What is the hiring period in Wall St. and how long before I graduate I should contact headhunters, start sending applications etc.?

if it is banks, start about 7-8 months before. other smaller places will talk to you when you are close to graduation/have already graduated unless you get campus interviews.

Hiring period is "when there is need". There are also specific analyst/associate programs that you can get into via your university career center.Really if you cannot figure this out on your own after one year of being on this board, you will not survive in the finance industry!

I was just wondering if there are periods when the demand is usually higher or lower. Not everyone spends as much time as you do here Arthur.

Some banks have fixed start dates, linked to their programs for entry-level candidates (e.g. Barclays, i think, in Sept), and they schedule hiring about 8 months in advance. But Arthur is right - most places, including banks with these programs, tend to hire when there's need. Moreover, it doesn't makemuch sense to me to wait for a period of high demand you're not sure about, if you can apply right now.

QuoteOriginally posted by: paulptli Moreover, it doesn't makemuch sense to me to wait for a period of high demand you're not sure about, if you can apply right now.My concern was about missing that period if there was one. I did not think about waiting at all. I also want at least one my papers get accepted by a finance journal before I start sending applications etc. So I needed a deadline and now I have it. 7-8 months before graduation. Thanks for the info.

QuoteOriginally posted by: proximo20QuoteOriginally posted by: paulptli Moreover, it doesn't makemuch sense to me to wait for a period of high demand you're not sure about, if you can apply right now.My concern was about missing that period if there was one. I did not think about waiting at all. I also want at least one my papers get accepted by a finance journal before I start sending applications etc. So I needed a deadline and now I have it. 7-8 months before graduation. Thanks for the info.Publications dont help much. Skills do. You have not specified if you are a PhD student, but if you are, it is pretty simple to get interviews with large banks even if you dont have much finance related stuff on your resume.

I am doing Phd in Finance. I think I would be expected be to have some finance knowledge. I don't want to work on equity research though. My dissertation is on market microstructure.

QuoteOriginally posted by: proximo20I am doing Phd in Finance. I think I would be expected be to have some finance knowledge. I don't want to work on equity research though. My dissertation is on market microstructure.I guess you should be fine. You might want to target global macro and fundamental equity strategies because of your background. I am curious to know what kind of research you did as a PhD student. Did you work with HF data?

My dissertation is on empirical market microstructure. Yes I worked with HF futures data and Nasdaq limit order book data. I also passed the first two PRM exams.