How to keep skills in check?

fucking dumbass

1. Get yourself a class for excel and powerpoint-- your firm probably has some online training. If not, grab a seminar on the weekends.
2. Sounds like you need to have a chat with someone on the team-- should probably be the most junior person that isn't a fellow intern. Be honest about your concerns and ask how you can beef up your skills and perhaps they'd even be willing to help you.
3. Don't beat yourself up too much-- you sound behind, but with some hard work on the weekends, you may get better.
4. If you're not analytical you probably have no business being in finance-- you need some sort of foundation on how things fit with one another and how it relates to the big picture if you're going to learn effectively in this industry. What's your major? You may need to re-evaluate what your goals are-- why did you want to be in investment banking?

There's a reason experience is valued. You get good at excel and powerpoint by repeatedly doing calculations and presentations. If you are worried about coming across as an idiot for asking - there's always google. "how to write a macro" , "how to make a powerpoint animation"

LOL @coldcalling999.

Wow coldcalling999....that is cold

Do you have Asperger's?

Dude, first time around, no one expects you to know everything that is going on. The trick is to not look stupid while being confused. Seriously though, sometimes you just have to bluff until to know what is going on.

Get Excel or Excel VBA programming for dummies, no lie, thats how they explain it like your a 5 year old. most people dont even consider it but its a useful stepping stone.

xxxx

I agree with the VBA/Excel books and courses suggestions. I would also suggest writing out your presentation. One thing that stood out to me is that you have not written a paper except those required in your English classes. One of the things I learned most from was technical writing in both my science and finance classes. The fact that you've already done all the calculations and charts for your presentation is a great start. Now instead of just staring at them trying to think about what you're going to say... start writing! Even if you don't know what to say at first, just start with "This chart represents..." or something. Just have a brain storm on paper for a while until you get through the whole presentation. That will give you a start. Try using complete sentences and paragraphs instead of bullet points. That will help you understand it more when you re-read it.

When you don't understand what people tell you, try writing it down. Again, try using complete sentences. If they're teaching you something in Excel and you feel like a robot, write down the steps that you're doing and then write down the end goal of the process.

This may or may not work for you - I just found that it made me understand much more than through verbal communication. Also, take VERY detailed notes when people are explaining things to you. You will look like an idiot if you ask the same thing over and over again, but if you keep a notepad with that data you will probably only have to ask legitimate clarification questions. Sometimes people talk so fast because what they're explaining is second nature to them. For me, it can go in one ear and out the other if I don't take notes and then review them, in some cases re-write them and make sure to TRY first. Once you've done all those things and still have questions, they're likely to be half way intelligent.

In addition to reading VBA programming for dummies, try reading technical articles related to your presentation. Also, if you don't feel qualified for even "back office" jobs, try refreshing you accounting knowledge. Analyzing numbers on financial statements or whatever you're doing usually doesn't make much sense when you do not understand from where the numbers come.

Try not to stress out too much. You have an internship; you're clearly not a complete failure. I think it is a great sign that you're seeking input, but make sure not to show the "I'm a failure" attitude at work. People will appreciate you trying to better yourself, but not belittle yourself.

your case at your division seems to be similar with mine, I say speak to your manager. Mine completely understands that in my department alot of it is managerial decisions. I am given a lot of the work you described the excel and powerpoint. I do not know any of it either. Ask for help, they will help for the most part.

It's just how you're expected to feel in your first internship. It sounds to me you have never worked before. Guess what, working is tough. But don't worry so much. Just make the charts, note the source and analyze the numbers. It's not too hard but most of us have been taught to make exactly the same analysis, and it might be harder if you didn't have any training. Keep working hard. And btw, Risk management is a lot harder than FO IBD. Polish your MS Office skills. Learn to use styles.

heyalexxxxx1:

I have asked my coworkers and they explain it in a way that seems very simple but I do not understand it and when then they look at me like im an idiot since I do not understand their basic language.

You're not expect to know anything.

I also find that most professions and office places use confusing words or acronyms to explain simple ideas. I was at a big 4 and my managers used to refer to the "spreads" "concoms" "topsides" etc. Spreads were financial statements, concoms were consolidating entries and topsides were entries posted very close to year end. It makes sense to use shortcuts in language while working because it saves time, but these dip shits used to teach in acronyms, not because they wanted you to learn, but because it made them feel smarter. Whenenver a new kid joined our group took them out after work, bought them a beer, and ran down the list of acronyms and put everything in simple language.

I never interned in accounting, I literally applied for the big 4 job 2 days after they came to campus. I thought I was going to go to grad school first and then work. So I had those "intern moments" as an associate.

