CIO career tips for early careers

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." — Søren Kierkegaard

Graduates and their families are currently navigating the competitive environment for graduate jobs. According to the numbers I have seen in the UK and the US, the ratios of graduates to jobs is currently higher than normal and the environment has weakened over the last 3 years. If you are facing this situation, this blog is for you.

I've had the enormous privilege with my co-host Sean Thompson (a true gentleman) to interview 6 CIOs about their roles, approach and how they came to be a CIO. From those conversations, our own experience and having had the opportunity to meet other senior investors, we have a message of hope and perseverance. We are cheering for you. You are the future of our industry and the City of London.

What would I want to have known at the start of my journey?

Careers, like many things have a lot of preconceptions and urban myths. So here are 3 takeaways from the discussions.

1) Careers aren't planned in advance

Not one of people I have met throughout my career went through their exact planned career path. As opposed to executing a plan, it felt more like chances emerged due to interest, skills and experience. When people are focused on maximising their graduate starting wage, that advice can seem impractical and romantic, but on a 20yr view rather than a 10yr view your starting job makes less impact that you would think.

One of the lines that makes this point well was from Rob Groves - "That was me trying out different things. I didn't really know what I wanted to do. But then I think by the time when I did look back, actually those experiences were really useful.

When Richard Tomlinson, now a CIO managing Local Government Pension Schemes, was fresh out of University his engineering degree took him to Birmingham's NEC as a first job! His interest in domes and how they could be used was his first attempt at adding value to the world. For him, that experience was valuable as it helped him understand how large scale projects can spur a local economy. He was rewarded for passion and action.

2) Build skills, relationships and experiences

Richard's story helps us get to our next point. What has this person been doing outside of study? A good university degree is great, but in a competitive environment employers want to see how you come across and have been spending your leisure time. Were you involved in your university finance society? Do you invest your own ISA portfolio? Do you read about cutting edge technologies? Have you taken on leadership positions in non-profit activities? Do you have presentation and public speaking experience?

If you are unable to get your desired job immediately, try and build out the skills that will both be useful for life in general, and might help you stand out later:

• Get a mentor. No seriously, get a mentor. If you are willing to really work on building your skillset it would be worth crafting a plan with someone more experienced.

• Take a paid or unpaid opportunity that helps you master the MS Office Suite like Excel, Word, Powerpoint, writing a clear email etc

• Consider the CFA or actuarial exams as a way to show your interest.

• Take on a non-profit role that requires you presenting and persuading. If it gets you into contact with people from the finance industry - that's great.

• Look into 5 different companies from the FTSE 100 or S&P 500 that interest you and try and understand them reading primary materials (Annual report, filings, investor presentation etc.) and then compare that analysis to how other people have analysed them.

• Stay in touch with your peers and compare notes. If you have access to those who have landed roles in the last 3 years that is very valuable too - recruiting methods have changed hugely with technology.

• Do anything that helps you structure your life around a day-job and practice that muscle. You should not underestimate the value of getting up and being somewhere on time. Also, navigating transport issues, arriving at work calm and collected, ready to do what helps the team.

These things show you just cannot help yourself but do cool things. You definitely need to resist the temptation to freeze and wait for the “right” role, at the “right” firm, with the “right” brand, so your CV looks like a fairytale. But, CVs are only based on a true story. Think about what can you do today, to build your set of capabilities.

3) Skills come together to become superskills

There is a (hopefully true) story that Steve Jobs once took up a calligraphy class at college. From that choice, the Apple Mac was the first to have multiple typefaces or fonts. Microsoft (according to Jobs) copied that approach and so the story goes, were it not for Steve Jobs doing a calligraphy class, we would not have multiple fonts everywhere. Whether or not it is true, it's great for proving the next point.

All of the guests spoke about how they picked up skills and experiences and relationships and found that their unique journey became valuable in a place and time. It is very clear that picking up lots of different skills shows:

• Action

• An ability to learn

• An ability to solve problems

“I Knew enough of the balance sheet and understood that technical side, but also could speak investment speak.” — Rob Groves. That combination of skills led to Rob being given his big break.

Gerald Chen-Young, the CIO of an American Public Pension Plan talked about his unique grounding in law and economics as “The rational person from economics meeting its equivalent in law, which is the reasonable person.” Again, a unique background, meant that he could speak to economic models and read offering circulars with ease.

Make your CV a tale of never-say-die action and problem-solving

My hope for you, more than money, title or praise, is that you look back on your career having proposed and executed change, helped a team through dark times, and built amazing things when the wind was at your back.

When you look at your CV in 5 years' time hopefully it will answer this question, "How did I navigate the environment of 2026"

• How persistent were you?

• How did you build skills, relationships and experiences?

• How did you prepare for working?

In a world of "fake it until you make it", don't focus on getting attention, focus on doing something today that will be the basis of your superpower in 10years time.