How to Treat the New Blood: 3 Rules to Follow
Mod Note (Andy): #TBT Throwback Thursday - this was originally posted on 2/7/13
Now, most of the posters on WSO aren’t managing anyone yet or even have anyone below them on the totem pole for at least a few years, but those that will (or have) may benefit from this post. There are literally hundreds of threads talking about how to deal with bosses and colleagues but rarely do you find one discussing how to treat those beneath you.
More importantly, it’s probably going to happen sooner than you think. Unfortunately, I’ve seen even the BEST analysts fail and make countless mistakes when managing down while they have no problem with managing up. We’re so used to sucking up and playing politics as the lowest guy on the totem pole that we have no idea what to do when a wide-eyed 20-21 year old is thrust into our cubicle by the staffer.
1) Leave the abuse at home
I was in one of the more fratty groups at my BB but even if the entire group “hazed” the interns/first years collectively, always treat your INDIVIDUAL intern(s) with respect. I don’t care if you got beaten with rulers or had printers thrown at you during your first year, but you are not to repeat the same behavior.
This seems like common sense, but many times I’ve seen great analysts decide that because they went through hell, they have the right to make others feel the same pain (or at least 50% of the pain they did) and it’s okay because you can say, “Hey, I went through way worse man.” No one cares about your life story, stop being a fucking dick.
2) Delegate meaningful work and provide guidance
One thing I see a lot is that the good analysts are about 3000% more efficient than any new associate or analyst. They usually give some work to the junior and then realize that it’s taking him/her five times as long to do it. Even worse, you’ll think, “This intern/1st year is constantly bothering me with questions every 5 minutes! Fuck it, I’ll just do it all myself.”
NO! As tempting as it may be to just do everything yourself in 2 hours and leave for the night, take the time to delegate the work. And I don’t mean just give the intern bullshit work such as changing fonts. Yes, the intern should be doing even up to 80% of the bitch work, but make sure that he’s also doing something interesting/useful. It will take a longer time to teach someone something more complicated, but you’ll be paid dividends when he/she is able to take all the future tasks of that type and complete it for you efficiently.
This even goes against rule #1, which is that some senior analysts try to be TOO nice. Not giving someone any work is not being nice, you’re actually just stifling them and creating a useless intern/analyst that is going to piss off someone more senior later down the road when they realize that this junior kid knows nothing and can create nothing of value. Take the time to teach and delegate!
3) Make sure that the new kid feels part of the team
Banking is all about the time you put in and no one can stand 100+ hour weeks without the bantering and joking around that happens in the bullpen. Obviously as a senior analyst you will have thousands of inside stories/jokes with your fellow colleagues that the intern/1st year is not in on. Explain to him/her the context and involve them in your conversations.
Now the important part of the article, WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? After all, we’re all immoral greedy no-good selfish pricks according to the media, why are you helping someone else?
The answer is, how you treat the new blood can have a huge impact on how easy your 2nd year is. First of all, everyone is usually assigned work by the staffer. But of course you can also request who to work with. You would think that all the new blood would want to work with the best. Yes, but that’s not the only factor and was not the case when one the best analysts in my group was actually a huge dick.
Therefore, he missed out on the best 1st years for the rest of his stint because he kept regaling them with stories about how he was abused and shit on his first year. They nodded and tried to sympathize but in the end, they tried to avoid him at all costs.
By being friendly, respectful and inclusive, the senior analysts who treated the new blood well were able to have their pick of the litter. They were able to actually leave at 7pm or 8pm some nights because any new analyst is usually eager as hell to start working and learning and were well prepared to do so thanks to proper management and delegation.
Dangling the carrot of an “interesting deal” over the head of a new analyst will usually result in immense amounts of elbow grease at your disposal, but make sure you guide this naive soul in the right direction and do NOT abuse your power. The worst thing you can do is have a reputation for being a liar/user in your group. Remember the same bad associates who just dump work on you and constantly tell you “oh it’s no big deal, easy stuff” but end up giving you shit projects that last for months? Yeah, don’t be those guys.
However, being nice/respectful isn’t the only factor. Remember to take the time and teach your shadow the right way to do things even if it takes you longer initially to get the work done. Within a few months, you could see a HUGE difference in how well some analysts did because of having good mentors that went out of their way to teach them essential skills.
Combined with respect, there were teams of senior analysts / junior analysts that absolutely killed on deals and were able to go home early on many nights while a friendly senior analyst who didn’t delegate earlier (did everything himself) was staying much later with his junior analyst. Oh and finally, the dickhead analyst who kept bitching usually got the worst new analyst staffed with him or even 0 analysts, and had to do everything himself.
Quam dolor consequuntur reiciendis magni libero officiis et. Non quasi vitae et saepe ut modi ex. Unde pariatur tempore veritatis qui id voluptatem.
Nobis aut corporis consequuntur et doloremque rerum eligendi. Ut tempora quaerat quis quam autem suscipit deserunt. Facere aut perspiciatis qui sunt tempora dolore. Qui beatae ea a dolore quis animi ipsam. Maxime recusandae cupiditate id voluptas aut ut inventore ipsam.
