How close does a person need to be in order to ask for time off for a funeral? I assume it's acceptable to ask for time off for parents and siblings, of course. What about a very close friend from high school? Your girlfriend's parents? Your girlfriend's friends? A cousin? Are going to all funerals acceptable or have there been situations in which senior bankers have scoffed at someone requesting time off for a funeral of a friend?
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I hope this doesn't throw too much complexity into the thread, but what about weddings? I know of at least three people who are getting ready to propose. If these people do propose, their weddings are definitely weddings I should attend (one is for my best friend from high school). I'm just praying that they suddenly decide to wait three years before proposing so I can (hopefully) be an associate at an IB or PE firm and I should have a little more flexibility with regard to taking time off.
To be frank, I'd love to go to their weddings, but I don't have a problem skipping on account of the job. But none of these people understand what IB is or what the job entails, and I'm hoping my absence will not damage these relationships too much.
Overall, I'm hoping no one dies and no one gets married as long as I'm an IB analyst (and maybe even associate).
Dear lord. Do you not realize how pathetic that sounds? Do you work in banking already, or are you just assuming? Perhaps I'm just really lucky or something, but I can't imagine that my boss wouldn't let me miss a few days for a close friend's wedding or funeral. If you are really planning on (or ready to) missing all major life events of your friends and family for the next 3 years, I'd suggest reexamining your priorities.
People writing this sort of crap clearly have no idea what they are talking about and do sound pathetic. Imagine saying u hope ppl don't die or get married because of ur job.
Do you really think an MD is going to scoff at a request to go to a funeral. What f-ing planet are you living on? Presumably if you are asking then the person was important enough to you and there will be no problem. As for weddings, they are usually on the wkend and you have advance warning so unless the shit really hits the fan it is fine(and in many cases your other colleagues will probably agree to cover for or cope without you as it is assumed you would do the same).
Just assuming about the funerals. That's why I'm asking it here: to get the input of people who know more than I.
As for weddings, I'm pretty sure analysts who take a few weekends off during their first year to attend weddings aren't top-bucket analysts. Remember: this job requires a significant amount of devotion. In IB, if work isn't my top priority, I'm confident I'll be weeded out quickly.
And, am I PLANNING on missing these events? No. They haven't happened yet. I do, however, hope to have an indication of my supervisor's reaction before I ask. Obtaining such an indication is the intent of this thread.
I missed a wedding the summer of the third-year. I was absolutely pissed but we were in the middle of a super-big pitch and bonus time was right around the corner. Following that weekend, I was convinced my group sucked and I left a month later. Never going to look back.
Point being, a wedding here or there is acceptable, but don't bank on it because honestly, your associates and VPs have very little control over what is to come.
Have you ever read Bank? Granted, it's a piece of fiction, but the characters are based on real bankers (or combinations of real bankers).
For one analyst, his father passed away. If I remember correctly, the day after the funeral, the analyst is back at work. The protagonist confronts him on it, and the analyst essentially brushes it off and goes back to work.
That's my basis for this thread. I want to see how realistic such a situation is.
much of "Bank" is hyperbolic, don't take that shit so seriously That's not a realistic situation unless you are a cold-hearted b*stard with a heart of stone who cares about nothing but money
Wow great source - have you ever watched a film that is "based on a true story" where you know the real story, notice how much it always differs from reality?
If anybody was back in work after their father's death it was most certainly their own choice, presumably as a way of trying to ignore what happened. I know of one person whose parent died and they didn't come back to work for about 10 days....
Additionally, the wedding comment came from a Vault ib interview Guide. The guide posed the sample interview question of something like:
"Your best friend's wedding is this weekend. You've been planning to attend the wedding for the last several months and everyone on your team knows you want to go. On Friday, there is still a significant amount of work to be done on the deal you've been working on. What do you do?"
That is the gist of the question. The answer? The guide mentions the significant amount of devotion the job requires and recommends the candidate say that he will skip the wedding to stay and work.
Ok - I understand now. The funeral thing was bogus. Thank you for the feedback. For someone who has never worked in IB before, I wanted to find out how realistic such a situation is. Apparently, IB isn't as intense as I make it out to be in my head. Thanks for the feedback.
Anyone else?
F9...just...wow...wow...
"You will not kill. You will become dead marines and then you will be in a world of shit because marines are not allowed to die without permission." -FMJ
Does this rule apply to bankers as well? And if one happens to slip through the cracks, can they attend their own funeral?
Just manage up and put the ball in your associates/VP/Md's court. Tell them the situation and that you would like to go the wedding/funeral and let it be their decision as to whether you can go or not rather then just telling them that you are not going to be in this weekend. Also make yourself available while you are gone, you may have to work from your hotel room the night before the wedding while all of your friends are out partying but at least you will be able to go to the actual ceremony
"manage up"? Lol now there's some stupid jargon I hadn't heard before
LOL @ going to your girlfriend's parents' funeral.
http://www.drmarkklein.blogspot.com/
i have missed work for weddings, bparties, and funerals. People don't care. The one thing I have learned over time is analysts are typically too scared and think the worst about asking for time off to attend events ( i was the same way at first). however i realized that no one gives a shit. No job...i repeat...no job is worth missing a once in a life time event such as a wedding or funneral. senior people understand this and are accepting of the situation. the fact that someone would consider missing a wedding of a best friend from high school is mind blowing and would be a great regret later in life. and the fact that would be bankers say they are willing to do this...stop drinking the banking cool aide
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