New analyst: How do I get noticed by management?

I just started with a MM PERE firm - which is a dream job of mine.

Some background:

I graduated from a "non-target" state school
I have internship experience in PERE, consulting, and equity research (yes I am all over the place but the PERE internship was the last internship I did and I fell in love with RE)
There are only a handful of graduates each year who move into any type of PE/IB a year and I was fortunate enough to be one of them
The reason I ended up where I am is because of my work ethic - I put myself through college working full time, maintained a 3.7 GPA, and secured very competitive internship opportunities because I have been putting in 70+ hour weeks for the last 4 years to do whatever it takes to make it (which I finally have!).

So how do you suggest I get noticed by the management team especially when I am surrounded by people who have much more prestigious backgrounds than I do and have, seemingly, the same ambition and motivation as I do? How do I get promoted before my peers? How do I win?

 

My fear with trying to make friends and have people like me for reasons outside of my work is that I will get into the politics of the firm. I've seen this be a good thing but can just as quickly be turned around to be a bad thing. How much value is held on dressing nice, being into work early, staying late, volunteering for extra projects? Or is it mostly a political game and I am just being naive?

 
Best Response
Nate-McBride:
My fear with trying to make friends and have people like me for reasons outside of my work is that I will get into the politics of the firm. I've seen this be a good thing but can just as quickly be turned around to be a bad thing.

After a month or two you will know 90% of the "politics" of the firm. Just keep your mouth shut and your ears open for the most part. This isn't house of cards, man. Office politics are just knowing who you can't piss off and who are the favorites of whom. Don't gossip about other people and don't shit on other people you work with to anyone outside of your best friends and you'll be fine.

Nate-McBride:
How much value is held on dressing nice,

Varies wildly from office to office. You will figure this out rapidly as you look around the office and see how everyone else dresses.

Nate-McBride:
being into work early, staying late,

Both/Either are important, but it's important to mirror the habits of those who work there. If everyone is a "come in at 6 but sneak out at 4" type of person, you're not going to get any credit for staying late and people are going to wonder where you are in the mornings. Mirror their schedules.

Nate-McBride:
volunteering for extra projects?

This is very much a good thing but don't be the eager beaver about it, especially in the beginning. It's going to take a while for you to get a handle on your day to day work, let alone do extra. Master what you're tasked with and then ask for more.

Nate-McBride:
Or is it mostly a political game and I am just being naive?

It's not a "game" really. Like I said previously, office politics is basically just knowing who is best friends with who. If a particular associate is the son of the partner's best friend, it's probably not a good idea to shit on that associate to the partner. If the VP's wife is a client and is annoying as fuck, don't shit on that VP's wife. If two guys in the office work out every morning, it's probably not a good idea to shit on one of those guys to the other. This is all common sense stuff and can be avoided by not being the office gossip or complainer. Eventually, you will find someone who you can blow off some steam with and that's healthy, but as long as you don't make enemies - boom - you win office politics.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Politics are almost everywhere my friend, especially in RE. Anyone that says otherwise is not being honest with themselves. As far as your question goes, just focus on doing the best job you can at work. Try to see where help is needed and offer it before someone asks you or try to improve things that you see an opportunity to improve etc. Those are the types of things that get you noticed.

 

Nate, I would say since it looks like you just started earlier this year, don't worry so much about the peers around you and focus more on learning as much as you can about the business. Try to be friends with everyone. If they don't like you, fuck it who cares?

Do a kickass job as an analyst and be the person upper management can count on. Maybe learn VBA so you can crank out those models faster or even help automate some reports and processes that take up a lot of your group's time. Going above and beyond, that is how you will get recognized and that is how you will win.

 

Take on side projects that are likely to add value. Don't do this for the sake of garnering the impression that you are a hard worker; these ancillary projects should be driven by your own creativity, done on your own time, and in most cases, remain unbeknownst to your manager until you are confident that your bringing of them to your manager's attention will have an immediate and tangible impact. The challenge lies in your ability to thread the needle between coming off as distracted/insubordinate and following your intellectual curiosity into a rabbit-hole, both scenarios in which sub-optimal outcomes are likely to ensue. Successfully executing on this strategy, however, will result in your superior's perception that you are a competent and creative self-starter. And at the end of the day, your reality is driven by the perception of those who have the authority of discretion. Good luck!

 

Keep work strong and efficient but don't put all focus on it. Everybody's vying to be the office "overachiever". Hard work will keep you there, but you'll only get lost in the crowd if relying solely on it.

