The Top 5 Tips for Landing That Fintech Job

Tiffany Williams-Payne, Director, Talent Delivery & Optimization at financial services company DTCC, has over a decade of talent acquisition experience across industries. 

In her last role before coming to DTCC, she focused specifically on recruiting IT professionals for a Fortune 100 company. Now, she leads the hiring of talented professionals across DTCC’s operations — and she has some advice on landing your dream fintech job. Below are her tips. 

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Technology is playing a major role in helping the world get through the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But like most sectors, the tech industry has not escaped the accompanying economic turmoil.

Experts are reversing predictions that the tech job market will rebound before the end of the year as companies slash tech budgets. Forrester Research* recently found that 2020 tech budgets will be down 6% from 2019, with the potential cutbacks as deep as 12% next year.

One sector is outperforming, however: the financial technology sector.

With nearly 20 years in talent acquisition, I’ve seen thousands of resumes and interviewed hundreds of candidates. My experience shows that often, even highly qualified applicants make basic mistakes that result in missed opportunities.

The trick for turning those opportunities into offers is preparation, especially in this competitive market. Here are my five tips for how to prepare to apply at DTCC.

1. Make sure you understand the job you’re pursuing.

Take the time to read our job postings thoroughly — they are highly detailed — and to understand the specialized nature of DTCC and the role we play in the markets.

You can learn a great deal by watching the videos posted on our YouTube channel, and you should consider reaching out to your network to better understand the role. We welcome inquiries from fresh new talent seeking to learn more about us.

2. Make it clear that you have the right experience for the role.

The biggest challenge for tech candidates is often telling their stories and explaining how they would fit in the position they’re pursuing.

After researching each role take time to carefully assess your skills to ensure that you are a fit. Don’t assume that your resume tells the story of how your background makes you the right person for the job, or that it clearly lays out the trajectory for your career growth. It’s up to you to articulate how your career has progressed, and how that has prepared you for this particular job.

3. Study the firm’s culture.

At DTCC, we value integrity, results and excellence, as demonstrated by an unwavering commitment to our clients. Our tech employees are inquisitive, adaptable, flexible, have strong communications skills and understand that there’s no room for error.

That culture is reflected in our use of the Agile project management approach and in our overall level of inclusiveness.

We have an open-minded approach to decision-making that aims to incorporate ideas for how to make our workplace better. Every employee at DTCC knows that our voice is heard, and we each have the ability to leave our mark and effect change.

4. Be ready to explain how you can help DTCC meet industry trends and challenges.

We’re looking for candidates who are self-confident, flexible and adaptive to change. You should be prepared to explain how your experience and approach can help the firm address the challenges of the future.

This is where you can get specific, by explaining how the results you achieved in the past reflect your problem-solving approach. You should be able to detail the actions you took step-by-step, even if you have to go to a whiteboard and draw out a coding map. Have data available that demonstrates your achievements.

5. Make it clear you are ready to evolve with technology.

The technology we’re using today is different even from what we were using just last year, and our strategic goals for 2020 revolve around rearchitecting our services to deliver a modern platform, automating digital interaction with clients and providing resilient technology and processes for leading-edge risk management.

DTCC needs tech people who can show that they are always looking for the next thing — ready to “break something and make it better.” In your application process, you should demonstrate to us that you are passionate about your area of expertise, and that you’re always willing to take on what’s new.

The growth and evolution of the world’s financial markets demands leading-edge technology. DTCC’s role in handling client transactions requires flawless execution.

DTCC is hiring a wide variety of positions that aim to bring the latest technological innovations to the global financial marketplace. DTCC needs creative and dynamic candidates to fill a range of roles in our Technology Research & Innovation Labs, Fed Eligible Settlement Services, Risk Management, Application Development, Infrastructure, Network Engineering and Data Architecture.

If you have the talent and drive to share the responsibilities involved in moving the financial industry forward, we want to hear from you. Go to https://www.dtcc.com/ and our careers site to find out more.

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A version of this article originally appeared on the DTCC Connection blog. Fairygodboss is proud to partner with DTCC. Find a job there today!