Getting Hired By a Hedge Fund
Interview on Getting Hired by a Hedge Fund Today
Hedge funds are starting to hire again after a rough stretch for hopeful hedge fund applicants during the financial crisis and ensuing reduction in the industry. Still, hedge funds continue to be highly selective (even more so than before the crisis).I was recently interviewed on this trend by eFinancial Careers and offered the following tip to those looking to get hired by a hedge fund: "The hedge fund industry is a knowledge-based industry; everything from trading and portfolio management to capital-raising is specialized knowledge, and if you have a little experience and lots of specialized knowledge, you will be in great demand in this industry."
The change in circumstances suits recruiter Edwin Ostrand just fine. He believes the industry had hired too many people in the past. Now, many firms are increasingly looking at passive candidates.
“Their view is that the best people are still employed because you are not going to lay off anyone who was making you money,” says Ostrand, the head of Edwin C. Ostrand LLC of Tampa, in an interview with eFinancialCareers. He expects the “slight uptick” in hiring to continue. “[They] are trying to stay lean and focused by bringing people with multiple skill sets to the table.”
His views were echoed by Richard Wilson, founder of the 80,000-member Hedge Fund Group association and author of The Hedge Fund Book: A Training Manual for Professionals and Capital-Raising Executives, who says hiring in the industry began picking up last year and will continue to increase this year.
“Hedge fund service providers have been hiring quickly as well, and for those looking for industry experience, that is not a bad way to go,” Wilson tells eFinancialCareers. “The hedge fund industry is a knowledge-based industry; everything from trading and portfolio management to capital-raising is specialized knowledge, and if you have a little experience and lots of specialized knowledge, you will be in great demand in this industry.” SourceLearn more about a career in the hedge fund industry with our free Hedge Fund Career Guide.