Will a 1-Year Gap Ruin My Chances in a Tough Job Market?

Spirou

Spirou

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I've been out of work for 10 months and I've got 1 year's experience in quant. At the moment I've got some, but there's been a long period without a job

Would it be disqualifying if I went a year without work, especially at a time when banks aren't hiring much?
 
Spirou said:
I've been out of work for 10 months and I've got 1 year's experience in quant. At the moment I've got some, but there's been a long period without a job

Would it be disqualifying if I went a year without work, especially at a time when banks aren't hiring much?
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Ideally you can talk about how you used the time to get really good at some skill you lacked. For example:

I didn't have an internship last summer, though I did the summer before. I just had a super day, and the free summer came up. I responded (truthfully) that I used the time to learn python and cover some numerical mathematics topics. It tied in well with my general 'I was a humanities student the first two years of college' story- I needed the time to cover core competencies and I'd rather do that and prepare for roles I want then take another job in standard wealth management or other non-quant role that isn't relevant to what I am pursuing.

Just have a ready story to tie into your overall shtick. If you don't have an overall shtick, that's unfortunate, at some point you may need to pivot. But it won't destroy your chances on its own.
 
Oh do you really need an answer to that? I usually just answer that I'm looking for a job if they ask, but OK, I'll do some code projects to fill in the gaps a bit

I'd phrased the question wrong: is screening level OK for a 1-year gap, given that there hasn't been much hiring recently?
 
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