If you apply for a quant job at hedge fund Balyasny, you might meet Giuseppe (Gappy) Paleologo. He is the head of quant research there. He is also a good guy.
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Paleologo is currently hiring researchers on salaries alone of $250k. Speaking to a student podcast last month, he said he typically conducts two or three interviews a week and spends a lot of time thinking about hiring.
When he thinks, Paleologo said he thinks that the best people are not necessarily the people generally thought to be brilliant. They may not be stereotypical “mathletes” and winners of Olympiads. “You want someone who is intelligent and creative and passionate,” said Paleologo. This might not be the 22 year old who has done “all the right things” simply because they want a job that pays well.
In the current climate, Paleologo said the real premium is for people who are not only bright and can solve problems, but who can understand which technique is needed to solve a problem, who can communicate well and are “truly passionate.” Although mathletes are not favoured, it helps to know things like linear algebra, stochastic calculus and probability in detail.
“Everyone is sufficiently smart in this industry so that is not going to be the determining factor,” he said. Nor is exceptional coding ability a differentiator: “I know lots of outstanding ciders in places where I worked but I don’t want outstanding coders I want intelligent people…As a matter of fact, being an outstanding coder is probably not that much of a competitive advantage nowadays .”
All jobs in hedge funds and electronic trading firms are hard to get, said Paleologo. But people get them. “It’s a narrow path,” and doing everything right – getting top grades, going to the right schools, won’t necessarily take you to your destination. Sometimes people come from left field.
Paleologo, who has spent his many gardening leaves working in academia, also said that academics sometimes approach and ask if they can work with him on a consultancy basis. He says: “I tell them, if you are interested in joining my group we can discuss but you will have to leave your tenured position. Unfortunately you have to be an insider – you can’t do this job from the outside.”
There are various jobs in quant finance on the buy-side and people should be aware of them before applying, Paleologo added.
These jobs include: portfolio construction and portfolio management; execution and execution research; quant research and risk mangaement. Know where you fit.
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