The investment company Citadel is expanding businesses in Asia and has opened many internship positions in Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China recently, covering quantitative research, software engineering and trading. The internship programs provide first-hand experience in long/short investment strategies and stock pitch presentations. Citadel’s internship application is highly competitive, with only 0.8% admission rate and 4 rounds of intense interviews. However, Citadel has also been actively recruiting younger talents through its Discover Citadel program targeting freshman and sophomore students, as well as the newly launched Summer Externship targeting sophomores and juniors. The programs greatly enhance one’s opportunities to get Citadel’s coveted full-time offers.
Citadel considers problem solving and learning ability over technical skills
Unlike most financial companies that focus on candidates’ technical skills and credentials, Citadel cares more about candidates’ logical thinking and learning ability according to employees’ reviews on Glassdoor. The reason is that in the fast-changing financial industry, skills could become outdated quickly, while strong logical thinking enables employees to constantly upgrade themselves and solve new problems.
Quantitative and programming abilities are important for trading internship
Although Citadel values learning ability over hard skills, quantitative and programming abilities are still crucial for getting shortlisted for interviews, especially for trading and quant research internships. Freshmen and sophomore students are recommended to start building a solid math, statistics and CS foundation, and participate in coding competitions to accumulate projects for resume.
Citadel’s interview has 4 rounds covering both hard and soft skills
Citadel’s interview starts with a phone screen, followed by 4 rounds of onsite interviews in New York or Chicago office. The questions aim to examine both candidates’ technical competence and culture fit. Interviewers care about how driven and curious candidates are about the markets, and candidates’ views on market news related to Citadel.
Lower-grade programs greatly increase full-time offer rates
Citadel’s Discover Citadel program and Summer Externship provide great opportunities for freshman, sophomore and junior students to learn about the company, network with employees and showcase competence. Participants of the programs have much higher chances of getting interviews and full-time offers from Citadel.
The highly selective Citadel programs provide valuable learning and networking opportunities. Interested candidates should start early preparation in programming and financial modeling, while participating in Citadel’s special programs for younger students.