I am a physical Trader at a small commodity house (~200M/yr) and I would like to know what your thoughts are on the possibility of going from a small firm like this where I am a lumber trader to an oil or precious metals houses such as Trafigura or citadel.
Are the skills transferable across commodities?
1 month is not going to cut the bill. What will you say in your job interview with Trafi/Citadel when they ask your trading style and your achievements as a physical trader?
If I was the hiring manager I wouldn't be impressed. First of all, you just started a job and think the grass is greener. Secondly, how can I trust you won't be looking for another job when you start.
After 2yrs of experience, you can apply to Trafigura's "International Trader" programme. This is their selection process for both internal and external candidates to get a risk-taking seat on one of Traf's trading floors. They're product agnostic - have known candidates with an ags background (a sector Traf isn't involved in) to get a seat on either energy or metals. If you want to change commodity and level-up in terms of company profile / prestige, I think this would be your best option down the line. Just depends whether you can stomach two more years after having only done 1mo so far...
This is pretty much spot on. It's incredibly difficult. I've seen people try to make the move internally (Ags to Energy) and get nowhere. The crux of the issue lies here, using my own skill set as an example: I have traded Ags for over four years, and I believe I have the base trading/commercial skills set to trade energies - the thing is I don't really have a clue about the intricacies of executing physical oil trades. That's why you won't get hired without starting from the bottom again.
Trafi are the only one that actively hire from a wide range of commodities - that's your best shot. If you are one month in and at a small house, you are better off applying to the Trafi graduate programme in a year or two than the international trader programme, before working your way up - by starting there you will give yourself more of a chance of getting through the international trader programme.
The international trader programme is well known within the industry, it states 2-5 years experience is required - however the reality is that most people have 4 years at least in a commercial role, most likely with PNL responsibility. You will be going up against experienced physical traders from BP/Shell as well as financial traders from places like Goldman.
P.S Not sure how much physical Citadel do these days - however, they will expect a much more technical skill set than working at a physical trade house (i.e having a coding background is a huge bonus.
For what it's worth, I am in metals and if a resume made it to us where the guy had done well trading lumber, I'd say there is a good chance that person would at least get an interview. He would start at the ground floor of course but there would be an expectation he would pick things up quickly.
As mentioned above, the crux of the issue is product specialization. If you want to do well in physical, you have to know your market, and that takes a whole lot of time. A year or two where you are could open some doors later, but make sure you really want to commit to that path if you do decide to jump ship. You have got to have a better idea of what you are getting yourself into than "oil or precious metals houses such as Trafigura or citadel."