AHL
Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited
stock NYSE

There’s a lot of focus in this sub on Market makers. Let’s give some love to the systematic folks. To spark some debate here’s my tier list. Although if you’re working at any of these you’re doing something right.
Tier 1: RenTech, Citadel, DE Shaw, Two Sigma.
Tier 2: Millennium, Man AHL, AQR, Winton.
Tier 3: Squarepoint, Schonfield, Aspect.
Tier 4: WorldQuant, Transtrend, Graham Capital, QIM.

Hi all, sharing my situation and looking for honest takes.
Background: BSc in Statistics + MSc in Quantitative Finance from a non-target university in Europe. Currently \~1 year out of grad school.
A few months before graduating I started applying to Quant Research/Trading roles and was getting auto-rejected everywhere, as expected.
Then, out of nowhere, I got shortlisted for a Quant Research internship at a top-tier European hedge fund (think Squarepoint, Man AHL, QRT, CFM, Cubist, MW, Brevan Howard, etc.).
This was absolutely surreal because my university is really non-target, so even passing the screen it’s almost impossible, especially without a PhD.
Anyway, I went through the selection process, got the offer, and started the internship. It went well but due to various circumstances I couldn’t stay, so once it ended I returned to my country.
It’s now been months of applying aggressively
— roles well-matched to my profile, sometimes a near-perfect fit on paper — and I’m getting nothing but auto-rejections. Not even an HR call.
Lowering my sights doesn’t help either, even at firms where my background should look strong, silence or auto-rejection.
The part I can’t wrap my head around: before the HF internship, with a weaker CV, I got shortlisted at a top fund. Now, with that experience on my CV, I can’t get a single screen. What’s going on?
One detail worth adding: I’m applying broadly, both to roles that would require visa sponsorship and to ones that wouldn’t — yet the outcome is the same in both cases, nothing but auto-rejections either way.
Any thoughts on what might be happening and advice on what to do in my position would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

There’s a lot of focus in this sub on Market makers. Let’s give some love to the systematic folks. To spark some debate here’s my tier list. Although if you’re working at any of these you’re doing something right.
Tier 1: RenTech, Citadel, DE Shaw, Two Sigma.
Tier 2: Millennium, Man AHL, AQR, Winton.
Tier 3: Squarepoint, Schonfield, Aspect.
Tier 4: WorldQuant, Transtrend, Graham Capital, QIM.

Hi all, sharing my situation and looking for honest takes.
Background: BSc in Statistics + MSc in Quantitative Finance from a non-target university in Europe. Currently \~1 year out of grad school.
A few months before graduating I started applying to Quant Research/Trading roles and was getting auto-rejected everywhere, as expected.
Then, out of nowhere, I got shortlisted for a Quant Research internship at a top-tier European hedge fund (think Squarepoint, Man AHL, QRT, CFM, Cubist, MW, Brevan Howard, etc.).
This was absolutely surreal because my university is really non-target, so even passing the screen it’s almost impossible, especially without a PhD.
Anyway, I went through the selection process, got the offer, and started the internship. It went well but due to various circumstances I couldn’t stay, so once it ended I returned to my country.
It’s now been months of applying aggressively
— roles well-matched to my profile, sometimes a near-perfect fit on paper — and I’m getting nothing but auto-rejections. Not even an HR call.
Lowering my sights doesn’t help either, even at firms where my background should look strong, silence or auto-rejection.
The part I can’t wrap my head around: before the HF internship, with a weaker CV, I got shortlisted at a top fund. Now, with that experience on my CV, I can’t get a single screen. What’s going on?
One detail worth adding: I’m applying broadly, both to roles that would require visa sponsorship and to ones that wouldn’t — yet the outcome is the same in both cases, nothing but auto-rejections either way.
Any thoughts on what might be happening and advice on what to do in my position would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!