Company founder, so I'm the guy doing the hiring/interview process, which is fundamentally different than traditionally found in finance. We don't generally care where applicants went (are going) to school or what their GPA, standardized test scores, etc are; the only thing we care about is their ability to perform the job at the highest level. Thus, resumes are optional as are CL's, although we prefer to know a little about an applicant before hand, but what we get is up to the candidate. If we get an initial application, we ask those with promise to pick a stock to research and determine whether it is a good long or short candidate for the next 1-3yr period, explain why, and attempt to value it. We hire based upon these reports.