What do recruiters and employers look for in an outstanding applicant? For many roles employers actively seek PhD-holders for their technical expertise and skills, whilst others may see research career experience as a unique benefit that makes you stand out from the crowd of usual applicants.
This in-person panel session will answer your questions to senior managers and recruiters about what they look for when hiring researchers applying for roles beyond academia, from networking approaches to CVs and interviews.
Rory Robinson, Head of UK Sustainability, d-fine: As the Head of UK Sustainability at d-fine, my role is to support financial and corporate clients to formulate and operationalize their sustainability strategies. I have an MMath in Mathematics from Oxford, and took courses including mathematical finance, numerical linear algebra and finite different methods. During my time at Oxford, I participated in The Student Consultancy and was President of the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra. I am a member of the recruitment team of the d-fine London office and participate in the reviewing of CVs and cover letters and the conducting of interviews.
David Hawes, Quantitative Recruiter, Susquehanna: As a Quantitative Recruiter at Susquehanna, my role is to hire Quantitative Researchers and Quantitative Systematic Traders for our summer internship and graduate programmes. I did a BA in Theoretical Physics at Trinity College Dublin, before joining Susquehanna’s European HQ in Dublin in 2022. A large focus of my role is to conduct interviews (both technical and non-technical) for PhD, Postdoc and Masters candidates, as well as meeting candidates on campus to advise on the transition from academia to industry. Additionally, I work with our Quant Research and Trading teams in designing mathematical puzzles for both our interview processes and campus events.
George Mecklenburgh, Talent Acquisition, G-Research: George is a talent acquisition and recruitment specialist with approximately 7 years’ experience recruiting Quant Researchers, ML Researchers, Data Scientists and Engineers. Currently working at G-Research, he specializes in identifying and attracting top-tier talent from across the UK, Europe, and the U.S, hiring both academics and experienced candidates. George holds a bachelors and master’s degree in International Relations and International Law from the University of Leeds. With experience in both in-house and agency recruitment, he has an understanding of candidate management, CV writing, Quant and ML interview processes, employer branding, and talent pipeline development. At G-Research, George guides candidates through the entire application process from submitting a CV, through technical interviews, and on to offer management.
Julia Sadler, Careers Adviser, Oxford University Careers Service and former Editorial Manager in Publishing: Julia Sadler worked in publishing for 20 years before becoming a careers adviser in 2018. For much of that time she was an editorial manager, which involved recruiting editors and interns into an editorial team. This involved setting job descriptions, sifting applications and creating recruitment tests and interview questions. She loves using that experience when advising individuals who want to go into publishing, creative careers and law among other areas. Fun fact: one of the best editors she ever worked with was a nuclear physics PhD.
Chaired by Dr Chris Jeffs, Careers Adviser, Oxford University Careers Service
