I applied for two jobs at JP Morgan Chase in Scotland

Trading Discussion
#1

…and heard back today: I have not been selected for an interview.

The job description at the level for which I applied did not specify any actual experience of trading packages or financial/corporate work, so I tried and…failed.

My message is: you have to start somewhere!

I was trying to see if what I have achieved (writing articles, curating my Forex YouTube channel, trading my own account) would be enough in the eyes of a company like the one I chose in this instance… It is important to put oneself to the test against the high standards set by professionals, and that is one of the reasons why, without ever having worked in finance, I pushed myself to do this.

Where do I go from here? Well, HR fedback is never too specific, and I expect there may have been hundreds or thousands of applications for each of those two positions: this gives the employer rich pickings, so you may have good potential but it is unlikely that there will be no other applicant with the same potential as you, if not double that.

Has anyone else applied for an analyst/entry-level position recently, in a bank or institution, and how did you get on?

#2

Watch this series of videos and you won’t be sad longer:

#3

try to apply to funds first, they need more analysts and their the ones who are doing that job professional. banks focus more on selling products to population, their approach of trading is “get the dumb mass in our products”. working for a bank u must be more of a sales person then an analyst. anyways jobs at funds r better paid aswell

#4

Thanks but…it is.old news to me:

http://forums.babypips.com/forextown/65398-thinking-becoming-professional-trader-anton-kreil-talk-ucl-nov-2013-a.html

#5

You are right, in a way…although I hear that funds have their own research and analysis and do not recruit like banks for those jobs…

#6

What’s your actual background? Naturally places like JPM look first to candidates with business / finance / maths / engineering / computer science degrees. They’ll often go the graduate program route where they’ll recruit people directly after leaving college. They’ll recruit a group and then there’ll basically be competition for the actual jobs. Generally for trading desk type jobs they value things like numerical ability, multi-tasking ability, ability to handle a fast-paced and high pressure environment, etc. When doing your CV you’d want to find a way to stress those skills if you can even if they’re from an area totally outside finance.

If you’ve missed the graduate program slot I’d say you might want to think about applying for a middle or back office job. Then if you get a few years under your belt there and do well you could look to do an internal transfer to a trading desk job and start over from the bottom again.

It’s fairly tough out there at the moment though - a lot of places are being stingy about hiring as they’re under pressure from seniors in the parent business to lower expenses across the board. Your CV is your key to getting your foot in the door - it will particularly have to stand out if you don’t have the background in business / finance. You might want to consider getting it professionally done which is something I never would have had to think about back when I was applying for my first job as companies were dying for people. But the level of competition out there has definitely stepped up when looking at the graduates applying for entry level positions.

1 Like
#7

That sounds like things to do if you want to set up your own business - managed accounts, trading education, not to apply to JP Morgan.

#8

You summed it up nicely :slight_smile:

#9

Super post!!

Yes, I do not have a finance background… So I was really just doing something a bit out of the ordinary… But it cost me nothing to apply…

Here is all about me - it is no secret that music is my background:

http://forums.babypips.com/q-and-a-corner/63702-pipmehappy-full-time-music-teacher.html

#10
#11

‘Grey matter over subject matter’…

Terrific! Great video!

#12

Lots of smart people out there. Only thing is there isn’t much to offer them, with all the competition in the job market, and traders are no exception. If your good at trading why not start selling your own courses or start your own fund management business. I am surprised myself at some of the wages college grads make today. Many make very low wages compared to there college training. I am surprised at how much I make which isn’t a lot but much greater than some college grads ever make and I am not a college grad. Good luck!

#13

Try the mail room PipMe! You’ve probably get a better chance to get youre foot in the door :slight_smile: I’m kidding

Trying to switch career and not teaching any longer?

#14

Haha excellent, PipNRoll!!

I am always soul-searching, and I wondered where to take all my trading/analysis experience/knowledge in terms of ‘the next level’… I want to do more than my own trading and sharing thoughts on Babypips…could there be some financial reward? Maybe education? Maybe I just cannot get away from teaching…it may just become a mix of music teaching and trading mentoring…but do I have enough credentials?

#15

Soul-searching, taking to the " next level", credentials… Oh boy. It looks like a lot of things going on in there lol.

I understand where you coming from. I am the same thing, looking for ways of " what else" I can do after I’ve done a certain things. We will not grow if we won’t try other things and being stuck doing the same thing for years although there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, there are some who are successful just doing the same thing over for years, it all comes down to the person’s personality and personal development.

Building credentials will takes years. The question is, are you an expert in your field where everyone goes to you for help or who rely on to you to get the right information they need? When applying with this job or any job for that matter, you have to " sell" the value of what you will contribute to the organization and proposed on how to make them better from where they are at Right now. With a lot of competition out there, you have to be unique from everyone else…to be unique, you have to sell your value. It is also depends on what specific skills that they are looking for and if you have that skills/ talent and if they think that you are worth of their investments then you will have a better chance.

Sometimes, you have to think in their perspective. If I am the " hiring manager" would I hire me? It cost a lot of money and time to hire a new person in the organization because they will have to pull one of their best people to teach and train someone to do the job and that costs a lot for them.

You’ve only applied one (1) company. There are many more out there that I’m sure they are looking for a good/ skilled and talented people who can help their organization to grow… …so keep looking.

#16

Yes, PipNRoll… You are a truly wise woman, as always… You are right about everything… I will keep looking :slight_smile:

#17

My pleasure…

#18

[QUOTE=“PipMeHappy;742439”]…and heard back today: I have not been selected for an interview. The job description at the level for which I applied did not specify any actual experience of trading packages or financial/corporate work, so I tried and…failed. My message is: you have to start somewhere! I was trying to see if what I have achieved (writing articles, curating my Forex YouTube channel, trading my own account) would be enough in the eyes of a company like the one I chose in this instance… It is important to put oneself to the test against the high standards set by professionals, and that is one of the reasons why, without ever having worked in finance, I pushed myself to do this. Where do I go from here? Well, HR fedback is never too specific, and I expect there may have been hundreds or thousands of applications for each of those two positions: this gives the employer rich pickings, so you may have good potential but it is unlikely that there will be no other applicant with the same potential as you, if not double that. Has anyone else applied for an analyst/entry-level position recently, in a bank or institution, and how did you get on?[/QUOTE]

My mentor (Tim Morge) gave me two pieces of advice. 1. I should have 18 months of positive trading. 2. Don’t work for or manage other people’s money.

Still working on #1. #2 is easy.

#19

Hello CaMike, thank you! Do you work in a hedge fund/bank/wealth management fund?

What is it like… how did you get into such line of work?

#20

I was just watching this earlier in the week, very interesting.