“If you don’t know something, learn all about it” — The Espresso with Rubi Gjika

Sanaa Siddiqui

7 August 2024•2 min read

What’s it like to work at 9fin? Instead of a lengthy deep-dive, we ran a quick-fire round with some of our employees (9finners) in this interview series. Their answers were punchy and powerful — just like a shot of espresso ☕

In this interview you’ll hear from European credit team lead, Rubi Gjika, on feedback at 9fin, travelling, and the importance of consistency.

Hi Rubi. Firstly, what does the credit team do?

We produce research on European high yield and leverage loans. That includes reviewing new deals, secondary performance, earnings, and data-driven analytics.

Describe your team in three words.

Smart. Ambitious. Multicultural.

Successful people have a natural curiosity, not just around their own role but also the product and what the business is trying to build.

What made you decide to join 9fin?

The culture, and the excitement of joining a scale-up with many great ideas. Speaking to (co-founders) Steven and Huss in 2020, I completely understood where they were coming from in terms of building a culture that is welcoming and inclusive, but also encourages team collaboration and new ideas.

What’s the one thing you’d tell people about 9fin that they can’t guess through the website?

We’re feedback-driven. There’s so much feedback that gets shared internally, and we work together to understand the problems and how to solve them. That’s not something you necessarily see on the outside, but we’re super proactive when it comes to our product and our clients.

What makes people successful?

For me, it’s being inquisitive — successful people have a natural curiosity, not just around their own role but also the product and what the business is trying to build.

Success for us isn’t launching a feature or completing a project, but consistently being on top of things and making sure we deliver the best we can to our clients.

Can you share your biggest achievement so far?

Helping to build and train a team of analysts over the past few years. I’m also really proud of the high-quality content we produce all year round, which receives great feedback from clients on both speed and quality.

Success for us isn’t launching a feature or completing a project, but consistently being on top of things and making sure we deliver the best we can to our clients.

What excites you?

Travel — but at the same time, being with my family and friends excites me, because I’ve been living and working abroad for so many years. I try and go home to Albania as often as I can. Nothing beats the beach, Mediterranean weather, and my mum’s cooking!

Best holiday you’ve been on?

The best experience was my trip to the US. It was a long time ago, but I went to Boston and New York, and then up to the border with Canada to see the Niagara Falls. New York in particular was such a ‘wow’ moment for me.

Fun fact: we also have an office in New York.

What advice would you give someone who wants to join the credit team?

If you don’t know something, learn all about it. Secondly, don’t shy away from asking for feedback.

I wish I had followed that second piece of advice more closely when I joined 9fin. I joined as a graduate, and in the earlier stages of your career it’s so easy to fall victim to impostor syndrome — especially when you join a business full of such talented people.

Something that can help people overcome that feeling and thrive in their career is asking for feedback. That can be as easy as a verbal request, or scribbling ideas on paper and asking someone to review.