Introducing Yourself

Many people start by summarizing their resume: "Hello, my name is Tom, and I majored in computer science at X. I did internships at X, Y, Z, and I've also been a teaching assistant." Do not start by summarizing your resume—they can read that themselves. They want to get to know you, not your resume. If your background wasn't interesting enough for them, they wouldn't have invited you for the interview. Let them ask any questions they have about your resume themselves.

Tell them something about your past, where you grew up, your hobbies, and how your experiences have shaped you into the person you are today. It’s always nice to end with a ‘bridge’ to how your past has led to your enthusiasm for trading. A good introduction could be:

"Hello, my name is Tom, and I was born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland. I have two brothers, and I've always enjoyed playing football with my friends and my oldest brother. I also enjoy playing board games! As a kid, I always loved numbers. I wanted to do more with numbers, so after high school, I chose to pursue a degree in engineering. Up until recently, I never had a passion for the quantitative finance industry because I simply never had any exposure to it. However, I discovered the industry while I was looking for fields that work a lot with numbers and at the same time have a shorter feedback loop. In engineering, the feedback loop is very slow. When I learned about trading, I was immediately hooked, and I started experimenting with trading strategies using cryptocurrencies in my spare time. I really enjoyed crunching the numbers and trying to outsmart the market, where I had to use my mathematical background as well. It felt like playing soccer to me because I felt competitive trying to beat the market, but now with numbers instead of a ball. After attending guest lectures at my university and participating in in-house days at some companies, I knew: this is the industry for me. That's why I'm here, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you and your firm better during this process as well!"

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