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1st Yr Banking Analyst Open for Questions
 

oppcostofcapital's picture
IB
 
Points)
 on 6/10/12 at 8:00am
first year ib analyst q and a.jpeg

Happy to answer any questions about anything related to banking for SA's and FT's that start this summer.

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turtles's picture

is it more valuable for a

IB
(Neanderthal, 2,938
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 12:39am

is it more valuable for a college student to network with an analyst/associate or a senior employee (vp, md, dept head, etc)?

Just saying...

maseratimike's picture

hi and thanks for taking

(Monkey, 36
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 12:44am

hi and thanks for taking questions!

Did anyone in your analyst class come from a nontraditional background? for example, not straight from undergrad? It doesn't have to be your class, it can be the class before you or incoming analyst.

If yes, then can you please give some insight about their background? thank you.

oppcostofcapital's picture

Turtles -- Networking with

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 12:52am

Turtles -- Networking with everyone is equally important. banking is all about teams -- and people at all levels collaborate with each other -- so I'd say that it's more important that you make a connection with someone that is meaningful.

Maseratimike -- generally I've seen that people tend to come straight out of college. there are exceptions of people that come out of graduate programs, but banks in general tend to hire analysts out of school for FT. the only exception I can think of would be an off-cycle lateral with another bank.

turtles's picture

deleted

IB
(Neanderthal, 2,938
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:01am

deleted

Just saying...

oppcostofcapital's picture

deleted

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:03am

deleted

Funkfreed's picture

1. How often do you go out to

(Baboon, 147
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:06am

1. How often do you go out to eat with analysts for lunch?
2. Does work begin *RIGHT* after training (for instance if you're a regional analyst and flown to NY for summer training) or do you get the weekend to finish moving and etc.?
3. How long did it take you to get used to the groove of things (i.e. waking up, working late, getting shit done properly)?
4. How often do you go out a week?

Funkfreed's picture

Also, could we get your

(Baboon, 147
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:06am

Also, could we get your background?

roymondito's picture

If you could elaborate on

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:09am

If you could elaborate on what your work schedule was like during the month or so of training, that would be really helpful. I don't need anything too specific

oppcostofcapital's picture

I'm a 1st year coming from a

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:22am

I'm a 1st year coming from a target working at an elite boutique in NYC.

1) I try to eat lunch with other analysts everyday -- helps split up the day. What we do is pick up lunch from places around the office and then we'll eat together -- if too busy, I'll just eat at my desk.
2) My training was in NYC -- so I remember we had the weekend off before work in the office started, and I believe that people who had to travel got a few days off before starting as well, esp. people who were traveling long distances.
3) Getting up and working late shouldn't be too much of an adjustment -- training tries to ease you into that. Getting things done correctly and efficiently depends highly on the analyst and how much previous banking experience you have -- but if you're starting fresh, I'd say that generally in a few months you get the hang of things. Attitude is everything.
4) When not extremely busy (read: leaving every day past 1am), if you can get out 1-2 nights a week, that's a good thing. Sometimes you'll find that it can be better to just get some sleep though. On the other hand, it's important to stay in touch with friends because the job definitely doesn't make that easy. 1st yr is also a lot different than 2nd year in terms of free time -- the efficiency you get in your first year is key to that.

maseratimike's picture

Thanks for answering my

(Monkey, 36
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:30am

Thanks for answering my question. I had a few more if you don't mind and have time to answer.

What is approximate age of the oldest analyst that you have come across?
What were the key attributes of analysts with no prior work / internships in finance and average GPAs, 3.1-3.4 from target schools ? ( this is assuming that there were a few)

Thank you

oppcostofcapital's picture

roymondito -- re: work

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:33am

roymondito -- re: work schedule -- training for boutiques tends to last for 3 weeks, whereas at BB's I think it's 6. we may have stayed later for boutiques, but generally you'll have class until around 3-5 and then you'll have group work that'll take you between 30 min and a couple hours depending on the day. So usually you'll get out sometime early-mid evening. Some nights we were there pretty late. In general it's not bad at all though.

oppcostofcapital's picture

maseratimike -- I've heard of

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:37am

maseratimike -- I've heard of an incoming analyst being 25 before. I work in a group that is pretty finance-intensive, so I don't really know anyone that has come in FT with no finance experience -- there are SA's from liberal arts target schools that don't have finance experience, but usually have pretty high GPA's. Not sure what your situation is -- you can DM me if you want -- but if you want to market yourself well as a potential analyst -- key skills are positive attitude, perseverance, confidence (but not overconfidence), curiosity/excitement about the business, attention to detail, leadership, and teamwork.