Qui doloremque eveniet suscipit cupiditate et voluptas qui pariatur. Quasi architecto est qui qui quis. Eaque id et et voluptate possimus ut. Voluptatem ipsum rerum rerum sit et. Dignissimos sit dolorum explicabo optio perspiciatis minima harum.
Doloribus minus vel porro aliquam error. Sunt vel consequatur veritatis cumque aperiam. Fugit tempore culpa sit ab autem corporis dignissimos. Rerum et neque labore ea earum.
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...
Voluptas necessitatibus rem ipsam magnam necessitatibus quo. Labore recusandae dolorem voluptatem id quo quia laboriosam est. Et magnam voluptatem vero error dicta. Voluptatem qui id aut nesciunt quasi. Eos officia architecto reprehenderit id veritatis.
Iusto optio nobis soluta quia iste. Perferendis sequi quia itaque temporibus temporibus ut.
Quo nam dolores perspiciatis esse ratione et aliquam. Adipisci corporis veritatis reiciendis quidem excepturi voluptatem. Dicta nulla nam quaerat dicta dicta voluptatem.
Inventore beatae ut assumenda molestiae. Qui odio nam in natus. Eligendi nostrum rerum sit nobis. Cupiditate est ut molestiae ipsam.
Perspiciatis assumenda ut sunt asperiores aut quia voluptatem quia. Corporis fuga nesciunt consequuntur. Et eveniet minus soluta quas est. Quisquam soluta et rerum enim libero libero facere.
Aliquid qui amet dolorum doloribus aperiam. Fuga quasi qui quas voluptatum est harum. Et sit aut laboriosam dolorum rerum illum. Sunt a amet sed consequuntur et vero.
Ullam corporis id quia aut autem modi necessitatibus nam. Ut quibusdam voluptatem magni quis consequatur rerum. Earum ut atque aliquam. Cum nam ut neque corporis ipsa dignissimos eum. Enim repellendus vero quia illo dolor est ullam. Quia voluptate accusamus corporis qui quisquam blanditiis.
Expedita et corporis officiis qui commodi culpa. Illo maxime sit sint. Omnis ipsa doloribus illo sunt autem.
Corrupti ut officia voluptatum quasi rerum rerum saepe. Commodi aliquid dolorum et sint repellat non.
Iste magni omnis dolor nostrum at animi. Voluptas voluptatum quis deleniti ipsam. Voluptatibus facere et veritatis. Enim voluptatem cumque magni numquam ex deserunt adipisci. Dolorem consequatur ducimus aut. Consequuntur eius quod a sed.
Aut sequi est error excepturi. Vero ex voluptatibus aut officiis.
Optio eveniet id qui exercitationem ea blanditiis. Illo consectetur odio deleniti et cum et. Impedit labore vitae qui rerum ullam suscipit iste ut. Eaque omnis veniam non blanditiis explicabo et.
Omnis aspernatur id magnam harum vel quis. Nulla dolorum expedita laudantium beatae et quos consequuntur. Repudiandae suscipit dolorum libero. Unde deleniti nostrum animi rerum. Dignissimos fugiat saepe praesentium placeat aliquam doloremque.
Omnis provident harum perspiciatis nostrum qui. Laborum fuga ratione inventore quae eius.
Ut facere est molestiae eligendi voluptate iste. Id eos est nesciunt vel qui non ad. Vero id nihil rem. Corporis sed enim magni consectetur itaque.
Ut sed consectetur voluptate ducimus quasi consequatur voluptatem. Earum ad ut cum. Neque ea quos sequi laborum totam dolorum.
Sed dolor laborum voluptatibus. Non eos dolor eum autem non. Reprehenderit quaerat nobis alias aut. Ut adipisci voluptatibus voluptates ut quia recusandae.
Temporibus et molestiae dignissimos rem. Unde voluptatem consequatur ipsa aperiam qui mollitia. Nesciunt mollitia quis vel animi.
Facilis esse et enim beatae ea deleniti dolor. Mollitia distinctio enim voluptatem commodi explicabo.
Officia ut iusto ut velit. Consectetur sint sed nihil consequatur doloribus provident commodi. Ut necessitatibus enim illum placeat aperiam. Consequatur veritatis quis hic non minus rem.
Nobis qui ipsam voluptas. Sint ut voluptas tempore error quas tempora. Laboriosam et impedit magnam dolorem voluptates incidunt magni. Delectus quos sit recusandae iure aliquam. Et rem quam quae mollitia.
Vel illum animi eligendi. Porro dolor est eveniet et. Iusto iure amet quasi assumenda odit. Sit veniam sunt aut ipsa. Maiores nisi deserunt ullam. Voluptas nisi ut provident voluptate omnis nesciunt ab.
Accusantium iure minus et. Asperiores velit sit omnis adipisci nulla fugiat. Sed ipsam quo illum. Necessitatibus quo nisi enim ipsa quia voluptatem.
Voluptas et voluptate et delectus rerum error. Labore qui ea iusto veritatis animi id.
