This is part of a series of testimonials from candidates who have successfully been placed by The Execu|Search Group. This testimonial comes from Alexis Read; you can find our past testimonials here.

Finding a new, rewarding job can be difficult enough, but throw in a major move to a new city and the search gets harder. This is the challenge Alexis Read faced when she decided to make the move from Washington, D.C. to New York City to further her career in financial services. To expedite her search and ensure she was interviewing for roles that fit her unique needs, Alexis partnered with Jerry Battipaglia, Senior Associate in The Execu|Search Group’s Financial Services division. Through her partnership with The Execu|Search Group, she was able to find a position that excited her and met her needs, and was happy to tell us a bit more about her experience:

On her background…

I graduated from James Madison University in 2013 with a B.S. in Quantitative Finance, a concentration in Risk Management, and minors in Mathematics and Economics. Upon graduation, my plan was to pursue a career as a Quantitative Analyst in New York City. However, firms typically recruit students from JMU for job opportunities in the Washington, D.C. area, so I spent a few years there earning experience as an audit specialist performing valuations on clients’ portfolios containing fixed income securities, a consultant doing validations for models developed in the SAS (Statistical Analysis System) platform, and a senior analyst developing SAS-based models. As the learning curve eventually began to level out, though, I felt that it was time to make the move to NYC like I had always intended. My search for a quantitative finance career in NYC began in August 2015.

On what she was looking for…

I was looking for a position that would utilize my education in quantitative finance/risk management, improve the technical skills I learned in school, and tie in my work experience with valuations and data analytics. Quantitative jobs typically require a Master’s Degree in Financial Engineering and often even a Ph.D, but I was determined to find a job that would help me get my foot in the door first. I partnered with another recruitment firm to help me do so, but didn’t have a great experience and ultimately didn’t find what I was looking for.

Because of this, I began searching for other recruitment firms in the NYC area. I saw that The Execu|Search Group was a top-rated recruitment firm for finance jobs, so I reached out with some information about myself and what I was looking for. A member of the team, Jerry Battipaglia, got back to me immediately and was extremely receptive to what I was looking for. He was confident that there were quantitative jobs available that did not require a MFE or Ph.D, and he sent over some relevant job specs very quickly.

On how TESG worked to meet her needs…

Living in Washington, D.C. added an extra layer of complexity to finding a job in NYC. On top of this, I was interviewing at multiple other firms and was far along in the process with a few of them. Jerry and the rest of the Execu|Search team understood this and made sure to work with me to schedule phone interviews as quickly as possible. We also timed it so that the phone interviews were scheduled shortly before the week that I had already planned a visit to NYC for in-office interviews. Overall, Jerry was instrumental in making sure I could meet with the hiring managers for all of the relevant positions I was interested in.

On preparing for the interview…

Jerry and I always had a prep talk before every interview, even if it was just for a non-technical pre-screening with the HR department. He outlined what the interviewers were like and what they would be looking for in a candidate. I felt very prepared going into each one. Out of the six interviews that I had the week that I came to visit, there was a Senior Valuations Associate position that I was interested in because it met all my needs. I was amazed to receive the phone call from Jerry that the firm wanted to extend an offer, and I ended up accepting the position shortly after. The role is perfectly in line with my quantitative finance education, my previous experience, and the quantitative career I was trying to break into. I have Execu|Search to thank for setting me up with the opportunity and appreciate all they have done for me.

“Working with Alexis was a pleasure,” says Jerry. “It always makes the process easier when a candidate has a clear idea of what would best suit their skills. Alexis clearly knew quite a bit about the industry and the direction she wanted her career to go in, and that made it much easier to pinpoint what positions would be a good fit for her. I wish her all the best in her career and look forward to working with her further in the future.”