I'd also recommend against constantly "ass-licking" the managers. Why? Because EVERYBODY's going to be doing it, so again, it's a common office practice. If there's an angle you can play its that directors (IB at least) love analysts they can brag about to the clients and/or other md's (i.e. "I've got a kid who studied Pashto in college"). Talk about something that will make you "conversation worthy" to the clients. Any crazy shit will do lol. Try it once. Voice of experience. It works. Seems kind of silly, but strikes the director's interest. And everybody's got something uniquely personal to offer if they think about it. Sets you apart. Being unique in an interesting way will never hurt.

 

My recommendation is to read everything you can to stay up to date with what is going on around you - deal/investment memos, research notes, market reports, policy/procedures, and the general news (I setup google alerts about my top clients so that I know when stuff happens with them). RE is an information business and the better you know your markets, your company's independent viewpoint, and your clients (and you can show/apply that knowledge), the faster you will be given more responsibility and be trusted to do stuff on your own.

 

First of all, pat yourself on the back. You are at the same level as people who are seemingly “better” than you on paper. You are holding your own work product wise and a valued member of the team.

My thought is “you are who you are.” You can act like someone other than your true self temporarily, but really hard to change who you are all the time. You’re young, so get your experience. It’s a good thing that you’re working with different kinds of people, it will give you insight throughout your career and appreciation.

Your work at your current job adds to your branding, if you end up at another company later on.

Doesn’t hurt to get some “branding enhancement” with a good MBA. But for now, have your work speak for you. Politics gets more and more important as you advance. Hopefully by then you are confident with what you bring to the table and that you are working with people you like and have known for a while via your professional network.

The big picture is you are adding to your brand working at your current job and try to do great work. The people you did excellent work for will remember you.

Have compassion as well as ambition and you’ll go far in life. Check out my blog at MemoryVideo.com
 

Here a few things that might get you noticed: - Good & professional work ethic - Quality and volume of work deliverables on time and beyond expectations - Humility / down-to-earth personality and helpful/welcoming attitude towards clients, colleagues and your management - Always believe that you need your team more than they need you!

PS: After a while you'll realize it is not about where we came from (background), but where we are going together!

 

I'm not quite sure why you got all the monkey shit but here's my 2 cents:

  • you are proud of the fact you worked your ass off and landed this job, nothing wrong with that but keep in mind you are on the same playing field as other analysts. no 1 will give a fuck about how you broke in but they will care if your work ethic declines
  • how you stand out: lots of analysts (myself included) seems to believe they are the workhorse and they are there to process and that's it. Yes you are there to work your ass off but you are also there to learn. if senior members of the team does not take the initiative to teach you, you are responsible for your own education. so that said, how do you stand out? you can ask ANY question you want within the first 6 months, so take advantage. Ask anything and everything from transactions to fund management to fund accounting
  • when working with your associate, have your view, don't just present numbers and say here you go. tell your associate what these numbers mean to you. if you are wrong, so what? you learned. the worst mistake you can make is by staying silent

i have more but board meeting is about to end (its nice to have boring board meetings, it means the business is performing) so maybe i'll revisit later

 

Cold calling HR at big banks will be very difficult. My guess (and experience) is that you will have more success at smaller boutiques. I actually randomly emailed a number of partners/MDs at boutiques my resume, after applying online just to see if MAYBE something caught their eye for some reason. I figure you never know, and it can't REALLY hurt. A few actually emailed me back, were interested and made sure I got an interview (liked my enthusiasm/persistence).

 

Have you tried offering sexual favors on the online apps?

Seriously man, no one looks at online apps! NONE! So put that you want to give the MD head down, they don't care! You get noticed by getting out there and being a douchebag b/c bankers can relate to that.

 

I'd like to bump this for the OP. I'd also like to say that wallstreetmonkey123's comment was very unhelpful - in fact it was confusing because it contradicted the previous post but I couldn't tell whether it was saracstic or serious. I'm sure the OP appreciates comments like NewIBHire27's...at least I do. Bump.

 

Dude, Swagon I'm trying to be frank with you, if you can't take that, don't go into banking b/c ppl will say worse things than what I just said. If you can't tell whether I'm being sarcastic, well shit, we have a whole new problem here. Can anyone verify with me if they received a first round interview by applying online to a BB? That's right little to none.

 

The harshness/rudness of your reply was not my problem. My problem was that you were not only unclear, but muddled the point of the poster before you because I couldn't tell if you were serious or not. Be as mean as you want, man, it's fine with me.

Also, I fully realize there is zero chance of a resume being picked up by a BB online system. No one doubts that. I'd just like to hear more about non-BB applications systems and how to succeed with those. For example, the kind of input NewIBHire27 offered was helpful. You coudl have said "I disagree with the above..."

