Getting A Job At Prop Firm

[ChaseLa]

I have been trading for over 1 year now and have recently become profitable.

I have been looking into a prop firm in my area and they say they are not hiring grads or trainees but they are always hiring "experienced traders".

They don't specify any college qualifications on the site they just ask are you competitive & determined.

I have trade equities, commodities, indices but mostly currencies.

I have taken a 1000$ account to 3000$ in the space of 2.5 months with little downside risk.

I have read all the market wizards books, reminiscence of a stock operator, and a few books on currency trading.

I have no formal education in finance but Im pretty sure I can trade better than a kid who just got some MBA from a random college.

Do I fall under the category experienced trader ?

The reason I want to trade for a prop firm is to get an income whilst trading so I can build up my capital base.

Thanks in advance

 

[tar]

Do I fall under the category experienced trader ?

No , your experience is just 1 year , why not ask them what they mean by "experienced" traders .


GL

 

[ffsear]

Don't say you've been trading 1 year. Say you've be trading for X, profitable for Y and that you can provide the last 12 months trading records.

 

[jotekfinance]

Agree with ffsear. The money you have made, though, is great, but very small change for a firm. Maybe just walk in there and introduce yourself. Sometimes a smile and confidence is worth more than a few years of experience when getting hired

 

[Parky]

The "Experienced" trader definition is for compliance purposes, it requires a trader to demonstrate that he has made a living from his/her trading either by virtue of employment or by trading PA and living off the income. This is required by companies because otherwise you are classified as a "retail" trader, and that can open up a can of worms for any company. The other option is to go via an accredited trainee trader scheme, this is a scheme approved or on file at the regulator and would require the company concerned to back you after the trainee trader scheme ends and to enable you to provide a trading record, the point at which you become an "experienced" trader after a trainee trader program is mute but again the company that takes you on has to be satisfied they can avoid you being viewed as a "retail" trader. The companies concerned also need to protect themselves if you supply trading capital and loose it and then go to the regulator and say you did not understand the risk you were taking etc. if they can demonstrate why they classified you as experienced and if it is accepted you will not have a leg to stand on.
I am afraid it is a sign of the times and is a backside covering exercise.

 

[highbury fx]

I have been trading for over 1 year now and have recently become profitable.

I have been looking into a prop firm in my area and they say they are not hiring grads or trainees but they are always hiring "experienced traders".

They don't specify any college qualifications on the site they just ask are you competitive & determined.

I have trade equities, commodities, indices but mostly currencies.

I have taken a 1000$ account to 3000$ in the space of 2.5 months with little downside risk.

I have read all the market wizards books, reminiscence of a stock operator, and a few books on currency trading.

I have no formal education in finance but Im pretty sure I can trade better than a kid who just got some MBA from a random college.

Do I fall under the category experienced trader ?

The reason I want to trade for a prop firm is to get an income whilst trading so I can build up my capital base.

Thanks in advance

Hi Chase

It's difficult to get a job in the 'market' as a 'prop trader' without either working your way up through the back office or being lucky enough to land a graduate place at a respectable firm.

Try and interview at spread bet and FX companies for Sales Traders roles. A company like IG for example wouldn't care that you've traded successfully for 2 years and made an annual return of 100%. They would however like the fact that you know what a bid and offer is and what side of the price you need to deal on and you understand when news data comes out and the ramifications of it because that all shows you have experience in how financial markets operate at a basic level. They will teach you their way of doing business over a couple of months and then let you loose on clients. Get a couple of years at a place like IG and you become very interesting to the mid-tier banks, small hedge funds and smaller spread bet firms.

You're almost guaranteed to make good contacts during your couple of years at a spreadbet/fx shop and you will pick up a couple of good clients that may follow you to your next job. This is what some firms are looking for when they say 'experienced traders' or 'portable client lists'.. if you interviewe at a firm and tell them you have clients who follow you, you become much more valuable.

I would hire someone who told me they have 40 clients who will do business wherever s/he works but I would not take anyone seriously who told me they prop traded and made 100% on their account in the last year. Why? Apart from it probably being a lie, to make 100% in 12 months they would need to use high gearing which is too risky. Spreadbet firms prefer to use their model of consistency and running analysed risk from retail clients than toss a coin on 200:1 leverage.

Good luck

 

[drtro]

The broker dealer I trade retail on hires prop traders. They require 2 years experience in trading as primary income under a consistent strategy that's >60% successful. So if you do meh but get a few home runs, they won't hire you. But if you have a gradual consistent equity curve with a consistent plan, they will hire you. Professionals care more about how you manage risk than the profit you make. I've even heard it from former hedge fund managers I've subscribed too for webinars. A person who made 20% at a 60% success rate will be hired professionally any day over a guy who made 100% but had large drawdowns and no consistency. Trading in a way is long term. They want consistent money, not fast money. The prop traders here manage $10MM intraday, so they are pretty strict.

I wouldn't say "I turned $1k into $3k in 3 months." Mention your consistency, not profit you've made in such a short time frame.