When I was 19, I graduated college early from a State University and moved to New York City with just a suitcase and laptop into an apartment I had never seen, and a roommate I had never met. At the time, I knew nothing about Derivatives but knew I would work hard and that I would learn. Since then, I’ve been buy side and sell side, the client and the consultant, the leader and the low man on the totem pole. Given my unusual, diverse background, I was asked recently what traits I look for in employees as a hiring manager. While accreditations are nice to have, it’s certainly not an Ivy degree, advanced coursework, or an impressive GPA that are going to make me swipe right.
When it comes to hiring, everyone has a different approach, but I encourage you to take a deeper look into the soft skills. After trial and error, here’s 3 tips on what I look for when onboarding a new team member:
Common Sense
This is unusually uncommon. Can you logically present a solution to a problem? Can you explain your decision making and behavior in high pressure situations? I don’t do well with human robots. “Because so and so told me to” will get you kicked off my island. Have an opinion and explain why. I welcome, and frankly enjoy, the debate and dialogue.
Authenticity
This goes hand in hand with honesty. I assume we all have interests, hobbies and passions outside of work. We spend more time with our colleagues than our families. “How was your weekend?” is a welcomed question, just remember to keep the conversation real. I’m a well-known wine lover, but if you’re a beer drinker then don’t bother feigning interest. When it comes to authenticity, don’t “fake it until you make it.” In the past year I’ve worked with colleagues from the West coast, East coast, London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Hong Kong – all with vastly different cultural backgrounds and personalities. If you cultivate the human being behind the worker bee you’ll find we all have more in common than you’d think. Find your own voice, show your own authenticity. It’s nice to work with people you like but it’s critical to work with people you believe.
Work Ethic
Work hard and strive to do more. I’ll say it again: Do more. Care about your work. I don’t know why people have coined the term “Entitled Millennials” because I’ve worked with “Entitled Every Agers” who push back or blow off work when it requires more than the bare minimum. Don’t set the bar low. Go find a process that needs improvement and improve it. The amount of time some people spend arguing about procedures or processes that can be done in 15 minutes is a slow-moving plague. I want to work with people who will work together to get sh*t done.
In the world of asset management it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need an OTC expert, a corporate actions expert, a trade support specialist, and so on. Sometimes these skillsets are necessary and important. Most of the time, any competent person can learn products and subject matter expertise in a matter of time with the right training. That said, character can’t be taught - so the questions remain: Can they learn common sense? Can they learn authenticity? Can they learn work ethic? I don’t think so. Give me someone who demonstrates these traits out of the gate and I’ll take them over an Ivy degree any day of the week.
That’s what I look for when hiring. Now ask yourself what you look for.
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