I remember asking some kid during new hire training what he did during his internship on a daily basis. "you know, nothing crazy, excel, ticking and tying." No one would ever explain to me what ticking and tying was. These idiots who used to intern and came on full time would always talk about it and their responsibilities at the internship. The minute I found out what ticking and trying was I wanted to slit my throat. Ticking and tying is matching and agreeing numbers from one piece of paper to another. I could have done that in the third grade.

Keep at it, ask questions on this forum, ask your friends around your level, and use the same buzzwords in conversation until you pick up what it really means. It's mostly mental masturbation on the part of your superiors. A friend of mine got a perfect score on his sat's, went to williams, started working for an advertising agency, and was clueless for the first six months of the job. Same problem. Now we joke about this shit and whenever we email each other or text about meeting up for drinks we try to fit as many corporate buzzwords in the message as possible: shift paradigms outside of the box - net net get hammered and drive the bottom line.

.

What's the matter, your in OPS, presumably you majored in Mathematics, and your having trouble writing a business presentation. Can I say no crap?

I think your like me, you just need to gain some confidence in your writing skills, my advice, start reading papers and writing articles and getting your ideas across. Your in OPS for your math sklls, but part of your job is able to communicate as well.

Can you give specific indicents of what is troubling you ?

+1 to the above. Couldn't agree more.

Cookies with Milken and NYCSA - I appreciate you actually reading my post. The NYCSA hit on the biggest issue of all; I have no other analyst or associates in my department. It feels weird as I cannot link with anyone since everyone is 15+ yrs older than me. No one has taken me to lunch or coffee or out to give any advice. I try my best to talk to them but its a small group that only keeps to themselves. I honestly do think they did not prepare for bringing in an intern. My group doesnt know what work to give me. Sometimes the give me work like prepare a report from a ready template which isnt hard since its basically copy and past from excel to powerpoint. Other times they give me some insane excel project which I have no clue how to do. Now they expect me to present my project to the head of the department. That alone makes me nervous , ive only been here 3 weeks and im presenting something to the head of the department for stuff I do not understand.

I know I need to work on excel, but that isnt my biggest issue. The show me how to do it on excel but never explain what the end result means or if they do its so fast and technical that i get confused further.

The problem is thinking, how to explain what I did and my procedures. Problems is I have no idea how I got my information. I can say I did a process but would have to explain what my end results mean on a bigger picture.

I am trying to make the best of the situation.

Short answer: Hustle.

Elaboration: Do everything possible to learn the tools. Work nights, weekends, reach out to other departments etc. When I first started out coding the biggest help was online forums. Its pretty unusual if you run into a problem someone out there has not tackled before. Beyond just technical skill, you should always be learning. First, take out your interviewer or your boss out for lunch, afterhours so you can talk to him about the business. Ask him what the purpose of the division is, what everyone's role is etc. Understand where your division (and thus, you) fit into the organization's puzzle. Once you learn that you can go check out books, blogs, forums, papers to understand the concepts employed in your job. Say your role right now is to run spreadsheets which checks out the trader's marks vs. an exchange's marks. Understand what that means. Understand why a discreptency can happen. Understand the purpose of that sheet.

Your past academics won't help you with your job. You must learn on the job and add value and learn at every stage possible. Never seem exasperated...everyone successful must tackle the learning curve. If you need recommendations to understand certain parts of your job, describe it here and I or someone else on the forum can recommend resources for you.

In the beginning you won't get everything at once. There is a lot of things that will take a while to understand. At the moment just repeat what your group has taught you and ask a lot of questions, like why do you do this and that, etc. It is difficult at first but if you have a very gung ho attitude, that will be more important than doing things flawlessly the first time around.

This post is exhibit A as to why the liberal arts are so important. I'm sorry your education has been a total waste up to this point.

It sounds like you need to improve what are called "critical thinking" skills. This is basically the ability to analyze the structure of an argument and evaluate its strength. Your basic problem is you need to read more, write more, and think critically about what you are reading/writing.

Here is a simple exercise to get you started on "critical thinking" -

1. Read an article of long format journalism (New Yorker is my favorite)
2. Find and underline the "thesis" of the article. This is the main "point." it should be quite clear and towards the beginning of the article. The rest of the article will be devoted to supporting/elaborating this point
3. Analyze the structure of the article. Divide it into blocks (literally with a pen) Introduction, thesis, supporting evidence A, B, C, etc., conclusion
4. Think critically about the argument presented - Answer these questions:

- How strongly does the evidence presented support the argument? - How strong is the evidence itself? What sort of evidence is it? Statistical? anecdotal?, etc - What are the key assumptions on which the author relies? - What are some possible counter arguments/examples and alternative explanations to the evidence? - What is some evidence that could weaken/strengthen the article? 5. Think about the big picture - WHY is this important? WHY did the author write this article? What are some consequences if this argument holds? How can this conclusion be applied to other topics? etc 6. Repeat over and over and over again. Make critical reading/writing a habit. Write in the margins of everything you read.

