u/C_with_improvement

Lots of people ask me why their applications feel like they're being sent into a black pit, a void that swallows up everything they throw inside.

This question has always struck me as strange. Those asking are clearly intelligent, but they're just not positioned correctly. I've looked over so many resumes that I know within 10 seconds if you're going to get a chance, or get swallowed by the void.

So instead of just stopping at creating a preparation platform, I've expanded it with a recruitment arm. Why? Because I'm actually interested in getting people placed, not just providing them with prep material and telling them 'Good luck!'.

Those who meet basic qualifications on getcracked.io can apply for our recruitment service; a fast-pass straight to the top of the resume pile, with interviews booked for you by stellar recruiters who specialize in quant. They're literally paid to get you a job, and will support your development from the first interview.

This service will be put on steroids when I launch getcracked Elite, our quant placement accelerator.

So why are you bothering to look elsewhere? You're going to pay whether you sign up or not. The only question is whether you prefer to pay with time, tears, and missed opportunities, or with a couple dollars.

Lots of people ask me why their applications feel like they're being sent into a black pit, a void that swallows up everything they throw inside.

This question has always struck me as strange. Those asking are clearly intelligent, but they're just not positioned correctly. I've looked over so many resumes that I know within 10 seconds if you're going to get a chance, or get swallowed by the void.

So instead of just stopping at creating a preparation platform, I've expanded it with a recruitment arm. Why? Because I'm actually interested in getting people placed, not just providing them with prep material and telling them 'Good luck!'.

Those who meet basic qualifications on getcracked.io can apply for our recruitment service; a fast-pass straight to the top of the resume pile, with interviews booked for you by stellar recruiters who specialize in quant. They're literally paid to get you a job, and will support your development from the first interview.

This service will be put on steroids when I launch getcracked Elite, our quant placement accelerator.

So why are you bothering to look elsewhere? You're going to pay whether you sign up or not. The only question is whether you prefer to pay with time, tears, and missed opportunities, or with a couple dollars.

[ Removed by Reddit in response to a copyright notice. ]

A lot of people are so starved for employment that, when they see others given what would otherwise appear like a dream offer, they scratch their head wondering why someone wouldn't accept it.

Members of getcracked.io sometimes find themselves rejecting star-studded offers in quant (this is just one example).

Why?

Not because they don't pay enough, or the firm isn't prestigious enough. Here are the reasons that many people overlook:

You never inteded to accept it.

Why would you do that? To practice, remain sharp, and 'explore what is out there'.

Believe it or not some people are so cracked that they can just walk through the interview, scratching their head, and find themselves at the end of the process with the offer someone else sacrificed their mother to obtain.

Think of the guy that never went to class but aced every exam.

Location changes everything.

Sometimes moving to another country sounds great in your head. But when it becomes real everything changes. You need to leave your friends, and family. Maybe you have a retro video collection you'd need to ship through the Straight of Hormuz before it arrives at your new destination (cough cough, me).

You might have other obligations that aren't as flexible (children, a partner), and moving just doesn't make sense.

No major incentive.

You know your co-workers, your boss. You're the highly respected domain expert at your organization for a series of applications or services. You currently clock in at 10AM and dip at 4PM to play Runescape.

You're still learning, but not as much when you first joined (and that's okay with you).

Why would you leave if the pay is just marginally better? You're already living the most comfortable life you could as a W-2 employee.

You're literally the king-boss-man in your team.

Accepting an offer somewhere else would Call-of-Duty prestige-rank you back to level 1. Sure, you're now prestige 2, but you got 0 unlocks.

Curious what your thoughts are if you've ever rejected an offer that someone would have snapped their grandma's neck to obtain.

One of our new grad trading candidates decided to share some intel with the group recently. He mentioned his process wasn't too standard, so take with a grain of salt. Thought I'd share regardless.

There's a lot more questions both in-Discord and on-platform (Discord ones get moved on-platform).

Our Discord has those that both cracked NK Securities, and those in the process of cracking. If you're interested you know where to go (getcracked.io).

A lot of people ask what the value of a community is when grinding for a quant role.

Is it not obvious by now? Sitting through the same interviews, where the community knowledge shares, is critical to understanding how you should best prepare.

Really happy to have built the most expansive community of quants, and aspiring quants; learning from each other, sharing information, and grinding for roles.

Just wanted to drop in and let you know that if you're grinding for quant, you know where to go (getcracked.io).

Today I got a message from a hardware engineer that really validated my decision to expand getcracked into the hardware domain.

We just released a new update on my platform for hardware engineering interview preparation.

When you get a testcase wrong, you're now provided with a waveform for debugging purposes.

I'm really committed to making the best hardware engineering interview preparation platform, and my committment to adding quant trading (and other industry) related questions is ironclad.

The hardware engineering partners on getcracked have been phenominal, and I can't wait to provide more value for those who are members via new coding problems, questions, and (hopefully) quizzes soon!

Just thought I'd drop in and let anyone interested know.

I see a lot of people wanting to break into the space, almost as though Quant is a golden ticket to 600K TC.

There’s a collective delusion baked into these communities (unfortunately, and mostly in the online space) that I think genuinely needs to be called out.

People are being gaslit into thinking $200 - 300K is a bad outcome for an offer (TC), especially at the junior level (many of which are posted on getcracked.io/compensation).

It isn’t. Not even close.

Yes, you can see Optiver, Citadel, IMC (etc)comp numbers online, at places like Levels, Reddit, and elsewhere. And after enough exposure, your brain recalibrates. $250K starts sounding like a consolation prize. People unironically type things like “that’s solid for a non-target” as if $250K is the quant equivalent of participation trophy money.

I’ve watched people seriously agonize over whether to take a $280K offer at a well-run, intellectually serious hedge fund run by people they genuinely get along with.

At some point we need to stop and think “What more will money buy you?”.

I often tell people, when I was making just above 300K, and received an offer for over 400K, I didn’t think my life would change much (and it wouldn’t have). At that level, it’s just more money to throw in an index fund to reap later. Sure, you’ll have an extra hundred thousand or more at retirement, but as of right now, it doesn’t change much.

I also told people that I’d take a $25,000 pay cut if it meant I could come to the office in pajamas on my own schedule. That’s how much being free to work on my terms meant to me.

Can you get both high compensation and a matching degree of elevated autonomy at some firms? Sure. But focus so myopically on pay. You’re well ahead of 95% of people at that level, and money isn’t the end-all-be-all either.

Id rather work stress free at 250K than 9-9 at 400.