Hello,
Not looking for answers like "ability to be awake for extended periods of time", but rather answers regarding ones personality. Such as: sociability, intelligence, street smarts, etc.
Curious to hear others' thoughts regarding this.
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Initiative
Too many analysts just wait to be told what to do instead of taking projects on themselves to move the ball forward
How can an analyst take on projects?
At the Analyst level I'd say the most important strength to have is EXTREME detail-orientation. Most Analyst work is putting together models/presentations that are used as discussion materials with clients. As such, at least at the banks I've worked at, ultra clean formatting/analysis was the most valuable thing an Analyst could do as that meant the higher-ups could focus on the "big picture" of what they were presenting rather than footnotes being spaced inconsistently. Also, if you have this level of attention, it makes spotting modeling mistakes significantly easier. As you progress, it becomes more about thinking critically about what types of additions might help get the point across, but initially, just do what exactly what your told to well.
I completely agree, but this is overused. Went into an interview the other day and was asked my greatest strength. I started by stating outright that I had worked hard to develop a close attention to detail and the interviewer cut me off mid sentence with "Don't say that. Everyone says that and it is completely overused."
Interviewer sounds like kind of a dick. It's a stupid question so how is he gonna get mad when people have a stupid/overused answer.....
A better way to phrase it might be..."What have your superiors consistently praised you on?"
The appropriate answer to which is..."Nothing because I am a worthless maggot not fit to lick the loafers of the hallowed bankers I've had the privilege to work with!"
A strength I have noticed of some of the rockstars I have worked with so far can be summarized as "problem solving + grit". What this means is that they don't just give up and go ask their associate/manager/vp for help when they run into a problem. Rather, they take the time to understand the problem and identify what information is necessary to solve it. Often times they will do their best to solve the problem and then go talk to a higher up and show them they problem and how they try to solved it.
There will inevitably be any number of problems you'll run into as your beginning your career and it is totally fine (and recommended) to seek help. However, higher ups are looking for people who can demonstrate that they are a) willing and b) capable, of solving problems on their own. The grit comes into play when people refuse to let a problem get the better of them - they stick with problems until they truly understand them and can tell others how they worked through it.
be able to take a lot of shit
seriously though, being able to maintain a decent attitude in the face of some unbelievable nonsense is important
Seriously though, be able to take a lot of shit
How important is math/ financial knowledge when it comes to being a junior analyst, I'm not Einstein when it comes to mathematics but I'm also not the rock you kicked on the way to work.
bro the comps are gong to be doing everything for you. Excel does what your brain did in college classes, doing math on paper.
You've still got to understand what the numbers mean and how they tie together. If you don't have decent quant skills you'll miss a lot of the picture. Inexperiencedbateman you don't need advanced math skills, but your grasp of the logic driving the algebra and stats you'll be doing should be rock solid.
Idolizing authority.
Doing everything you're told like a good puppy and never pushing back on any direction given, even if that direction is some of the most ludicrous, asinine, or downright stupid thing you've ever heard.
question: this is because of the hierarchical authority in IB?
Only partly. IB is a service industry, and you are at the bottom of the totem pole as an analyst. Your MD takes shit from his clients; the shittiest parts of the shit gets passed down to the analyst.
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/boss-asked-me-to-get-coffee
So there is minimal actual math application in IB? I have little excel expirence (I'm 18), maybe used it 5 times and don't know how much it actually does.
What is my best strength? All of them.
There are three attributes that have really helped me and other analysts in my class
1) Thick Skin
Having a good attitude is crucial. People are going to freak out, unpredictably drop massive work loads and unleash all of their built up frustration upon you. It can really take its toll on your mental well-being if you're not prepared. But if you accept that everything is out of your control and expect things to inevitably fuck up, then you'll be a lot less stressed when shit actually hits the fan. It's practically like pledgeship all over again, for those who have gone through it.
You knew it was going to be shitty, so just suck it up. Smile, do your work and don't complain. Your associates / VPs know your workload is tough, and you're really helping them out by taking tasks off of their plate. Believe it or not, they do recognize and appreciate your good attitude (and truly hate that one analyst who complains about everything).
2) Critical thinking
3) Attention to detail
Have good attention to detail. That’s what I’d say
Just live your fucking life and stop trying to min/max your life to be "better for banking".
Taking ownership of what you are working on.
If you can do the above, everything else like paying attention to detail, getting work done in a timely fashion, critical thinking, etc. fall into place. When you receive an assignment from your staffer, ask yourself "what is the end goal of this?" and "how can I add value?". This is what separates decent/good analysts from the best.
Thank you all for your input and responses, I greatly appreciate it. I'm still young (relatively), and thought it would only be beneficial to myself if I began including some of these aspects into school/ daily life in general.
Brute strength -- start bulking
A mix of quasi-autistic attention to detail, a "get it done" attitude, and a keen eye for social dynamics at work (ie. corporate politics).
I would say having a tick skin is the most important thing, you are going to take tons of shit from people above you but having a smile in all situations will help you get through and also you need attention to details
As many pointed out, details is what matters. It doesn’t take a genius to build a 100-page deck and the analyzes that go into it, but it takes one hell of a fighter to go through several rounds of reads and personal mark-up sweeps in a day to get it out the door on time. The capacity to spot mistakes, both your own and others’, is what really matters as an analyst. And stand your ground if you know you’re right and the associate or VP questions something you did. It shows that you’re ready for the next level and that you’re not a pussy. You’re not going anywhere if you’re not respected.
Reliability. Check your emails first thing when you wake up on the weekends and check every couple hours after that because things will come up and you're team needs to know they can count on you get the work done.
Thick skin. Lot of power hungry assholes in the industry that try to abuse their authority. Smile and say 'will do thanks'.
