No Work Experience (Trading)

I'm a sophomore without any real work experience in finance, but I've been trading for around 5 years and acquired a good deal of knowledge about trading (relative to my age). This has resulted in me winning 4/4 trading competitions that I've entered. 2 competitions were stock, 1 competition was options, and one was futures. All were sponsored by reputable firms/organizations and had ~(50, 150, 150, 5,000 competitors.) These competitions also tracked the market in real time.

2 Questions) 1) For those on this board who look at resumes, how would you view this for a sophomore without work experience, but an obvious real interest in trading?

2) Last year as a freshman I was rejected from everything that I applied to, and really want to get started early this year on becoming the most desirable applicant that I can be. What skills do you find most relevant/desirable for trading interns?

3) My returns were all very large due to the "game theory" factor in trading competitions. My best response portfolio to other competitors is never going to have the same risk tolerance as if I weren't competing, but were rather simply trying to maximize utility. 97% in 10 weeks 46% in 3 weeks 37% in 1 week 42% in 2 weeks

(competitions were longer than a few weeks, but I stopped trading I felt my margin was large enough to win)

Should I leave the actual returns off of my resume? Since they are so large? I think it is pretty obvious that I just did not "get lucky" 4 times in a row, but still I wouldn't want my understanding of risk management in a real world setting to go misunderstood.

4 Comments
 

If you could actually post those results consistently in the market, you don't need a job, just invest your own money and crush it.

Since I doubt you can post similar results over a long run (beating virtually every fund in existence...), you should think about what the numbers will say.

I'd mention that you have won trading competitions, but focus on your strategy rather than the results. If the strategy is interesting, then you may have something.

 

Cupiditate blanditiis quos sit non. Excepturi ex necessitatibus dolorem quaerat et itaque nemo. Earum ut earum impedit id consequatur reprehenderit id.

Qui quis rerum et molestiae voluptatibus quia. Debitis sit officiis suscipit incidunt odio. Voluptate autem dolor qui ut enim quisquam. Molestiae vel nisi molestiae magnam ut eum libero.

Id fugiat adipisci ab fugiat consectetur eum enim. Qui dolorem sed quos consectetur. Distinctio sit consequatur modi. Quibusdam dolorum nemo alias debitis impedit sit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (56) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”