Interns of Ken Griffin’s $62 billion hedge fund, Citadel, will travel to Fort Lauderdale on Monday for the start of their 11-week summer program.
As part of our exclusive look into this year’s class, Business Insider spoke to Matt Mitro, the head of campus recruiting for Citadel, about how an intern stand out at such a large hedge fund.
He told BI about a few keys to success that will be drilled into the interns in their first week on the job, including learning to be “commercial” and collaboration.
Mitro’s keys to a successful internship Mitro said the first week is vital for orienting students and explaining what’s ahead.
Meaningful and effective collaboration is another “critical feature” of Citadel’s culture and a characteristic the hedge fund is looking for in would-be hires, he said.
The 11-week summer program for interns at Citadel, Ken Griffin’s $62 billion hedge fund, will begin Monday in Fort Lauderdale.
Of the 108,000 applicants, 0.4 percent were invited to the program across Citadel and its market-making sister firm Citadel Securities, making the 2025 class the most selective to date.
About 80 percent of the students in this year’s class are high achievers who attend universities like MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, Princeton, and Harvard to study mathematics and computer science. Dozens of them won medals at the International Olympiad in Math, Physics, and Informatics, and over a dozen competed in the USA Computing Olympiad Platinum division.
However, not all students will receive a full-time job offer at the end of the summer, which is the ultimate goal of the internship for many.
Business Insider spoke with Citadel’s head of campus recruiting, Matt Mitro, about how an intern stands out at such a big hedge fund as part of our exclusive look into this year’s class.
The interns will be taught how to be “commercial” and collaborate during their first week on the job, he told BI, among other success factors.
Mitro’s secrets for a fruitful internship.
According to Mitro, the first week is essential for catching students up and outlining the schedule. They will listen to senior leaders and outside speakers while taking part in workshops, team-building activities, and social events.
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Additionally, they will learn about the requirements for success, such as the hedge fund’s emphasis on being “commercial.”. “.
In other words, it entails interns “realizing how their work applies in markets and also whether an idea they have can be put to use in a timely manner,” according to Mitro. “..”.
Effective and meaningful teamwork is another “critical feature” of Citadel’s culture, he said, and a quality the hedge fund seeks in potential hires.
“Here, you rely on your teammates every single day, unlike some students who might be accustomed to working alone or in very small groups,” Mitro explained. We work both inside and outside of teams all the time, so it’s critical to feel at ease asking questions, relying on people, and conversing with them. Each of us is available to the others. “.
Interns should make an effort to be self-aware and consider their areas for improvement, Mitro continued. They will not be flawless even at this stage.
“It’s critical that they have a keen awareness of their own areas of development,” Mitro stated. That might be cooperation or communication—how do I collaborate with my coworkers? It’s critical to have a dedication to self-awareness and ongoing development. “.”.