This Employer Spotlight is written by Chris Quagliata, U.S. Treasuries Voice Broker. Chris graduated from Fordham with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, as a member of the class of 2011. He interned with ICAP before getting hired full time. Here, Chris speaks about his experience as an intern at ICAP, how he got where he is today, and how his Fordham education helped him along the way.
I first started at ICAP as an intern in the summer of 2010. Like most college students, I was very unsure of the type of industry I wanted to get into after graduation. As late as junior year, I was still back-and-forth between finance and the sports media industry. I worked in the sports department at WFUV for four years, was the department manager during my senior year, and even did an internship at Westwood One radio in the spring of 2010. That being said, I knew I needed to spend the summer following my junior year in a structured internship program within the finance industry to give me an idea of which field I wanted to enter.
I found out about the internship at ICAP through the Fordham careers website [CareerLink] and by attending the career fairs. The process began with an on-campus interview, then an assessment center at ICAP’s office, and wrapped up with phone interview with the Global Head of Graduate Recruitment. I was accepted into the eight-week internship program and spent my summer rotating around the various broking desks and learning about the different products and the overall structure of ICAP. At the end of that internship, I interviewed with senior management for a full time position and was hired to start in the September of 2011 after I graduated from Fordham.
My first three weeks as a full-time ICAP employee were in London. The company flew everyone from the graduate program globally to ICAP’s headquarters in central London for global financial markets training. The training proved useful at filling in any gaps in my knowledge.
I really can’t overstate how great an experience it was going to London, especially for someone like me who had never been there before. The best parts of the trip was becoming friends with ICAP grads from around the world, being at the company headquarters and seeing the office, and exploring the city itself. We all developed a strong camaraderie and spent our free time together every day after work. The grads from London took us all over the city on nights and weekends, and showed us the best places to visit and tour. I really can’t think of a better way to kick off my first full-time job.
When we got back to the U.S. and started in the office here, the real challenge began. What’s great about this graduate program is that you are given a real opportunity to find what place in the company best fits you. All of us rotated around the different broking desks within the company before finding a permanent home. The goal of the program is essentially to match graduates and the desks that are hiring. Matches are usually based on personality because every desk has one that is very unique. I rotated around nine different desks and got a good idea of my tastes; which products I liked, which I didn’t, and the desks that fit my personality. Ultimately, each desk wants someone eager and ready to work, and who they can see themselves sitting next to five days a week, 52 weeks a year.
But make no mistake: the rotation process is challenging and difficult at times because of the uncertainty and competition involved. It is your job to make a good impression on each desk and also put in the effort to get placed in the seat you want most. The process is what you make of it. For the most part, you are expected to network your way around each desk, as well as throughout the company as a whole. The graduate team is always there to back you up and provide any assistance you may need, but what makes the process so great is that you largely have full control over the impression you leave and ultimately where you land in the company.
After about three months of rotations, I was finally placed on the U.S. Treasuries desk, which is, not surprisingly, the place I kind of always knew I’d end up. I recently passed my one-year anniversary with the company and signed my new contract with the desk a few weeks ago. It has been a great year for me because I enjoy what I do and have seen some of what it is like to work on Wall Street. Working with the capital markets, and interdealer broking specifically, is a great business and one with a lot of perks.
The part of the job that most excited people is how this business is centered on cultivating client relationships, whether that be taking clients out to some of New York City’s best bars and restaurants, sporting events, or concerts. I’ve been to Yankees games, Rangers games, concerts at Madison Square Garden, a score of great restaurants in the city, and so on and so forth. I’d be lying if I told you that part of the job wasn’t fun. The job itself is an exciting, fast-paced environment with a team-oriented, yet entrepreneurial aspect to it. You have an opportunity as an entry-level employee to pick up your own clients from a very early stage in your career, and have the potential to make a nice living. I have already met a lot of U.S. Treasuries traders on the Street and have begun to build my network. Once again, this job is all about what you make of it.
Fordham is a great place: I know, I’ve been there. Use all the tools Career Services provides for you to help find the right job. Take the classes for what they are: an important foundation for what you’ll bring into the working world. If you ask me, ICAP is a great place to work because of the tremendous growth potential there is for someone straight out of college. I have certainly found it to be that for me and then some.
-Chris Quagliata
About the company:
ICAP is the world's leading voice and electronic inter dealer broker and provider of post trade risk and information services. The Group is active in the wholesale markets in interest rates, credit, commodities, FX, emerging markets, equities and equity derivatives. ICAP aims to be the main infrastructure provider to the world's wholesale OTC markets, be the leading global intermediary, and also the leading post trade risk services provider.
