How to look for jobs in risk

[Saurabh Yadav]

How to look for jobs in risk

[Anonymous]

Hi Mukul,

Thanks! Well there is one more thing I wanted to know from you.
I am highly interested in making career in risk mangement but I don’t knw
how to go about it. I am building up my knowledge base by doing PRM and
studying about it but how should I pursue a career in it. Like how do i fnd
a job in risk management. Where should I apply to cause most of the places
they need someone with an earlier experience in risk management.
Would appreciate your comments.

[Anonymous]

Saurabh,

This is a question on top of everyone’s mind, but is difficult to answer as there isn’t a ‘closed form’ solution to this one. Getting an entry into any field in finance – be it investment banking, trading, PE – is always tricky and often serendipitous more than anything else. Employers, and more so recruiters, tend to consider your past experience as a limitation on what you can do in the future. Getting started in a different field in the early years of your career can make a switch to a field of your liking quite difficult later, as you would be judged by the last job you had. As time progresses, a switch becomes even harder.

However, there are many things you can proactively do while you study. First and foremost, you need to network with people working in the field. This is probably the most important thing you need to do above anything else. The outcome you want is for them to think about you when they are hiring. But that of course is easier said than done. Remember that hiring decisions will be made by people about two levels above the role you are targeting. So that is the kind of people you are looking to meet and influence. But don’t ignore peer level contacts either. Peer level networking contacts can be extremely useful to alert you of opportunities they see in their company, and to forward your resume to their bosses. So don’t ignore those.

Networks are built over time, and it takes a great deal of skill and savvy to not only make the initial connection, but also to keep in touch over time. It is one thing to meet someone at a conference and get their business card, and a completely different game to keep that alive as a valuable contact. To stay on peoples’ radar, you need to position yourself as someone who can help them in some way in the future – even if as a solid future employee who can make them successful. For the guy two levels above you, you don’t need a lot of face time, so whatever face time you get, you need to brief and bright during that encounter. Networking is also a two-way street – you need to be willing to help others without keeping score. Now to stay in touch with people who you have met is a bit challenging but not too difficult if you are imaginative. If you can figure out what they are interested in, or what challenges they deal with, sharing an occasional news story or two every once in a while is a good excuse. Another example is you sending them update emails from time to time telling them that you have passed Exam 1, Exam 2 etc, and how excited you are about getting your certification. Ask them if they would be willing to help you craft your resume to target risk jobs. But don’t spam them – be brief, and come across as bright.

Second, certifications certainly do help. They establish credibility, provide evidence of your work ethic, and show that you are serious. Above all, they provide great networking opportunities. PRMIA for example is very active (at least in the NY region) with lots of conferences and seminars which are very well attended. Those are great opportunities to meet people. You do need to make clear, though not in the first meeting, that you are looking for a career in risk, and would appreciate any leads or connections. Never ask for a job directly – that creates an embarrassing yes/no situation for the guy which inevitably leads to a ‘no’ answer. Think of the probability of someone having a job for your skills exactly at the time when you ask for it – close to zero! And by asking you kill the contact for the future. So talk in a general way, discuss risk, ask about what they do, how their organization has fared, etc. Only if the discussion has gone in a natural free flowing way for at least a couple of minutes, ask for advice and information. If they have a job in their organization that they think you might have a chance at, they will ask you for a resume. Send such people an email after you meet them. Most people will know what you are after, and many will not reply, but that is okay. Many people in these conferences will avoid making eye contact with young people because they know that you are looking for a favor, but that is okay too. Bear them no grudge.

Third, if you are working for an organization that has a risk management function, you should try to seek a move to that group. You need to network with friendly folks in that organization that can help throw your resume in the hopper when a vacancy comes up. Different organizations have different cultures that either promote or discourage such job hopping within the company, but most large organizations are quite tolerant. You need to make sure you don’t screw up your current job, so this one has to be done very delicately. But it must be done – because after all, if there is no risk, there will be no gain.

Finally, try cold calls, ie emails or letters to people you don’t know but who you believe could give you the job you want. This is the most ineffective way, and you can consider your success rate to be very high if you get a human to respond in more than 1-2% of cases. Each email or letter has to be personalized, provide some context, eg, ‘I visited your website and was impressed by blah blah blah, and wanted to write to you about how I can help you etc’. NEVER write to anyone in HR. They don’t understand the field, and are looking for an exact match for every bullet point in the job description. They are generally not in a position to make any judgment calls that hiring managers can.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot Mukul. I know this reply must have taken a lot of your time and appreciate this.
The reply was an eye-opener. It helped me understand the usefulness of building relations. I will try to find people working in risk profile and contact them. Apart from that I will be joining “Executive Masers in Risk and Investment management” in Singapore from September. There I will be studying with people working in risk management. I will try to make use of the situation. Also if you could assist me how should I start building contacts like where should I search, what should I talk about, how to get them interested in me, it would be very helpful.
Again thanks a lot Mukul.
Regards,
Saurabh Yadav

Regards,
Saurabh Yadav

[Anonymous]

Saurabh,

Your questions are very valid, but unfortunately there is no simple answer. A great deal of success in this type of networking depends upon being able to seamlessly slip yourself into conversations and get out of them timely as to find someone else, and all of this is more art than science. But in my experience, this social thing can take you only to a point, and maybe it is not even that important if you have something of value to offer.

There are two kinds of interactions you will have. First, the casual ones with people you meet at a conference or seminar that lasts a few hours, or a day at most. For these, one of the things of course is to be able to listen and interject with intelligent questions. Most people like to talk and if you give them that opportunity, they will. So ask questions about what people do, what challenges they or their companies are facing, did they work in this field forever, and if not, then how did they switch from what they were doing before. In the beginning do not give any hints that you are looking for a job because that may instantly turn people off. QUite on the contrary, the impression you should give is that you are doing quite well and enjoying your current role. Most people like to talk to other successful people, so it helps to convey that spirit of self-confidence and success.

The second type of interaction you will have is the more sustained one, for example at the Masters course you said you plan to attend. Here you can’t bullshit or hide your motives for too long or try to appear more intelligent than you really are.. So here focus on the long term attributes of relationship success: and these apply across cultures and countries. Things such as sincerity, integrity, discretion, honesty, hard work, and raw talent (which in my view is a function of the oil secretly burnt the midnight before) always help you come across as a reliable and trustworthy person.

Remember that people who hire you do so not because you know some mathematical formulae (it is assumed you will know those), but because they like you and they trust you.

Hope that helps,
Mukul Pareek

[Author]

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