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AI is transforming how work gets done, automating or accelerating many of the tasks that have long defined the early years of a professional\u2019s career. That shift is playing out across even the most technologically advanced industries, including ours.<\/p>\n
It raises questions every employer should be asking: what will we expect from early-career talent, and what will they expect from us?<\/p>\n
At Citadel Securities, our answer starts with how we already work. From day one, we ask new colleagues to own hard problems, form a view, and drive it \u2013 not to shadow, not to wait their turn. AI amplifies that model. It clears away the mechanical parts of the job and puts more of the interesting work \u2013 judgment, ownership, building \u2013 into the hands of the people just starting out.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why what increasingly separates the 0.18% who get an offer from everyone else isn\u2019t coding ability, or GPA, or which quant competitions they\u2019ve won. It\u2019s something AI can\u2019t replicate, but something AI can accelerate \u2013 building.<\/p>\n
Builders are people who identify problems no one assigned them to solve, organize people and ideas around solutions, and take responsibility for making things happen. Those qualities have always mattered \u2013 and in the age of AI, they\u2019re becoming even more important, particularly for new graduates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, technical excellence still matters. Our work depends on outstanding engineers, quantitative researchers, and traders. But as AI becomes increasingly capable, technical expertise alone is no longer enough to stand out. Employers are now evaluating early-career candidates the way they have long evaluated leaders: based on curiosity, problem-solving ability, communication skills, and the initiative to build.<\/p>\n
So how should students prepare for this new environment?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The specific pursuit matters less than the fact that you chose it yourself. Build a business. Create an app. Launch a campus organization. Organize a community initiative. Pursue original research. Turn a hobby into something bigger. The common thread is self-direction.<\/p>\n
Projects like these teach lessons that classroom assignments rarely can \u2013 they require you to navigate ambiguity and persist without someone else defining every step. Those experiences build judgment, resilience, and confidence.<\/p>\n
The strongest candidates aren\u2019t the ones with the longest list of activities. They\u2019re the ones with genuine passion who go deep because they cared enough to keep improving.<\/p>\n
Employers notice people who have challenged themselves, overcome setbacks, and demonstrated the discipline to keep learning and improving over time.<\/p>\n
Use AI tools every day \u2013 just as much in your extracurricular pursuits as your core classroom work. The goal is not simply proficiency with AI. The goal is to use it to create, experiment, and solve problems on a scale that simply wasn\u2019t possible before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In doing so, you will develop the judgment to know when to rely on AI tools, when they will fall short, and how to combine these capabilities with your own thinking to produce better outcomes \u2013 qualities employers will increasingly look for as they recruit new talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I believe we are entering the golden age of builders.<\/p>\n
As AI takes on more routine work, talented people will have more leverage than ever before. They\u2019ll be able to test ideas faster, solve larger problems earlier in their careers, and create meaningful impact with fewer barriers to getting started. That means more interesting work from the outset, a shorter path from idea to implementation, and earlier opportunities to lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what makes this moment so exciting. Every industrial revolution has reshaped the workforce while also creating entirely new opportunities for those willing to adapt. The professionals who succeed in this environment will be the builders \u2013 and their advantage will only grow.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Builders have always stood out. Today, AI is giving more people, earlier in their careers, the opportunity to become one.<\/p>\n
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of <\/em>Fortune.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n #interns #applicants #Heres #Citadel #Securities #common<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AI is transforming how work ge… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3569,632,4045,4913,1544,3284,4912],"class_list":["post-2559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-applicants","tag-citadel","tag-commentary","tag-common","tag-heres","tag-interns","tag-securities"],"yoast_head":"\n