Once you do this enough, you will be able to start formulating arguments/thoughts of your own

Any idiot can read however critical reading/thinking is a skill you have to practice. Remember Enron's motto - "Ask Why." I am sorry to be so blunt but an inability to think about/see the big picture will prevent you from amounting to anything of consequence in your life, as Im sure you have already realized.

Hey man, don't feel bad that you aren't doing so well right now. If you're at a BB, you have done something right and a lot of the time it comes with experience. You are problably like 20? No one expects you to know everything now and if you did I wouldn't trust your opinion because you are only 20...Experience and patience bro and you are starting off right.

If you don't want that job, you can just PM me and I'll take it. We can switch. My company is a large insurance broker and might be ruining the world.

I only read the OP's post but it just sounds like you're just stupid...

Not a big deal, just accept it and move on, start bsing your way through until you get an analyst to do all your work.

booo hoooo i don't understand finance waaahahahahaha :-(((((((

fucking read a finance book, sign up for the CFA, do whatever it takes to understand finance. it's not rocket science but it may take some time to click. i'd done things at a job for months and months sometimes before really understanding it.

just stop bitching and work hard. you will be fine.

Don't be impressed or intimidated by VP titles in back/mid office groups, they're not the same thing as a VP in investment banking (Actually, don't be impressed by VP titles in an investment bank, either). Go to your superiors for help, that's what interns are supposed to do.

Don't be scared if you don't know what to do right away, make sure you don't give up and not finish a task because you "don't know how" to do something.

MS Office can take some getting used to but it's not rocket science, if you take a deep breath and use trial and error plus some googling I guarantee you can get through this alive.

Find a presentation, any presentation, and use it as a template (for color/font schemes at the very least).

Never, ever, ever, ever give up.

Man, you clearly are getting very down on yourself.

It's all about confidence..you'll soon discover that a lot more of the knowledge, information, and viewpoints in finance are not about hard facts (as with medicine, physics, etc), but how you express your opinions. Develop your own ideas, and be able to defend them.

Many young guys starting out feel this way...as if they have to "learn" everything in the world as they go. Of course there is a lot to learn, but a lot of it, is just having the skills and confidence to believe your line of BS, and realize that the guy that sounds like a genius, probably doesnt know too much more then you, he just knows how to express it better.

of course there are clear cut and straightforward aspects of the business, and my advice regarding those areas is to stop feeling overwhelmed. If you don't understand something, google it...google everything. Understand the basics before you try to understand the specifics, and ask questions...ask everyone questions. No one will know what you know or dont know, and no one will care (most people actually like to answer questions if they know the answer - its self-affirming human nature that plays to our own insecurities) ....I'm sure that "people are looking at you like an ididot" is all in your head...do not walk away from a question utntil you understand it. maybe they are the "idiots" for explaining it wrong

You may be less prepared coming in then some of the target finance guru kids, but the playing field will start to even out very quickly. Just take your time, and do a good job even if it takes a long time.

You'd think this is abnormal until you've read Monkey Business, Accidental Banker, even Liar's Poker. Or you've met target girls who spent the summer at JPM "attaching a file really, really quickly."

My intern couldn't adjust either. You have to learn it at night, on the weekends. As someone said, hustle. You can bet people will be talking behind your back. I just heard last week in the hallway there was a summer who "doesn't get anything, is a complete dumbass."

Hey man, I got a presentation due my 2nd day of work as an intern. Don't sweat it and stop complaining. It's unnecesary negative conditioning.

Buddy I don't want to come off as a jerk but really you need to stop freaking out. It sounds like most of your problems can be easily fixed by sitting down on the weekends and doing some serious reading. Just do one of those excel online classes or buy the excel for dummies book and you'll be fine.

And if your having problems understanding material just do what I do when I'm having trouble and google it. You will find a thousand different explanations and examples to help you.

Wow, boy am I glad I learned to think and write in college and left the formulas to learn as an intern. Another reason to consider a writing-intensive major in college.

Seriously though, learn to break concepts down and understand why they all fit together. Excel isn't that hard, I had zero experience and I'm 5 weeks in and I already know 10 x more than I did coming in.

Adapt... you're probably capable of it since you got the job.

I did all the calculations and charts.

Problem is now making the presentation. I have to explain where I got the data from what I did and its relevance.

OP

You sound like a complete moron. You won't be able to learn critical thinking in a year and I wish you the best of luck in your new life as a barrista.

I think noname1001 above me is really Hannah Montana.

Life in the NFL, kids

bro just relax. all the people who are saying "fuck you you're stupid i hate you because you don't understand finance blahblahblah i'm insecure" probably could use a refresher themselves from time to time. if you're really having a tough time grabbing the concepts, then reconsider how you're trying to learn. and it could be that deep down you're not interested in finance and this is how it's getting manifested.