Savvy. Read social situations well and know when to interject but more importantly when not to. Know how you can make others look good in front of their superiors/how to simplify their day to day without being obnoxious about it - they'll get it.
Attention to detail is not a personality trait. You should always double check your work whatever industry you're in. In banking however, people will judge you based on how many times you made the same mistake. If you made it into the industry, this should be intuitive.
Ownership. Have to print out copies for a meeting or fax papers? Yeah that's bullshit but own it and make sure everything you do is clean and organized. Everything you do will reflect you and your potential. Take pride in every single thing you do.
Godspeed.
Good judgement and autonomy
Ready and willing to become an even bigger douchebag
Flexible anal cavity, essential.
ability to mask depression
What skills do investment bankers and traders actually have ? (Originally Posted: 06/25/2016)
I met with a private equity exec in may and I asked him what is the one thing I can do to stand out on my resume since everyone pretty much has the same story.
He said that if I learned financial modelling it would help immensely since thats all the young guys do all day at the PE place he worked at and its very rare to see undergrad students have those skills.
Its pretty clear that being an expert at financial modelling translates into being a pretty good entry level employee for a private equity shop.
For quant roles you could become an expert at python, c++, R etc
But what about investment banks, hedge funds, prop firms etc ?
Im guessing being a very good negotiator and deal maker/access to deals is good for investment banking (and PE) but thats not really something an undergrad student can prove they have.
Obviously if you worked 10 years at X IB you could tell them about all the m&a deals etc you led to prove you are a great IBanker.
At hedge funds and prop firms the lines get even more blurred as to what skills are needed, some sociology student could have got a job at the right time at a prop firm, trading the right product at the right market cycle and generate a large income for himself purely attributed to luck.
The question is what meaningful skills could a finance student learn (not traits or achievements) that would help secure an internship or an entry level position in each area of high finance ?
Its much clearer in other professions such as medicine what skills you need to have in addition to your degree. For example if you want to apply to be a brain surgeon the primary skill you must have is the ability to operate on a human brain using approved medical practices to cure/alleviate health problems.
Best description of the investment banking skillset I've seen. http://www.leveragedsellout.com/2008/10/turns-out-investment-bankers-ma…
Could you recommend me some books to improve required skills/knowledge in investment banking? (Originally Posted: 11/05/2017)
Hello,
Since last year I have been really interested in investment banking, and I have been reading some books that I found recommended in this forum: Investment valuation by Damodaran, Joshua Rosenbaum and Joshua Pearl Invesment Banking, corporate finance by Damodaran, Narrative and Numbers by Damodaran.
Now I feel that I have some good knowledge about the theory behind valuation (while I still need some practise), but I would like to keep learning about other topics that could be useful in the field. So, if you can recommend me any good book that could help me to keep learning/improving useful skills and knowledge in Investment Banking I would be really pleased.
Thank you very much
Hey Inexperiencedbateman, I'm here to break the silence...any of these links help you?:
More suggestions...
You're welcome.
what kind of skillset you get in IB (m&a) (Originally Posted: 06/24/2013)
as titled, what kind of skillset does an IB M&A role give you? why is it so valuable to other firms in the industry?
p.s.: i've tried to look it up myself but, given that i just found excel/ppt proficiency, multitasking and a general sense of business, i thought i missed something alongthe way.
Nope that's about it
Finance, modeling, presentation skills
Well, I think it also shows that you can work very long hours in order to get the job done...
Proficiency to play with the various Microsoft Office products, especially PowerPoint and Excel and the ability to endure long work hours on a regular basis; some basic, hands-on understanding of how corporate finance works.
Also the ability to endure abuses and get screamed at on a regular basis for all sorts of trivial reasons or no reason at all without snapping. This last skill probably comes in handy for marriage.
What happens if you one day explode then knockout the VP yelling at you?
every1 above is wrong u get admin skills + ability to manage diverse email chains.
modeling = updating pre-built merger models
also you get to "account for synergies/premiums" aka adjust goodwill to magically equal valuation client wants +/- 5%
fixed that last part 4 u
Then the MD usually throws a printer at you, classic.
Then you become the new VP. It is FIght Club Wall St style!
LOL!!
if so, then i expect very few m&a analysts to be able to make the leap into the PE world (talking about europe) considering that there you actually need to know what you are doing (think like an investor i mean) and you relatively get to dodge the monkey business
Are good public speaking skills absolutely necessary for IB? (Originally Posted: 01/24/2011)
So I've done quite some research the last couple months on IB and it seems to me that good public speaking skills are almost essential for success (b/c of pitch books).
It might sound like a dumb question : if you're not a good public speaker and not good at presenting in front of a group, will you fail as a IBanker?
Comment field required??
good public speaking skills are essential for being a BANKER(VP and up) but if your a grunt...they don't matter to much because your easily replaced but, its hard to land a job if you can't communicate in an interview
What Skills in Fundraising can be transferred to the corporate world, particularly IB (Originally Posted: 01/28/2012)
Thanks
define what you did as a fundraiser.. then maybe one of us can help spin it
Getting into I-Banking --> What are some technical skills that I can build? (Originally Posted: 01/11/2014)
So, this summer I will be interning at an investment management firm that handles about $125 billion in assets. While it's a great opportunity, it's my goal to work in I-Banking two summers from now (2015) after the completion of my junior year of college. I started studying WSO interview guides but I am wondering what else I can do to be proactive in my pursuance of becoming a summer analyst in 2015. Any Thoughts? I've made a lot of connections on Wall Street because my brother spent two years as an analyst at Morgan Stanley. I am really looking for suggestions about technical/skill building exercises that I can do. I've thought about buying Training the Street so I can better understand how to accurately build financial statements, DCFs, etc. What are your thoughts? What else can I be doing, reading, practicing, etc.?
PM'd
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