a year.

 

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