Just curious, usually the type of personality I’ve met through IB and PE are fairly confident to say the least. And it might be a personal thing but as I progress in my career I’ve shockingly like almost lost confidence (especially in an investing role) as I realize the world of what I don’t know is almost exponentially larger than what I do. Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way?
| +69 | BBs With The Hottest Girls | 31 | 6h | |
| +42 | Equinox Membership worth it? | 36 | 1s | |
| +37 | I want a puppy - talk me out of it | 25 | 17h | |
| +36 | Whomst Hardo? | 9 | 2d | |
| +27 | How to make time for girlfriend | 7 | 2d | |
| +25 | Any risk in ratting out a toxic and incompetent VP to your MD? | 12 | 1d | |
| +23 | PIF and Riyadh | 7 | 6h | |
| +22 | RBC had 100 IB SA 2025 Spots Across All Offices and 70% Were Filled With Women’s Program | 16 | 2s | |
| +21 | Don’t Let These 3 Non-Verbal Interview Habits Be The Reason You Don’t Get An Offer | 5 | 6d | |
| +19 | RENT MEGATHREAD: How much do you pay for rent? | 23 | 8h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
It's quite daunting isn't it? Was quite a shock for me and I honestly really needed to be knocked down couple of rungs down the ego ladder.
Not to get philosophical, coming to that kind of self awareness, and accepting that you have limitations, is a big positive. You'd be surprise at how many never get there. Too many wannabe smartest people in the room trying to prove to everyone they're the smartest people in the room. We all know people like that.
You could stop there, dwell on it, take the hit to your confidence, but why? Understanding your limitations is step 1, doing something about it is the next evolution and how you grow and mature as a person.
You always hear some variation of "the smartest people are lifelong students" or always learning or whatever and it really is true. I'm nowhere near the sharpest tool in the shed and that perspective has been immense for my growth, personally and professionally. I'm a big believer in asking "stupid" questions (and they're super basic a lot of the time, ask any deal counsel I've worked with) because I have no desire to pretend to know something I don't.
Ability to learn on the fly is something we constantly harp on in our line of work. I do mine by asking questions, stupid or not, and listening to smart people talk to clients/boards, counterparties etc. Two of the most useful skills I've learnt (and am still learning) to address this are (a) ability to listen, not just take notes, but really listen and internalize any conversation and (b) the ability to ask the "right" questions, the ones that cut right to it.
Completely agree, I guess I’m just in shock currently because I’m not sure how to bridge the gap of knowledge but totally agree I’ve done much more listening now than when I first started my career
Professionally, my path was always learn what the person above you is doing. When you're set and comfortable in the analyst role, what does your associate do? When you're an asso, what does your VP do? I found that always gave me a head start. Especially as you move away from the fundamental work to things like legals, managing counterparties etc.
“To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me”
- Isaac Newton
Nice
Idk I feel like MDs and Principle side people know a lot broadly, but since most haven't been in the trenches, they don't know the play-by-play aspect at a granular level. Meanwhile, Mid-level employees who know the most learn mainly about what their niche is. They focus on that and excel at it, they know what they know and know what they don't know. The best knowledge they honestly have is who the SME is on something a client needs. So they might understand everything about a random sector and how the economic map will lead to prosperity or not in that sector, however if someone asks them about another sector or product they can get those people in touch. Every security, product, and role is so granular to actually function no one knows everything.
dunning kruger curve
All the time. I work in a product that is constantly changing and ever evolving. I am always learning new things whether it be from legal, operations, cross LOB teams…etc. however that’s the benefit of working somewhere with strong talent, if we all know different things and have different skills, we can all work well together and constantly be learning from one another up and down the hierarchy. I find the higher up you go the more rusty your technicals get but you can paint broad strokes and get the bigger items because you’ve seen it before, especially if it falls in your niche. My peers all are good at different things but that’s what makes our team function very well.
once you discard your ego and realize you don’t know everything and you never will the better you’ll be able to collaborate and likely the better your overall career trajectory.
That's what makes the world such an exciting place - to know that it has a literally unlimited amount of knowledge and experiences to offer. How boring would the world be if it was so limited that a 30 y/o VP already knows enough
I think you should be able to look back at yourself every 2 years and think, "Wow I was an idiot". It's a good thing.
Vitae dolores explicabo quis autem consequatur sint voluptate dolor. Harum dolor ipsum optio laudantium voluptas dolorum esse. Quia animi tenetur harum asperiores aliquam.
Laboriosam possimus non qui qui assumenda eos sed unde. Omnis natus quisquam consequatur deserunt et ea voluptas. Deleniti aut eligendi quis adipisci neque culpa. Aliquid perspiciatis illo vero voluptatem odio consequuntur. Facere quisquam est autem blanditiis.
Quos velit accusantium doloremque consectetur ipsum fuga. Cum perspiciatis odit pariatur vero. Est ut nostrum laborum consequuntur mollitia.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...