Tanya Otsetarova learned about Citadel Securities when she was a senior in high school in Bulgaria, competing in math competitions there and internationally. By the time she got to Stanford, other students were telling her it was the “most educational” internship, leading her to apply for a spot in the 2022 summer cohort.
Otsetarova, now 26 and a trader on the semi-systematic options team in Miami, was scared at first. Everyone seemed smarter than her, and the firm itself felt intimidating.
“Not asking enough questions during the first few weeks of my internship was honestly my biggest mistake,” she said. “If you’re not an expert in the field yet, you just don’t know enough. If you don’t ask questions, you get stuck. You waste time and you don’t learn.”
As an intern, the firm tasked Otsetarova with a long-term project, and she made more progress than expected. Eventually, the firm changed its strategy for pricing options based on her work, but it wasn’t just her technical skills that got her a return offer.
“Technology changes and the business can change, but what you really need is a strong problem-solving ability,” she said. “Being genuinely curious about every aspect of the business, why we’re solving the problems we’re solving.”
Now, Otsetarova manages a team of traders, and said the people who stand out are those who take initiative. She’s even a desk manager for interns, fewer than five years after she was in their shoes. When they come by her desk, which features board games and a giant stuffed flamingo, they usually want to talk about the fundamentals of options trading.
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