1 answer
Giovanni
Student
Durham, North Carolina
1
Question
Updated
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What are some of the most effective ways to prepare for a full-time position in financial research, particularly for someone who wants to hit the ground running on day one?
I'm looking for advice on both the technical skills I should further develop, such as modeling or Excel, and the habits or knowledge areas that will help me stand out early in my career.
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1 answer
Kevin Yang
Impact Investing
15
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Kevin’s Answer
Hi Giovanni,
Love that you are eager to hit the ground running in a full-time role. I'll share my thoughts as best I can without the context of whether you have already accepted this full-time role, or perhaps may be able to secure an internship to get a better sense of the role.
As someone who similarly after college wanted to stand out really well at a financial firm (I started in investment banking), the biggest thing that comes to mind is actually -- you will learn on the job. That's the response people shared with me when I was about to enter full-time work, and I was rather caught off guard and even apprehensive to their dismissal of my wanting to succeed right out the gate. But it's the same response that I'll pass on to you as well.
Why? A couple things:
-- What made me stand out early on in the job was not the information I already knew (people know you are just starting out and will assume you don't have all the tools/knowledge you need to do whatever it is and they will have to teach you), but rather it was the eagerness in which you are ready to support the team and your capacity to consistently apply yourself and learn. To me, that's what will make you stand out. To caveat -- you need to have some base knowledge (but presumably that is cleared through the interview process), and once you are 6 months to a year in with the role, people will no longer give you so much of a benefit-of-the-doubt when it comes to performing the job.
-- This is more of a personal viewpoint -- but you may be spending the next say 40 years of your life working. That is a lot, a lot of time to learn things about work (I'm about 7 years in). Whether you know a decent bit more modeling or excel shortcuts when you start the job, this will likely have minimal importance of where you'll be in say 3 years, or even 1 year. And if you're a finance/economics major, you're familiar with opportunity cost. There's a lot of time for desk work ahead, and you may have some things you're able to partake in now that you'll have less flexibility to do so down the road.
BUT -- even with all that said, I was still antsy to be in a strong position vs. my peers especially in what could be a competitive environment. So here's my suggestions:
-- Habits and personal growth will likely make the biggest difference over any technical knowledge or subject matter expertise. This could take a lot of different forms and look different from many people. Maybe it's building a consistent exercise routine. Maybe it's getting really good at preparing a few weeknight go-to meals. Maybe it's growing and maturing emotionally.
-- You can ask the team you'll be joining about their roles, what they're doing on a day-to-day basis, and what their advice might be for preparing for the role. That way you'll have the most direct experience in targeting exactly what it is they're looking for, and you're not spending time on learning a leveraged buyout model when it's not applicable for say financial research.
-- In my experience, most people in the office setting have very little knowledge about how to use AI. Anything interesting that you're able to share from them in that regard I have found people really love and value.
Cheers to your professional journey ahead! I'm sure you're going to do great in kicking off the role.
Best,
Kevin
Love that you are eager to hit the ground running in a full-time role. I'll share my thoughts as best I can without the context of whether you have already accepted this full-time role, or perhaps may be able to secure an internship to get a better sense of the role.
As someone who similarly after college wanted to stand out really well at a financial firm (I started in investment banking), the biggest thing that comes to mind is actually -- you will learn on the job. That's the response people shared with me when I was about to enter full-time work, and I was rather caught off guard and even apprehensive to their dismissal of my wanting to succeed right out the gate. But it's the same response that I'll pass on to you as well.
Why? A couple things:
-- What made me stand out early on in the job was not the information I already knew (people know you are just starting out and will assume you don't have all the tools/knowledge you need to do whatever it is and they will have to teach you), but rather it was the eagerness in which you are ready to support the team and your capacity to consistently apply yourself and learn. To me, that's what will make you stand out. To caveat -- you need to have some base knowledge (but presumably that is cleared through the interview process), and once you are 6 months to a year in with the role, people will no longer give you so much of a benefit-of-the-doubt when it comes to performing the job.
-- This is more of a personal viewpoint -- but you may be spending the next say 40 years of your life working. That is a lot, a lot of time to learn things about work (I'm about 7 years in). Whether you know a decent bit more modeling or excel shortcuts when you start the job, this will likely have minimal importance of where you'll be in say 3 years, or even 1 year. And if you're a finance/economics major, you're familiar with opportunity cost. There's a lot of time for desk work ahead, and you may have some things you're able to partake in now that you'll have less flexibility to do so down the road.
BUT -- even with all that said, I was still antsy to be in a strong position vs. my peers especially in what could be a competitive environment. So here's my suggestions:
-- Habits and personal growth will likely make the biggest difference over any technical knowledge or subject matter expertise. This could take a lot of different forms and look different from many people. Maybe it's building a consistent exercise routine. Maybe it's getting really good at preparing a few weeknight go-to meals. Maybe it's growing and maturing emotionally.
-- You can ask the team you'll be joining about their roles, what they're doing on a day-to-day basis, and what their advice might be for preparing for the role. That way you'll have the most direct experience in targeting exactly what it is they're looking for, and you're not spending time on learning a leveraged buyout model when it's not applicable for say financial research.
-- In my experience, most people in the office setting have very little knowledge about how to use AI. Anything interesting that you're able to share from them in that regard I have found people really love and value.
Cheers to your professional journey ahead! I'm sure you're going to do great in kicking off the role.
Best,
Kevin