How to Get a Job in a Family Office

Richard C. Wilson speaks from Paris, France, in a video about finding talent and getting a job in the family office industry.

Richard C. Wilson lays out a route into family office work, from the capabilities employers may need to the way candidates can present a varied background. He discusses how career direction affects experience choices and how a job search can begin. His advice centers on fitting into an organization with broad responsibilities and learning the field from inside it.

In this video: Richard C. Wilson (CEO of the Family Office Association)

What they said

1. Richard on related expertise. Richard recommends experience in trust and estate work, portfolio management or risk management. He says global taxation experience can help, while a background in more than one of those areas may allow someone to contribute more broadly.
2. Richard on showing range. Richard says family office teams tend to be small, so candidates should show how their skills connect. He gives the example of pairing auditing and accounting skills with analyst or portfolio management experience.
3. Richard on family office experience. Richard says direct experience in the family office industry matters more to him than investment experience at a well-known bank. He recommends starting in the field, even in an analyst or portfolio manager assistant role, and building from there.
4. Richard on choosing a long-term role. Richard says candidates should decide what role they want over time. In his view, a CIO role typically calls for global investment and portfolio management experience, while a CEO role may require broader work across reporting, systems, IT, investments and personnel.
5. Richard on building connections. Richard says multi-family offices can be easier to identify than single-family offices. He recommends respecting people's time, offering useful introductions or information, and searching LinkedIn groups or Google for offices in a target city.

In their words

"getting started is going to take a lot of energy and a lot of investment of time and a lot of focus."

"You can do the very same thing no matter where you're based."

Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth

Richard says decisions in a single family office can shift for personal, emotional reasons. Candidates may need to understand those decision processes before investing years in a career path, since the work can change along with the family's needs.