BlackRock Careers: Jonathan Jones, Global Head of Campus Recruiting Advises
We spoke with Jonathan Jones, BlackRock’s director of global campus recruiting, about how to get into the company and how to apply for a job at the fund-of-fundamentals, and here’s what he had to say.
Q: What makes a ‘BlackRock person’? How do they differ from people working elsewhere in the financial services sector?
What distinguishes a BlackRock employee is our commitment to innovation, which is central to our identity and includes original thinking, problem solving, and creativity. We also value teamwork and look for people who can connect the dots between our various activities.
Q: When you’re hiring straight from university, which business area do most of your recruits go into?
We hire people who can program in Java, C, Perl, and/or Python for software engineering (technology) positions, and we also hire into BlackRock Solutions, which combines our analytical capability with client orientation.
Q: What’s more important to you – excellent academics or prior work experience?
“It’s not an either/or, and it’s not a false distinction,” he tells Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 4.
Q: So, what advice would you give to third year university students who haven’t undertaken a finance internship but want to work for BlackRock?
Although completing a finance internship is not an “impermanent requirement” for entry-level employment, it is beneficial to demonstrate interest in the industry. Some areas of the business prefer people with a technology background, so having completed a technology internship rather than a finance internship will be advantageous.
Q: Do you hire MBAs?
The university has recently hired MBAs with relevant backgrounds into real estate and equity research positions, such as sales and marketing.
Q: What’s your favourite interview question? Why?
“I don’t have a favorite,” Professor Sir David Attenborough says, “but I often ask students to consider how they spend their time at university.” “Ideally, we want people who are passionate and skilled outside the realm of academic work.”
Related articles:
How to get a graduate job at JPMorgan, according to the bank’s EMEA head of campus recruitment for banking and markets; how to get an entry-level job at Goldman Sachs, according to the bank’s EMEA head of campus recruitment for banking and markets; and how to get an entry-level job at Goldman Sachs, according to the bank’s EMEA head of campus recruitment for banking and markets.
Is BlackRock a good company to work for?
Asset management firm BlackRock was one of the companies on our list of Best Employers, coming in at number 30 out of 200, with 73 percent of its employees reporting high job satisfaction.
How do I get a job at BlackRock?
BlackRock is particularly interested in hiring people with a variety of educational and personal backgrounds, as well as candidates who are smart, ambitious, and capable of managing a large amount of responsibility.
Why is BlackRock so successful?
Former intern at BlackRock BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, and its scale allows it to do things no other asset management firm can, and its innovative culture is what has allowed it to grow to become the world’s largest asset manager in less than 30 years.
What is special about BlackRock?
By attracting clients and employees, as well as acquiring several other asset management firms, BlackRock has grown from a start-up to a market leader. BlackRock’s mission is to help our clients build a better financial future by building the world’s most respected investment and risk manager.
Who are BlackRock’s competitors?
Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Edward Jones, MSCI, Legg Mason, Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, State Street, and Northern Trust are among BlackRock’s top competitors. BlackRock is an investment management firm that offers institutional and retail clients investment and technology services.
Who is BlackRock owned by?
Laurence D. Fink is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, which he co-founded with seven partners in 1988 and has grown into a global leader in investment and technology solutions under his leadership.
How does BlackRock make money?
BlackRock receives an investment management fee, which is typically calculated as a percentage of AUM, as well as securities lending revenues on certain products, in which the company lends securities on behalf of clients to banks and broker-dealers.
Is BlackRock Private Equity?
Across direct, primary, secondary, and co-investments, BlackRock’s Private Equity teams manage USD$23 billion in client assets.
Is BlackRock a hedge fund?
With over 20 years of proven experience, BlackRock’s platform has evolved into a comprehensive toolkit of 30 strategies that manages US$38 billion across a broad range of hedge fund strategies.
Is BlackRock better than Vanguard?
According to Morningstar’s 2019 global fund flows report, BlackRock and its ETF unit, iShares, received $298 billion in net asset flows in 2019, surpassing Vanguard’s $263 billion.
Is BlackRock a good buy?
BlackRock is a well-run, efficient company with a return on equity of about 15% and a profit margin of about 30%, and it is in a great position to continue to lead the market and generate earnings, so it should be on your radar as a stock to buy.
Does BlackRock short stock?
Short-sellers bet against companies by borrowing shares and then selling them on the assumption that their price will fall, making a profit by buying the stock back at a lower price before returning it to the lender.
Why should I work at BlackRock?
We’re also making it easier, cheaper, and more sustainable for more people to save and achieve the financial goals that matter most to them. We take on some of the world’s most complex financial challenges and are confident that the work we do makes a difference.
Is BlackRock the world’s largest asset manager?
According to the 2021 Fund Brand 50 study, an annual dataset from Broadridge Financial Solutions, BlackRock has once again been named the world’s strongest asset management brand.
How powerful is BlackRock?
BlackRock, Inc. is a New York-based multinational investment management corporation that was founded in 1988 as a risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager. As of January 2021, BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, with $8.67 trillion in assets under management.