Struggling to transition to a U.S. finance career
I’m looking for some honest career advice because I’m starting to run out of ideas.
I’m a U.S. citizen, but I spent the first 10 years of my finance career overseas, so I have essentially zero U.S. work experience. My entire background is in equity research, both sell-side and buy-side, and I’m a CFA charterholder.
Due to a family situation, I need to stay in Miami until around February next year. I’ve been here for about three months now, trying to build a long-term career here, and I haven’t received a single interview.
I’ve tried pretty much every avenue I can think of.
The investment teams I’d genuinely like to join aren’t really hiring. Firms like Polen Capital value international investing experience, but there simply aren’t openings. Franklin Templeton hasn’t responded positively to any of my applications (they also seem to be going through restructuring). GQG Capital is another target, but every opening seems to attract hundreds of applicants.
Within Miami, many trust companies, family offices, and wealth management firms either aren’t hiring investment professionals or require fluent Spanish. The same goes for many banking roles (JPMorgan, BBVA, etc.), where Spanish or Portuguese is often listed as a requirement. Unfortunately, I don’t speak either language.
I’ve also broadened my search into corporate finance roles at companies like the cruise lines, but no luck there either. I check LinkedIn multiple times a day, filter for jobs posted within the last 24 hours, and I’m usually among the first applicants.
I’ve joined my local CFA Society chapter, attended events, met some great people, and I’m trying to network as much as possible.
I’ve spoken with a few recruiters as well. One of them was particularly concerned about the one-year gap on my résumé. He basically said employers might assume I was difficult to work with, a job hopper, or financially independent. The first two aren’t true. I only stayed six months at my last role because it wasn’t a good fit, but I spent seven years at the employer before that.
The financially independent part is actually true. I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I didn’t need to work for a while. But that doesn’t mean I never want to work again. Savings don’t last forever, and I genuinely want to build the next stage of my career.
I’m based near Brickell and would happily commute to Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Fort Lauderdale, or pretty much anywhere reasonable. I’d also be perfectly happy working in the office five days a week. I’ve looked extensively at remote U.S.-based roles too, but that hasn’t led anywhere either.
The only realistic change I can make is relocating to New York around February next year, but I’m worried I’ll end up facing many of the same challenges there.
For those of you who have been through something similar,
or who work in investment management, equity research, or recruiting, is there anything obvious I’m missing? Is this mostly a Miami problem, a market problem, or something about my background that I’m underestimating?
A recruiter also told me not to expect a salary around $120,000 a year because it wasn’t realistic. Fair enough, I can accept less. But another industry professional told me that $120,000 would actually be the low end for someone with my experience.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to negotiate compensation when I haven’t even landed an interview yet. The problem is that I’m willing to accept a junior-level salary, but employers don’t seem willing to consider me for junior roles because they assume I’ll use them as a stepping stone and leave as soon as something better comes along.
So I feel like I’m stuck in this awkward limbo.