My CV is good for other fields, but is it good for Equity/Investments Research?
Hello folks,
I just moved to DC a few weeks ago from Seattle. The reason being I love investments with politics added to the mix (i.e. I don't love political campaigns, I love understanding how policy affects markets). I would prefer to stay here, as I have some friends/family here, but I would leave. My long-long-term goal is to work at a Hedge Fund, economic consulting, or investments research. However, I'm not obsessed with taking the shortest route. So far I have been looking for jobs in the government and the Federal Reserve. My CV is great for these positions, as I have been told a substantial number of times by contacts at these organizations who know what they are talking about. But my CV isn't good for positions in investments/equity research. I did receive an interview at Bridgewater earlier, but they are very idiosyncratic (I didn't get an offer).
I worked a year in investments, and saved money living with my parents. I then was planning on returning to do a post-bac for a year at an undergrad institution to study math and economics, with the goal of working in something that included any of the following words: Investments/Consulting/Economic/Equity + Research. I love 'applied' research. I ended up being accepted to a MSc at the LSE that would teach me what I wanted to learn along with the courses. It was only a year long, and wasn't that expensive. This way I was able to gain a masters while I returned to learn what I missed from undergrad. The program was called 'political science & political economy' and it was 80% econometrics/stats/econ and coding at the 400 level of a challenging undergrad econ department.
This created a problem, as I'm only 23 though, and I'm struggling with firms thinking I'm 28 and will want a 150k starting salary, so they throw my CV out. Firms that hire straight from undergrad don't want me. When the truth is I want them. I went back to the LSE not to build on existing skills, but to build a new expertise. So I AM extremely qualified, yet "over qualified" for great entry level analyst positions. I AM underqualified for the next level up. Research firms/government don't care about this. But private sector recruiters do, and I'm not sure what to do about it other than try to network (which is often more difficult for large firms).
My problem is that while I believe an equity research team would learn this from me in an interview, I cannot pass recruiters in these firms. I think my CV does not send a very clear signal to a recruiter. I probably appear all over the place to them, and they don't think that I AM committed to investments. I think a team would recognize I have an interesting CV, and understand why what I have done is applicable. I want to improve my chance of surviving HR, when I AM unable to network with someone in the firm.
So what do you think WSO? What would you suggest for me to tweak my CV to better target ER/AM type firms?
Disclaimer: I know that taking a non-traditional path makes finding a job in something like ER more difficult to achieve. That's fine, it was a risk I happily took and do not regret for a second.
I forgot to add, thanks for your help :)
There are also a couple formatting errors from transferring my file from .docx to .doc.
Non-traditional paths in ER may well be the most common finance jobs with non-traditional paths to them..at least from my experience.
Haven't got time to look at the resume right now, but quick question- are you explaining your situation in your cover letter?
Hi...I had a quick look at your resume. PM me if you would like some feedback. It wouldn't be correct to post the points in the general forum.
hey man, remove your name etc. from the attachment
solid CV, i AM not so sure that recruiters think you are 28 or sth... i think its rather cruel competition with better brands on their resumes
as everyone will say - try to network more with targeted people/places
you are aiming high, and there are bunch of people honestly that are qualified better... its kinda hard to get an interview... from there... well you need to ace it
you had your chance, prepare better for the next one you should really be obsessed about the work to get to those places from where you are at now... or lucky
I removed my name, although I wonder if it's really necessary? I mean, what is anyone going to do about it? Anyway, better to be safe than sorry I suppose :D
Anyway, yeah there is competition that is certainly unavoidable. That's just part of life. But I have many coursemates who received interviews/positions in the field who have no more experience than I do, so I AM not sure that it is simply fact that I'm underqualified across the board. It seems to me that part of the issue could be, and I might be wrong, but that it's safer for HR to look for an econ undergrad from a target school. Because that's standard and predictable. On the other hand, I think if I sell myself right a smaller team or firm would prefer to hire me, since I would be better than the mean undergrad hire. (In fact a girl I know from my school who did cultural anthropology just got an equity research interview with zero prior experience. That inspired this post, as before that I assumed I wouldn't have a chance. Although maybe it's just because she's extremely pretty...)
I don't really know what you mean that I need to be obsessed. In my experience being obsessed about careers in areas you haven't worked in is usually a bit naive. It does seem to me though that the hiring process is strange at major banks, and very unforgiving outside of campus recruiting. I don't really mind accepting that as a reality of the world, but I was curious if my CV could be tweaked to send the signal that I'm a 'safer' hire. Perhaps not.
I'm open to many different research careers. equity research is definitely one of them.
Can you give me advice on networking at major banks? My experience is more with people at the Federal Reserve/Treasury etc. I'm not half-bad at it, I was just at the Senate today meeting with a committee economist, and was in the Treasury the other day. What is the process like for networking with people at banks? Do you just message tons off LinkedIn? Because I find they are probably less likely to respond, as they get so many messages.
@NotthehospitalER
Hey, actually I haven't been explaining myself in the cover letter. I was not sure if that was wise or not, I assume it is wise from your comment :)? In my other cover letters I have had nothing to explain, as for gov/econ research my strategy so far has been pretty standard/legitimate. But perhaps I should be more specific in cover letters to investments firms about why I AM applying there despite having a CV that does not scream "investments only?" Anyway I really appreciate your time, thanks. It means a lot to me.
PMd the other two.
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