3 keys to success every Citadel intern learns their first week on the job
Interns of Ken Griffin's $62 billion hedge fund, Citadel, will travel to Fort Lauderdale on Monday for the start of their 11-week summer program.
The 2025 class is the most exclusive yet — 0.4% of the 108,000 applicants were extended an invitation to the program across both Citadel and its market-making sister firm Citadel Securities.
This year's class is full of high-achieving brainiacs — about 80% study computer science and mathematics at schools like MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, Princeton, and Harvard. More than a dozen were USA Computing Olympiad Platinum division participants, and dozens more were medalists at the International Olympiad in Math, Physics, and Informatics.
Yet, not everyone will end the summer with a full-time job offer — the ultimate goal of the internship for many students.
As part of our exclusive look into this year's class, Business Insider spoke to Matt Mitro, the head of campus recruiting for Citadel, about how an intern stand out at such a large hedge fund.
He told BI about a few keys to success that will be drilled into the interns in their first week on the job, including learning to be "commercial" and collaboration.
Mitro's keys to a successful internship
Mitro said the first week is vital for orienting students and explaining what's ahead. They will participate in workshops, team-building exercises, and social activities — and hear from senior leaders and external speakers.
They will also learn what it will take to succeed, including the hedge fund's focus on being "commercial."
What does that mean? Mitro said it involves interns "understanding how their work applies in markets and also whether an idea they have can be put to use in a timely manner."
Meaningful and effective collaboration is another "critical feature" of Citadel's culture and a characteristic the hedge fund is looking for in would-be hires, he said.
"Some students may be used to working by themselves or in very small groups, but here, you rely on your teammates every single day," said Mitro. "We are constantly working within and across teams, and it's important to feel comfortable talking with others, relying on them, and asking questions. We're all available to each other."
Mitro added that interns should try to be self-aware and reflective of where they can grow. Even at this level, they won't be perfect.
"It's important for them to be very aware of their own developmental areas," Mitro said. "That could be communication or collaboration — how do I work with my colleagues? That commitment to self-awareness and continuous improvement is important."
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Business Insider
6 hours ago
- Business Insider
3 keys to success every Citadel intern learns their first week on the job
Interns of Ken Griffin's $62 billion hedge fund, Citadel, will travel to Fort Lauderdale on Monday for the start of their 11-week summer program. The 2025 class is the most exclusive yet — 0.4% of the 108,000 applicants were extended an invitation to the program across both Citadel and its market-making sister firm Citadel Securities. This year's class is full of high-achieving brainiacs — about 80% study computer science and mathematics at schools like MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, Princeton, and Harvard. More than a dozen were USA Computing Olympiad Platinum division participants, and dozens more were medalists at the International Olympiad in Math, Physics, and Informatics. Yet, not everyone will end the summer with a full-time job offer — the ultimate goal of the internship for many students. As part of our exclusive look into this year's class, Business Insider spoke to Matt Mitro, the head of campus recruiting for Citadel, about how an intern stand out at such a large hedge fund. He told BI about a few keys to success that will be drilled into the interns in their first week on the job, including learning to be "commercial" and collaboration. Mitro's keys to a successful internship Mitro said the first week is vital for orienting students and explaining what's ahead. They will participate in workshops, team-building exercises, and social activities — and hear from senior leaders and external speakers. They will also learn what it will take to succeed, including the hedge fund's focus on being "commercial." What does that mean? Mitro said it involves interns "understanding how their work applies in markets and also whether an idea they have can be put to use in a timely manner." Meaningful and effective collaboration is another "critical feature" of Citadel's culture and a characteristic the hedge fund is looking for in would-be hires, he said. "Some students may be used to working by themselves or in very small groups, but here, you rely on your teammates every single day," said Mitro. "We are constantly working within and across teams, and it's important to feel comfortable talking with others, relying on them, and asking questions. We're all available to each other." Mitro added that interns should try to be self-aware and reflective of where they can grow. Even at this level, they won't be perfect. "It's important for them to be very aware of their own developmental areas," Mitro said. "That could be communication or collaboration — how do I work with my colleagues? That commitment to self-awareness and continuous improvement is important."
Forbes
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Aadeel Akhtar, the founder of Psyonic, has a PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champain. Matt Carney was good at building robots — he just didn't want to. While earning his PhD at MIT, he'd spent years studying mechanical engineering and biomechatronics in service of developing bionic prosthetics that could help people who'd lost limbs. He hoped to build robotic legs that could pick up on the phantom signals sent by a body's muscles or function autonomously so it could move naturally, unlike the plastic, unmoving prostheses that are common now. But as he began talking to venture capitalists about funding a company that would develop these so-called bionics, he quickly discovered that the market didn't want robotic devices that could replace human limbs, it wanted robots that could replace human beings, the sort of humanoids championed by sci fi laureates like Isaac Asimov and self-appointed tech visionaries like Elon Musk. 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A Goldman Sachs report from 2024 projects that the total addressable market for humanoid robots will reach $38 billion by 2035. It projects that millions of general purpose human-shaped robots will be produced by then, with a 40% reduction in costs. (Right now, they're often prohibitively expensive; Apptronik is targeting a $50,000 price tag but hasn't reached this unit price, and Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot reportedly costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.) By contrast, there are only 5.6 million U.S. citizens with limb loss or limb difference, according to the Amputee Coalition. That makes this a very small market, and one that's accessed through the U.S. healthcare system. It can take years and millions of dollars to get a more advanced product through the FDA or navigate a complicated insurance system. Robots don't have such hurdles. Not all prosthetics startups are going after this new opportunity. 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Simple tasks like folding a box or clothes, anything that requires dexterity, are challenging and harder than an activity like walking. It's no wonder humanoid startups are looking toward bionic prosthetics for help. 'We're nowhere near being able to automate those things,' Goldberg said. 'Hands on a robot is a surprisingly big leap.'
