It’s great to love the place you work. It’s even better to be able to bring other people to a place where they love to work.
That’s what Lauren McCormack, Campus Program Manager at PEAK6, gets to do every day.
“I’m responsible for our entry-level hiring for trading and technology, as well as our internship program,” she says. McCormack works closely with traders and engineers to develop and nurture the company’s recruiting processes. Every April, she and her team begin strategizing, with their efforts culminating in an action-packed fall season full of interviews and special brand-building events.
Radio Ga Ga
McCormack is familiar with hard work. When she was just 15, she began a gig at a law office five days a week. She considers her work ethic the edge that sets her apart, and encourages potential employees to figure out ways to show their individuality.
“We’re looking for people with unique experiences and interests,” she says. “Not just that they check the boxes. Something that separates them from someone else.”
Another edge that McCormack offers? Her college radio background.
“I went to college in the middle of nowhere Indiana,” she says of Indiana Wesleyan University. McCormack started in promotions and then served as the general manager of the WIWU radio station. She also was a DJ. (She didn’t pick the playlist, but if she had, she says it would have been dominated by female pop stars like Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, and Kacey Musgraves.)
Own your success
While so much of McCormack’s role is helping others find their places at PEAK6, her own career has blossomed at the company as well.
“I’ve grown up here,” she says. “I had no idea what proprietary trading was when I started. But I’ve learned to be a true owner of what I do.” She also appreciates the open environment PEAK6 offers. “You can go up to the CEO and CTO and talk to them and you’ll have their ear. It’s just a matter of having the courage to say something and add to the conversation.”
The highlight of the job, though, is watching interns and new hires develop an affinity for trading.
“By the end of the summer, when the internship wraps, [I love] seeing how confident and fluent they are in speaking the language of how to trade and being so well-versed in the vernacular, when on day one some of those interns didn’t even know what an option is. We’re equipping our interns with life skills and giving them a great professional experience and impactful summer.”
Ready to make an impact at work? Check out open roles at PEAK6.