This file contains a description of a current Citi employee and description of the employee experience through a set of questions and answers.

Get an alarm clock! On a more serious note I think the biggest difference between academia and the workplace is that your life isn’t so structured. At School/University you know when your lectures are, when your assignments are due and when your final exams are. At work and especially in trading matters aren’t so lucid. You have to take a lot more initiative and make your own decisions. The upside is that if you are successful there is the potential to do well and progress quickly. The advice I would give is be proactive and try and learn as much as you can.

 

]]> My job is to manage the firm’s capital. Basically this means that I service the firm’s clients by providing them prices in assets that they are interested in. Once we have traded it is my job to manage that risk according to my views on different aspects of the market.

]]> Last year I was given the opportunity to go and trade the overnight book for Euro Rates in Tokyo for a couple of weeks. Given that I was trading on my own and had never been to Japan it was a fantastic learning and cultural experience.

]]> There is no one in the world who knows, with certainty, where markets are going over any period of time. It is that opaqueness and uncertainty about markets that excites me. The fact that at inception of a trade there is no guaranteed correct answer is what excites me the most about trading.

]]> In my view it is Citi’s global reach that provides it with its competitive edge. For traders having access to different pools of liquidity is vital. The other day I had a salesperson from Little Rock, Arkansas call up and take me out of some risk I was looking to neutralize. The fact that we have dedicated salespeople in nearly all parts of the world is something that never ceases to amaze me and provides me with a great competitive advantage.

]]> Banking is a people facing business. Regardless of your other skills you have to be an amicable person who has the ability to make relationships and get along with people. In trading this means getting along with salespeople and other traders, as well as clients in periods of potential pressure and volatility.

As well as the above I would say the desire to take risk and the ability to think clearly when running risk is very important. Personal risk management is one of the most important ways in which Trading differs from most other jobs.

]]> At the time of my internship I wasn’t sure which division I wanted to work in let alone which desk. My internship allowed me to meet people from various desks and also allowed me to spend time on different desks as well as get a flavour of what a potential job might entail. It also allowed me to get a better idea of how an Investment Bank functioned and whether I felt I could succeed in a banking environment.

 

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Name: Alok Modi

Title: Associate

Education: BSc (Hons) Economics - University College London

Program: Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities

Level: analyst

Region: Western Europe

What advice would you offer prospective candidates on transitioning from school to the workplace?

Get an alarm clock! On a more serious note I think the biggest difference between academia and the workplace is that your life isn’t so structured. At School/University you know when your lectures are, when your assignments are due and when your final exams are. At work and especially in trading matters aren’t so lucid. You have to take a lot more initiative and make your own decisions. The upside is that if you are successful there is the potential to do well and progress quickly. The advice I would give is be proactive and try and learn as much as you can.

 

If asked about your career at a dinner party, how would you describe it?

My job is to manage the firm’s capital. Basically this means that I service the firm’s clients by providing them prices in assets that they are interested in. Once we have traded it is my job to manage that risk according to my views on different aspects of the market.

Describe the most memorable experience you've ever had at Citi.

Last year I was given the opportunity to go and trade the overnight book for Euro Rates in Tokyo for a couple of weeks. Given that I was trading on my own and had never been to Japan it was a fantastic learning and cultural experience.

What about your career excites you the most - gets you out of bed in the morning?

There is no one in the world who knows, with certainty, where markets are going over any period of time. It is that opaqueness and uncertainty about markets that excites me. The fact that at inception of a trade there is no guaranteed correct answer is what excites me the most about trading.

What do you consider Citi's competitive edge?

In my view it is Citi’s global reach that provides it with its competitive edge. For traders having access to different pools of liquidity is vital. The other day I had a salesperson from Little Rock, Arkansas call up and take me out of some risk I was looking to neutralize. The fact that we have dedicated salespeople in nearly all parts of the world is something that never ceases to amaze me and provides me with a great competitive advantage.

What skills have you found to be the most useful in your position?

Banking is a people facing business. Regardless of your other skills you have to be an amicable person who has the ability to make relationships and get along with people. In trading this means getting along with salespeople and other traders, as well as clients in periods of potential pressure and volatility.

As well as the above I would say the desire to take risk and the ability to think clearly when running risk is very important. Personal risk management is one of the most important ways in which Trading differs from most other jobs.

How did your summer internship help you make the decision to pursue a career at Citi?

At the time of my internship I wasn’t sure which division I wanted to work in let alone which desk. My internship allowed me to meet people from various desks and also allowed me to spend time on different desks as well as get a flavour of what a potential job might entail. It also allowed me to get a better idea of how an Investment Bank functioned and whether I felt I could succeed in a banking environment.

 

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