How to Move From Finance to Tech

Everything I Wish I’d Known

The Single Biggest Difference

Tech Hiring ProcessFinance Hiring Process

Risk Management Extends To Hiring

Bad hire into a well defined role where hiring is managed by an experienced HR team at a 30,000 person company: not super risky

Bad hire into a nebulous role where hiring is managed by founder at a 30 person company: very risky

You need to de-risk yourself.

How You Help Them Find You in The Chaos: Figure Out Where You Are

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” -- Lewis Carroll

Have you thought about where you’re going?

Questions to Consider (Plus, How I’d Answer Them

Where Do I Want To Live?

● In the US, most tech concentrated in NYC/SF

● Look at the types of companies that are in each city - they’re pretty different

● Obviously, personal factors play a big role here too

What Kinds of Companies Are Interesting to Me?

You wouldn’t go into banking without a strong view on which of the industry groups is most interesting to you.

Likewise, figure out what area of tech you’re most excited about: financial tech, advertising tech, online content, etc.

What Do I Actually Want to Do All Day?

There’s not much out there like Vault.com in terms of resources.

But there are a lot of job descriptions out there. Read a wide variety of descriptions and get a sense for what you find most exciting - both the general job functions and also which individual tasks.

Write a job description for the role you want.

What Stage/Size Company Do I Want to Work For?

Seed Series A Series B or More

Your Role Generalist Specializing Specialist

Hiring Process Founder involvedLeast structuredMinimal onboarding

Hiring manager leadsMore structuredMinimal onboarding

Hiring manager or HR personMore structuredOnboarding

# of Employees Smallest Medium Larger

Risk Highest Medium Lowest

Salary Lowest Medium Market rate

What Kind of Culture Do I Want?

Bank culture doesn’t vary that much.

Startups culture varies a lot.● Hours● Location● Professionalis

m● Values

Pro tip: Founder’s personality = startup’s culture

So Now You’ve Done All This Reflecting

Now it’s time to act on what you’ve thought about.

The more focused you can be, the better people will be able to help you.

FOCUS IS YOUR FRIEND.

Get To Know the Landscape

● Know the major VCs & read their blogs○ AVC.com○ BothSidesOfTheTable.com○ Launch.co

● Read the tech press like you’d read the Wall Street Journal○ Silicon Alley Insider○ TechCrunch○ AllThingsDigital

● Attend smaller tech events (<100 people, and ideally smaller than that)

● Find people in your network that are in tech

Make a List of the Companies that You Find Interesting

Prioritize them.

Figure out what the 3 biggest challenges are for each right now, and how you could help tackle those challenges.

Figure out who you know at each company.

Reach out to them.

Rewrite Your Resume

Financial jargon will impress no one.

Rewrite your resume so that it actually communicates your skills to someone who has never so much as opened a bank account.

Your grandmother should be able to read it.

Get Social

● LinkedIn: for sure, and grandmother-proof● Twitter: yes, even if you’re just sharing

articles, etc you find interesting● Facebook: people may look at it but unless

you have really bad stuff, no one will care● Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest: can be

incrementally helpful● Blog: awesome, but highest effort

Be Proactive

There is no hiring cycle.

Jobs are rarely listed on company’s websites.

So your job is to skate where the puck is going:● if they raise a round of financing, they’ll

probably hire● if they close a bunch of bus dev deals, they’ll

probably add to that team

Reach Out & Make It Easy for Them To Say Yes

● Be passionate but focused● Offer value before you ask for anything in

return

Bad Email

Hi there,I spent two years as a derivative trader on a desk at Morgan Stanley and really want to work at a startup. Can I get coffee with you sometime?Jeff

Good Email

● Uses the product● Did research● Has personality● Explains

background clearly

● Clear rationale for passion about the product

● Humble

Other Ways To Interact

● Share relevant articles via Twitter/Facebook● Retweet/reply to the company’s tweets● Like/comment on the company’s Facebook

posts● Share/comment on the company’s blog● Follow the company’s employees on social

media● Look for introductions to people at the

company● Write a blog post about the company and

share it across social media

Interviewing: Prep

● Read everything you can get your hands on about the company

● Be able to articulate the company’s mission in one sentence

● Be able to articulate 3-5 things about the company’s culture that stand out to you

● Talk to people in similar roles at other companies to get a sense for “a day in the life”

Interviewing: Day Of

● Startups are informal...but basics still apply:○ Be on time○ Bring printed copies of your resume○ Don’t wear a suit, but don’t look like a slob either○ Describe what you think a typical day would look like

in the role you’re applying for○ Articulate why this company, and why this role○ Send a thank-you note

Some Hiring Practices That Seem Weird But Are Common in Tech

● You may be asked to do a project to demonstrate your skills

● You may be asked to intern or work on a contract basis before coming on full time

● Hiring process could move super quickly...or take months

Mistakes to Avoid

● Reaching out to multiple people at a company, especially if they have similar roles

● Expressing an interest in multiple roles at a company

● Not doing your homework about the company, including not being a user of its product

Want More?

● Take my Skillshare class in NYC● Take my Udemy course online● Follow me on Tumblr: khuyi.tumblr.com● Follow me on Twitter: @khuyi