 

Think of me as a Dbag all you want but if you want to work in banking, you have to understand sarcasm and you my friend is not fit in this industry. Also, you are too kind, "harsh" and "rude", I would have just said you F#@#@$ FA*&&ot

 

i asked an associate on what he thought about this, and he told me to a) have a positive attitude, b) always say yes(call at 3 am, come in to work john, don't reply with go fuck yourself) and c) if you don't have anything to do, ask around if anyone needs something done.


Disclaimer: The post above has been made by someone who is not currently employed in IBD, and has not had an interview yet...

 

If you don't get into an Ibank for a summer intership will that bank not grant you a first round interview for a full time position?

 

Sure a-d are givens but to the extent possible I would suggest avoiding the pig fuck. Find someone to be your champion. Whenever you get put on a project with an assoc / VP you like and work well with, make sure you go above and beyond for them so you establish rapport and a positive tone with those individuals early. Also, make sure you get out of the office with them on a regular basis (lunch, drinks, etc.) so you complement a solid working relationship with a solid social one as well. Once you are a part of their "team" hopefully you can work on most of your deals with them which will shield you from the fucking parasites and at the same time give you someone who will speak up for you come bonus time, which is what it all comes down to. Is there somebody who is going to go to bat for you come June? Try to make sure of it.

 

To anyone looking to start out in IB, this thread is an absolute must. aspiringmonkey and livingthedream are right on the nose here with their a-d list. Learn it, recite it, and live by it. You'd be surprised how many people don't do any of them (certainly at this bank!).

But if everyone follows those instructions, then you're not standing out.

That's where labanker's pearls of wisdom come into their own. Analysts and associates need sponsorship, so find someone you get on with, who identifies and values your strengths - and the more senior they are the better. Most importantly, find someone who will fight your corner with his superiors. The decisions that guide a career are often taken by people who are 1-2 steps removed from actually working with you and that often leads to unfair results. Hence, all they have to go on is the input of the people beneath them. Like it or not, it's one big political game from that point on.

 

they are people too, and if they are a VP/MD in a bank, they probably alienated their friends a long time ago, so having a puppy eyed analyst listening to their every word is a good pick me up for them.

Or just imagine them naked humping a fat chick.


Disclaimer: The post above has been made by someone who is not currently employed in IBD, and has not had an interview yet...

 

labanker's advice is definitely important. I was lucky enough to get support pretty much from day one from a couple of MDs and VPs which has helped me enormously. Going out for beers etc is important in developing this relationship too. You'll gain the respect of the MD by living by the a-d mantra and then it's up to your little old personality, as labanker mentions, to cultivate this.

If it's not easy for you to just make these contacts naturally, think of it as your first step in client coverage and act accordingly. When we're dealing with outside clients, we give them mistake free work, we go the extra mile and give them advice/ observations, we keep up to date with relevant industry news/ trends, we invite them to go to functions with us to develop the friendship that can get you the deal and we NEVER let them see when we're fed up/ tired/ have issues at home/ whatever. Same with your MD/ VP.

 

yeah - just to be clear, i'm not talking about brown-nosing the associates/ MDs here, just treat them as you would an external client...having a bad day? i don't want to hear about it. made stupid mistakes in your comps because "you're tired/ have a cold/ whatever" i just see mistakes. didn't search hard enough and missed an important news item because it was 3am? don't seem enthusiastic (within reason!) when i give you something to do? don't have a personality/ something to say for yourself? i probably don't want to work with you again and i'm for sure not going to champion you come review time...

 

OK I am not a banker so take with a grain of salt, but I have worked with many analysts and my $.02 is to stick with the A-D list for at least a few months before you try to "find a mentor" or become friends with senior people. I can say that I absolutely hate it when a 22 year old comes up to me and tries to be my friend when they havent earned any respect by doing a good job. Seriously I value my advice and understand how I can help an analysts career so i dont give that up without getting serious value back in return...like "i will run through a brick wall if you ask me to"-type of value. Get the work right every single time, always be trying to help out and everything else will fall into place much more easily.

 
Bondarb:
OK I am not a banker so take with a grain of salt, but I have worked with many analysts and my $.02 is to stick with the A-D list for at least a few months before you try to "find a mentor" or become friends with senior people. I can say that I absolutely hate it when a 22 year old comes up to me and tries to be my friend when they havent earned any respect by doing a good job. Seriously I value my advice and understand how I can help an analysts career so i dont give that up without getting serious value back in return...like "i will run through a brick wall if you ask me to"-type of value. Get the work right every single time, always be trying to help out and everything else will fall into place much more easily.
Bondarb, I respect all your helpful posts on this forum, but I don't know why this is.

What's wrong with just being friends with older people while also working hard?

 

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