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As we reiterate here often, getting a job at hedge fund Citadel or electronic market making firm Citadel Securities, is hard. Fewer than 1% of people who apply are successful. But there are ways of increasing your chances.
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Citadel and Citadel Securities are sponsoring this year's European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO), which started today. Matt Mitro, Citadel's head of campus recruiting, says the firm is sending both members of its HR team and one of its top quantitative researchers to support the students involved. “Most of the EGMO participants are in secondary school, so they aren’t able to become interns with us yet," he says. "Beyond just hiring, we are really focused on supporting this community and contributing to the development of these exceptionally talented individuals.”
Olympiads are where students, typically in their late teens, solve puzzles in areas like mathematics, computer programming and physics and compete to win prizes. Citadel loves to hire them.
“Our intern class has a myriad of people who have competed in the most prestigious national and international math and science Olympiads. In a standard year, 20-30 of our interns will have competed in one or more Olympiads,” says Mitro.
The Olympiads align well with the sorts of people Citadel likes to recruit, says Mitro. “Participating in an Olympiad is never the only reason to hire someone, but it does provide us with some important information about a candidate," he adds. "It tells us they’re interested in math or computing or physics, that they enjoy working in teams, and that they like to compete and be the best at what that do. All of that is part of our mindset.”
Citadel employees who've competed in Olympiads past include quant researcher Zhuo Qun Song, who is the most decorated mathematics Olympiad of all time. However, Mitro says it's not just about winning the prizes. "A medal is a great accolade, but we also support those who are aspiring to be excellent and doing the work it takes to be the best.”
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