Applying for job with current service provider....

Water Cooler Careers
#1

Hi,

I currently work for an institutional consulting firm doing manager research and performance reporting. I recently saw a job posted for a job with the investment team of a firm we currently use invest with. Obviously, I know the strategy well and I think I am qualified for the job. I have wanted to move to the direct investing side for quite awhile and this looks like a great opportunity.

Is it appropriate to reach out to my contact at the firm for advice? I’m not sure what the protocol is here given our current relationship.

Any advice would be appreciated,

Thanks.

#2

^ I’d go on and do it. No harm in obtaining information about a posted job opening.

#3

Yes, you should definitely do it if you are interested in the role.

#4

There is no harm in doing it, but realize there may be some hesitation on their end as some places frown upon poaching, as such, they may notify your current employer of your candidacy (They will tell you beforehand if they plan on contacting your employer, at which time you can continue with candidacy or end it. Typically this will only happen once you are pretty close to getting an offer)

My HF has hired from larger banks who we have very strong working relationships with (PB level, Large Volume Cptys, etc) and it is always a well coreographed dance in acquiring the person.

Just remember, the relationship between the firms most always takes precidence over you.

I don’t know your exact situation so this may be a non-issue, but just keep it in mind. I’d say go for it though.

#5

Interested to hear how this shakes out.

#6

I’ve worked for companies where, due to the relationship with management, they were encouraging about ensuring that i did what was best for me (one of the top salesmen at the time as well…)

But on the portfolio management side for a family firm, i get the vibe that this was would be very frowned upon. And unfortunately i talk to a lot of other firms on a monthly basis…

tempting but would also like to see how you approach this.

#7

Thanks for all the comments… I thought I’d stop back and let you know how it turned out.

I reached out to my contact at the firm who I have a pretty good relationship with and he put me in contact with the HR hiring manager. I’'m moving along in the process of applying for the job.

If anyone finds themselves in a similar position I would definitely recommend reaching out to your network at the firm. The worst they can say is no! I will say though that I was much more comfortable given my great relationship with this person. Otherwise, I may have been a little more aprehensive about the whole thing.

Thanks again!

#8

congrats