I Burned Out But I'm Better Now... Avoid The Top 6 Mistakes I Made During My First 2 Months As a Private Equity Analyst

I started my big boy job on wall street in February. Did an IB internship at an EB in NYC last summer and was fortunate enough to land a role right in PE out of the gates.

If you're starting as an analyst this June/July, please learn from me and avoid what I did wrong during my first couple months on the desk:

1. Trying to be macho man. Telling the two co-workers that I trusted most about my feelings of being overwhelmed was the best decision I made for my mental health.

   As a “manly man”, I had to challenge myself to let these feelings out, but getting it off my chest instantly relieved the pressure. They could both relate since they went through it too.

2. Falling into perfectionism trap. Like many high-achieving people in investment banking / private equity, my self esteem is tied to getting things right the first time since that is what school rewarded. I stress over details like re-reading every email five times before sending it.

   I’ve learned to take advantage of the fact nobody expects me to know anything and now make rules like only allowing one read-through max to avoid mental burnout.

3. Not setting unplugging boundaries. The anxiety I had my first couple weeks from feeling like I had to respond to every single email at all hours of the day ruined my sleep and mood. I couldn’t ever relax. Asking an analyst a year above me about their methods what the expectations are from the managers helped me set boundaries for when I respond.
4. People pleasing my way into mental burnout. Face time! Ever heard of it? I got caught in the people-pleasing trap of always wanting to be seen at my desk for the first couple weeks. Truth is - nobody actually cares.

   My approach is to make myself get up from my desk and go for a 10min walk (even if it is walking in reverse up the escalator in our building’s lobby). This refreshes my mind and allows me to pick up where I left off with more energy.

5. Forgetting about my family. I now have a rule that I must call my parents at least once every single day, even if it is only for five minutes between calls. It takes energy to make new friends with co-workers, so maintaining relationships with your core prevents social isolation, which I fell victim to.
6. Not taking time to process/reflect. I found myself wanting to rush right into the next task or ask for more work every time I finished an assignment. This made me burn out quick. I now take 10min at the end of every day and 1hr every Friday to process what I’ve learned that day/week, which helps keep me motivated since I’m always amazed at how far I’ve come in such a short period of time.