A top hedge fund recruiter explains why your college major doesn’t really matter
Ilana Weinstein
- Ilana Weinstein is the founder of The IDW Group, which focuses on recruiting investment talent for all kinds of investment strategies.
- We asked Weinstein about the biggest trends in the hedge-fund business and how to get a senior-level job today.
- Here’s her best advice for recent college graduates looking to land jobs at a hedge fund.
llana Weinstein, founder of the The IDW Group, is a tour de force within the hedge-fund industry.
She recruits top-level talent for the world’s most prestigious investment firms including hedge funds, family offices and private equity funds.
Weinstein recently sat down with Business Insider’s hedge fund reporter Rachael Levy for a wide-ranging interview about the industry. She says your college major isn’t actually that important when it comes to landing a dream hedge fund job after graduation. Instead, it all comes down to passion. Here’s more from the interview:
Rachael Levy: What advice would you give to a young person coming out of school who wants to join a hedge fund? What kind of educational background are funds looking for now?
Ilana Weinstein: Focus on what lights you up – not the dollar signs. There are thousands of hedge funds and most won’t make it.
There are thousands of hedge funds and most won’t make it. It’s kind of like the dot-com bubble when I was coming out of school. Unless you live and breathe investing and everything that goes on in your area of interest, this is not for you. What I am most inspired by is passion. This manifests itself through someone who is on fire about what is evolving in his industry, sector, how committed he is. I know it when I see it.
I wouldn’t worry much about majors. School is a time to expand your horizons and learn how to think. That skill set and flexibility will serve you better as an investor than any individual class. I have had a few Founders disparage the value of an MBA. They would rather the person spent those two years in an investing seat going through different markets. As an MBA myself I am mixed on that but I understand the point.
You can read the full interview with Ilana Weinstein here.
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