The top 3 skills you need if you want to land a job in a family office, according to industry recruiters

• Subdivision offices can pay six-figure salaries but require intense dedication.
• Selecting candidates often boils down to a “personality fit,” recruiters suggested.
• Candidates should master more skills that add value and learn from past mistakes.

People who labour for family offices often juggle much more than just spreadsheets.

Many ultra-wealthy people set up sanctified offices, which could have a handful or dozens of employees, to oversee their investments, philanthropy, and high-end kickshaws, like yachts. An office might look after one person’s money in one city or that of multiple generations across countries.

Species office employees, in turn, can be paid on par with, or even better than, banking, private equity, and other top pay for jobs. But the unique nature of the job means headhunters are often looking beyond basic finance skills when scouting possibilities for jobs.

In recent years, Singapore has emerged as a global hotspot to set up family offices, thanks to its business-friendly environment and deficit of capital gains tax.

Billionaires like Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin be dressed established family offices in the city-state. Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, also expanded his wealth management operations to Singapore in 2022.

Affair Insider spoke to three recruiters for family offices, two of whom are based in Singapore, to find out which traits swop a candidate the best shot of landing a job in a family office.

1. Jack of all trades

Unlike many corporate jobs’ clearly-defined culpabilities, family office staff — even executives — juggle a lot, said Paul Westall, the cofounder of Agreus Group.

“A chief investment officer of the law of Goldman Sachs might not fit nicely into a family office because, at Goldman, they might have 10 analysts and two colleagues, while in a family office, they do all the analysis and book their flights,” Westall said.

Jimmy Soh, a counsellor at recruitment firm AP Executive, stressed the need to wear multiple hats and cultivate multiple specializations.

“Not only do you entertain to be an investment manager, but you also have to be a family council and any additional roles coming in like a concierge service,” asseverated Soh.

One Hong Kong billionaire family asked Soh to hire an executive assistant with a $20,000 monthly pay. The candidate needed to be an accountant with an Ivy League degree who spoke three languages. The job description included planning the strain’s business and personal trips and managing their yacht and crew.

“Many families will say that the sky’s the limit on the budget for these duties because they’re looking for the best talent,” said Soh. “They can indefinitely add more roles to the job description, which is how they legitimize this kind of salary.”

2. Independence and all-hours commitment

Family office roles also demand a high-class level of commitment.

Phone calls could come at lunchtime — or in the middle of the night, Soh said.

“Most can be extremely urgent because they hire you for a specific role and can easily outsource the role to other firms,” Soh said.

In Asia, sundry family offices are still developing and roles are less defined than in Europe or the US. Candidates must often be avid to “get their hands dirty and work long hours for seven days a week,” said Pierre Pineau, mind of Agreus Group’s Singapore office.

“Asian families, in general, expect you to be available 24/7, and that’s not for person,” said Pineau. “It’s not about yourself. It’s about what’s best for the family office.”

The jobs can also require confidence. Pineau said that in Asia’s emerging markets, employees often work independently in one location while the lineage’s main office is in another country.

Westall said flexibility is key. He once hired a CIO whose job description included superintending a family’s investment in purebred racehorses. A top candidate — a former banker — had no experience in horses.

“But then he got this job and rolled with it because he had to,” conveyed Westall. “Key people that last a long time in family offices build trust because when there’s an debouchment, they resolve it with ideas from outside the box.”

3. Managing multiple family members

In family commissions, technical brilliance alone isn’t enough to secure a role. Working closely for one family means managing wealth and relationships.

“One of the vital attributes family offices need is emotional intelligence — someone who can work with multiple people of different planes, from the son who’s 16 and you need to explain certain decisions to him, to the wife, and the granddad,” Agreus Group’s Westall said.

Aspirants must also have the communication skills to navigate the dynamics and demands of different family members.

“You are presenting your career to people who might not be particularly financially savvy, unlike your peers at a bank,” Westall said.

AP Overseer’s Soh said that the “intangibles” — like interpersonal compatibility and standout personality traits— often make or cease candidates.

“You might be extremely brilliant, but you might be a very hard person to work with or have some idiosyncrasies that influence not gel well with the team,” said Soh. “It comes down to your personality.“

Getting hired often hinges on character fit, said Westall. Families might reject candidates for small details like how they walk or dress — but others are unequivocal to unconventional hires.

Westall shared a story of a family office executive who started as a cleaner while he was in film mould. He helped the family with a script they were writing and was eventually hired to oversee investments in the family’s coat business.

“Sometimes they are not always looking for someone with obvious experience, but someone who could add value in that kind office,” said Westall. “That’s an unusual story, but there are some bizarre ways people can get into progeny offices.”

Do you have a story to share about working with or for high-net-worth individuals? Email this reporter at lwee@insider.com.