My first job interview in finance was one of the most valuable professional experiences I’ve had. The interview process highlighted the interplay between my professional goals and personal values, and how that interplay affects my career path. In the end, I realized my goals and values were different than what I had previously known. In this article, I share the impact of simple conversations, and why every job candidate should intimately reflect on these elements for themselves.

My Background

Though my background is non-financial (Nursing), I’ve always practiced diligence. This has led to amazing professional opportunities, such as working in a Trauma ICU as a new grad nurse, and securing a position as a Nurse Analyst during a new electronic health record (EHR) software deployment. These opportunities were challenging, of course, but I was always hungry enough to meet the demands of the rigorous work environment.

In 2021, I suffered a family loss that lead to me taking an extended sabbatical (3 years) from traditional work. What started as a few months off turned it to three years out of the corporate world. I was introduced to retail stock trading and subsequently this venture as an income stream. Over the last few years, my schedule has evolved to be completely different from my old lifestyle. Though I wake earlier now to trade, my days are filled with reading, gardening, and cooking. This has been therapeutic for me as I processed my grief from losing a family member.

Retail stock trading offered me time to reflect, to enjoy, and to discover. A pace that is in stark contrast to the pace of my life prior to the accident. As I developed my trading skills, I became curious about factors that affected my daily trading sessions. Financial analysis is one discovery that evolved from my curiosity. My maturation as a retail trader led me to search for a deeper understanding of financial markets and basic economics. Somehow, I stumbled upon the CFA Institute’s program for financial analysis. After realizing the knowledge value the program provided to someone in my position (a total newbie to the finance world), I applied and started studying.

The Interview

While studying, I thought practical application would help me better understand what I was learning. I searched online for entry-level financial analyst positions, and was lucky enough to land an interview with a fast-growing company in my area. I expected the interview process to follow a normal assessment of skill and culture fit. What I did not expect was to reexamine my entire professional paradigm.

During my first interview, I met with a department manager and a department director. The work culture was positive and energetic. My personality was compatible with those of the team members. My lack of skills and experience wasn’t perceived to be too much of a deterrent. The company was a start-up, so my “can-do” attitude held more weight than it would if I were interviewing for a mature company.

I was later contacted to return for a second round of interviews and this is where things took an unexpected turn.

For the second interview, I met with the Chief of Staff who moved the interview at a faster pace. Initially, he was more focused on assessing candidate-culture fit. Toward the end of the interview, I was introduced to a different department head. I later learned that the original position I interviewed for was rescinded altogether, but my skills were still appealing to a different department.

This isn’t something I expected. However, to the company’s credit, I was invited back to receive an explanation for the change in their plan. What I learned in that conversation is what changed my whole perspective on how to approach getting my first job in my new career path.

A Critical Conversation

The company I interviewed with was new and actively transitioning from the startup phase to the growing phase of business. While the sudden change in plan regarding the open position was disappointing, they took accountability and gave more of their time to explain. To me, that spoke volumes about their culture. It’s a type of culture I wanted (and always want) to be apart of: accountable, personable, and transparent.

During my return meeting, I met with department heads for both the position I was now being considered and the original position. Throughout the whole interview process my focus has been on assessing if I could secure a position as a financial analyst (or not). What I learned was that my focus, at this point in my life, should be more on what kind of work I want.

In finance, it’s very easy to get caught up in hustle culture. Climbing the corporate ladder is an insidious goal that slips itself into our subconscious when we start on a new career path. It’s too easy to equate securing a job with success, and to equate rejection from/rejection of a job with failure. Nobody likes to feel like a failure, so developing tunnel-vision to simply win (a.k.a., get the job) is the insidious intent that guides our behavior all too easily.

However, I’m 33 years old, and this is not my first career path. I did hustle culture, and I graduated from it with honors: I had achieved the salary, the dream house, and the big ego. These achievements were nice to have, but they left me with little opportunity to build a life. I was disillusioned with my industry, I was lonely in my big dream house, and my big ego didn’t erase my insecurities. In the process of transitioning my career path, I built a life I was proud of: I had developed a craft of my own, fostered a love-filled home, and gained humility from the experience of starting over.

During my final interview meeting, one department director detailed the intensity and flexibility demanded of their current work environment. I laughed and commented how her depiction reminded me of my days working the in the ICU: a high demand of skills to accommodate the unpredictability of what patient assignment I’d get when I came on shift. I actually verbalized out loud to this director that I regret starting as a new nurse in the ICU; that I should have started in a lower acuity unit to give myself time to build up my skills without the extra stress.

This director smiled then looked me in the eyes and said “So you should consider if that’s a work environment that you want to go back to.”

“You should consider if that’s a work environment you want to go back to.”

My brain short-circuited. Oh my gosh. How could I not have realized that? How could I not have even considered that up until this point in the interview process? My focus was too narrow. Tunnel-vision had taken over, and the goal simply had simply become “win” this job.

I’m not a young kid overflowing with energy and lacking a frame of reference for what I do and don’t like about the world. Frequently diving in to something new at work doesn’t hold the same appeal as it did. I’m in my 30s; I’ve experienced life and I’m looking for that perfect blend of purpose that doesn’t also cost me my peace. I’m looking for focused work on a specific craft, and have developed a greater appreciation for structure.

Lesson Learned

What I learned is that I value to the comfort of the life I’ve built, so much so that I’m unwilling to throw a high-stress job into the mix. It is unfamiliar, this desire of a slower paced role, given my history of identifying as a high-achiever. Nevertheless, it’s my truth – it’s the new version of me.

Ultimately, I’m grateful that the job didn’t work out at the time. I gained extremely valuable insight from the experience which is helping me steer my career opportunities in a direction that has a higher chance of placing me where I’m most fulfilled. For now, I’ll continue to explore this new craft of financial analysis and practice my skills.

This time around, I’m building a career from a skillset I enjoy and am curious about. I’ll keep those feelings of enjoyment and curiosity as my guideposts on this new journey.