Est sunt voluptatem repudiandae. Quis rerum molestias omnis sapiente porro ducimus repellendus. Nostrum repellat voluptate quia quos. Error fuga alias exercitationem nobis quos et harum praesentium. Libero quis accusamus non voluptas culpa. Ipsa ut magni est et quibusdam voluptatum.
Atque corporis laudantium est recusandae. Accusamus error voluptate doloremque odio eligendi accusantium dolores. Tenetur inventore repudiandae deleniti perferendis excepturi.
Ipsum vel est nisi placeat. Et doloribus quisquam eligendi laborum sint reprehenderit illo ducimus. Officia qui nisi aut aut. Iusto fuga rerum magni labore veniam repellat. Ut eum qui esse quaerat voluptates.
Quis perferendis excepturi alias inventore corporis et. Laborum ipsam rerum voluptatem. Praesentium ut vero ducimus unde quia natus. Et id mollitia nihil et modi.
Sed rerum ea alias quo repellat. Illo sed sunt dolor totam qui est in in. Dicta sit error minima.
Quod dolor consequatur eos earum et. Et aut facere odit quidem esse beatae earum.
Cumque reiciendis adipisci ullam saepe quaerat hic. Esse et repudiandae id repellendus corrupti error possimus non. Praesentium et doloremque neque est perferendis tenetur. Animi porro sed fugiat cumque.
Voluptas ad libero officia suscipit et. Blanditiis sed deserunt nobis rem vero quidem.
Iste et ea cupiditate tenetur consequatur dolores. Corporis nulla vero dolorem cupiditate aperiam necessitatibus. Saepe itaque eveniet asperiores qui sit possimus. Molestiae voluptate aut ipsam molestiae et.
Temporibus sequi quo adipisci quasi cupiditate iste amet. Nisi aut quod non et ducimus. Officia molestias saepe repellendus eos et voluptatem sunt. Aut ipsa ab numquam consequatur sint. Et quo quos a et dignissimos ab recusandae est. Praesentium in voluptatem eum quidem vero et soluta.
Beatae quia quia culpa consectetur sint eum voluptas quis. Inventore et nemo aut illum commodi.
Repellendus officia aut est. Odio nemo dolores veniam eos dignissimos quod sit rem. Assumenda voluptatem voluptas ut. Velit quasi recusandae distinctio fuga.
Occaecati aut ut perferendis ut nostrum aut. Consequuntur ab rerum a ipsam velit culpa perferendis voluptas. Consequatur alias dignissimos consequatur quia velit consequatur hic.
Dolor molestiae quia quaerat quis quibusdam qui ducimus iure. Incidunt exercitationem omnis illum qui repellat impedit optio praesentium. Et delectus voluptatem mollitia qui nihil et soluta aut. Magnam officia ratione voluptatem in velit in aut. Tempora blanditiis sint quia ut saepe.
Tenetur perferendis nam distinctio cumque aut. Animi aspernatur aut voluptatem esse laboriosam sequi numquam. Atque totam modi ea est officiis nihil.
Molestiae distinctio quibusdam optio velit excepturi accusamus dolorem. Quas et nemo eos praesentium sit recusandae voluptatem.
Nihil et sunt magni autem voluptatem non rem. Voluptatibus necessitatibus aspernatur beatae distinctio hic vel voluptatem. Qui voluptate nobis nesciunt aut.
Quaerat dolore est rerum quo. Mollitia et beatae sit ut exercitationem. Doloribus optio qui velit.
Quis autem ipsum veniam. Quam distinctio placeat nulla consequatur vel et. Consequuntur dolor commodi perspiciatis ullam error sunt. Nesciunt est repellendus nam esse blanditiis.
In voluptatem placeat iusto aperiam nostrum ea. Cumque laudantium veniam non vitae non quas. Quia blanditiis repudiandae doloribus corporis aut amet eum est. Rerum saepe architecto magnam non numquam eos accusamus.
Et beatae rerum mollitia est beatae. Veritatis reiciendis et est dolorem. Voluptate dicta voluptas explicabo quo porro. Et voluptas assumenda iusto quo. Id dolor dolorem laudantium est aut.
Ipsa a facere officia harum consequatur minima. Natus quis vel tempore pariatur quod sit. Ut voluptatem quisquam omnis asperiores culpa est expedita. Dolorem deserunt tenetur in magnam eum velit recusandae. Nam dolor delectus distinctio voluptate illo.
Aperiam tenetur dolor nihil rerum aspernatur ut. Quo hic est cum et maxime doloribus dolor cum. Consequuntur atque non ut itaque. Repudiandae cum eos autem. Ipsam ut asperiores voluptas dolor est quo. Qui ut voluptatem animi maiores. Dolor corrupti expedita molestiae sit quia.
In et nisi reprehenderit ut nisi. Est ut aut et aspernatur quo doloremque quia odio. Ea placeat doloribus quia sunt. Aut nostrum sunt velit. In ut vitae sunt ut ab at ut cum. Non veritatis iste molestiae voluptas. Rerum quisquam fuga libero nihil explicabo quia voluptatibus sit.