Funkfreed's picture

Thanks alot for answering my

(Baboon, 147
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:43am

Thanks alot for answering my question. Just a couple:
1. For training, what's the dress like (business casual?)
2. Any tips in picking up the work faster (becoming more efficient and making less mistakes)?
3. Any tips for staying awake for those random days you just feel tired?
4. Prior to training did you go through the provided training materials?

maseratimike's picture

oppcostofcapital: maseratimik

(Monkey, 36
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:45am
oppcostofcapital:

maseratimike -- you can DM me if you want --

That is fantastic. Thank you, and I will PM you in a few weeks when I finish reading all the vault/wetfeet guides so I don't ask you any redundant questions. Thanks again

oppcostofcapital's picture

1. Some places are business

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:51am

1. Some places are business casual, some are business formal. If its business formal, usually you can take your jacket off during the day unless there's a client meeting.
2. Unfortunately there's no substitute for hard work in this area. Put in the work on the front end to discover as many shortcuts as possible in Excel and PPT (keyboard), in terms of creating graphs, in terms of creating certain deliverables you'll have to create with regularity, and in figuring out what people you work with want. The quicker you do that, the faster you'll feel efficient. In terms of correctness -- always double check anything you send out to someone else on your team -- whether its an email, model, ppt, wherever it is in the process. When you make mistakes, make note of them or write them down and then avoid making them again. As you get more efficient, sometimes its good to do something very quickly, check it, wait and do something else, and come back to check once more before sending so that you have fresh eyes.
3. Some people drink coffee, some people drink a lot of water. Some days you just have to power through it. It's hard. You just have to find your own way to adapt.
4. Yeah -- it's good to go through what they give you -- esp. if you have not seen finance before. It'll make training go smoother on the front end, which will cumulatively save you a lot of time overall.

tchekm845's picture

Working in IB but coming from

 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:51am

any suggestions for how a

BeenPrepping (not verified)
(Chimp, 0
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:53am
oppcostofcapital's picture

1) Assuming you're in NYC? A

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 1:58am
oppcostofcapital's picture

beenprepping -- key is to be

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 2:07am
Funkfreed's picture

Thanks again man, I really

(Baboon, 147
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 2:09am
oppcostofcapital's picture

1) Generally end up reading

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 2:19am
Count Drachma's picture

What made you decide to avoid

IB
(Orangutan, 263
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 2:37am
AndyLouis's picture

thanks for doing this Q&A -

 
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 on 5/24/12 at 5:32am

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quintessential's picture

What is your typical day like

O
(Monkey, 61
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 6:59am
tangent style's picture

How did you figure out you

(Baboon, 142
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 8:48am

"Do not go gentle into that good night"

tangent style's picture

How did you figure out you

(Baboon, 142
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 8:48am

"Do not go gentle into that good night"

Gate_Crasher's picture

Do they offer training ? Are

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 8:50am
TheKid1's picture

How hard is it to lateral

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 10:39am
blueslord2910's picture

Can I ask about ER at your

 
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 on 5/24/12 at 10:40am
oppcostofcapital's picture

Re: megafunds -- after doing

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 10:52am
oppcostofcapital's picture

Re: typical day -- no day is

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 10:59am
oppcostofcapital's picture

Not sure if the

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 11:04am
oppcostofcapital's picture

re: how I figured out I

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 11:06am
oppcostofcapital's picture

re: laterals -- not hard, per

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 11:10am
Quaneaser's picture

What metric is used to

(Baboon, 121
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 12:06pm
Gate_Crasher's picture

oppcostofcapital: Not sure if

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 12:06pm
WallStreetOasis.com's picture

maseratimike: oppcostofcapi

EN
(Human, 12,067
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 12:09pm

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LloydBankfein's picture

There's a bunch of "day in

(Monkey, 30
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 12:29pm
oppcostofcapital's picture

This week some days I've

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 12:36pm
oppcostofcapital's picture

All depends on what you're

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 12:37pm
Gate_Crasher's picture

WallStreetOasis.com: masera

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 12:38pm
westsidewolf1989's picture

1. For FT guys, is face-time

IB
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 2:39pm
Chazz Reinhold's picture

I understand that Ops isn't

EN
(Orangutan, 262
 
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 on 5/24/12 at 2:43pm

Damn you Rodger!

My WSO Blog

swagon's picture

who do u think would win in a

EN
(Neanderthal, 2,970
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 2:48pm
oppcostofcapital's picture

re: facetime -- I can't speak

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 2:53pm
mhurricane's picture

How tough were the interviews

 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 4:14pm

The difference between successful people and others is largely a habit - a controlled habit of doing every task better, faster and more efficiently.

chimpanzee's picture

What was your GPA like?

(Monkey, 52
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 4:27pm
oppcostofcapital's picture

SA interviews are usually a

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 4:59pm
burnsy's picture

Commerce/Law degree or

 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 5:11pm

"All things are difficult before they are easy"
- Thomas Fuller

oppcostofcapital's picture

Finance is different from all

IB
 
Points)
 on 5/24/12 at 5:13pm

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