Many of us have thought about getting a prop trading job at some point in our trading careers.
There are certainly some advantages and disadvantages of working for a firm.
I’ll go into that in later posts.
But for now I wanted to go over the key things you need to get a prop trading job.
Now getting to the interview stage at a prop firm is pretty straight forward. They’ll take almost all applicants to the first round of testing.
However they the screen people, based mostly on personality type to narrow it down to those ‘they think’, are most likely to succeed.
So what are the qualities you need to have?
- Risk-takers
Prop firms want gamblers. They want people who are prepared to take a risk. If they were looking at two candidates, one an experienced tax accountant and another, a college kid who likes poker, then they’d take the kid every time. Show them you can take a risk.
- Are you competitive?
Firms love people who have a competitive streak. Have you ever played competitive sports? Are you driven and goal oriented. You really need that hunger in a prop firm.
- Can you take a hit?
Have you had to overcome obstacles in your life? Are you the kind of person who can get knocked down and get back up? Or are you likely to quit when the going gets tough?
- What’s your life status?
If you’re happily married with 2.5 kids and a mortgage then it’s going to be harder for you. You’ve got something to lose and really need an income. A college kid with a couple of bucks in his pocket and no job hasn’t got much to lose. However this one can be overcome if you show that you have a genuine passion for trading and have taken the right steps in life to give yourself time to learn to trade. The next point is key if you’re in this category.
- Do you have any knowledge?
Who is a firm going to be more interested in? A person who knows nothing about the markets other than what they’ve seen on the nightly news? Or someone who’s gone out and learnt the basics? It’s not hard to get the basics down and will put you straight through to the shortlist.
It’s not too hard to get through the early stages of the recruiting process. In coming weeks I’ll share all the details of the later stages and all the tricks you need to secure that job!
Good Trading.