My boss just tore me a new one and I don't know what to do differently
I'm working with a rather large alternative asset manager in Boston - no glamour in the name, but still a pretty good place to be summer before junior year (semi target in chicago). Today, I got absolutely reamed by my effective boss (junior PM) because apparently I told the senior PM in another division (RE) that I'd like to be put on some meetings because I'd like to learn more about RE. Here is the conversation that ensued.
"Did you tell [RE senior PM] that you were bored? ...I hope you know that makes me look really bad"
To clarify, at no point did I say I was bored, or something that even slightly resembles that.
"No, absolutely not, just said I wanted to be on a few more meetings since I'm interested in RE and don't get much manager exposure. I figured it was okay since I do it with [my division's senior PM] all the time."
"Listen, I don't have a problem with you being on meetings, but, you're struggling with some tasks I've already given you. I just don't see why they're taking you that long. Like, this bond analysis* and this portfolio database**, you haven't been growing the DB fast enough -- I mean it really shouldn't take you that long."
"Well, I just like reading through all the books and actually understanding them fully before I'm done with them. And I'm waiting on Craig from MS to walk me through his model and explain to me some of the bond calculations."
"Okay, but listen, it's just not going at the speed I'd like it to be. No more calls or meetings until you're finished with these things. You should be at like, 55 books by now, but you're at --"
"36, I'm working on the ones you gave me this week as well."
"And the bond analysis?"
"I'll speak with Craig and get back to you with all the changes."
"Alright, let's talk when you do that."
*basically, he wants me to do a company analysis on this bond that they have a small stake in. Every time I send him my report he makes edits and sends them back to me, and I make the changes. But, as I do more and more, it seems like he just wants my report to be a sell-side research report. I mean, he's encouraging me to reach out to sell-side & IR analysts.
**Every single pitch book this department has ever gotten, I'm compiling into a database that gives rundowns on past funds/returns, fees, size, geographic location, and other inputs. It's just getting to the point to where it's repetitive AF. Idk, to me it seems like a running project but today he really let me know that he wants it done asap. I mean, they probably have several hundred pitchbooks-- I'll be doing it until my very last day this summer, what is the point?? I'm being asked to go through them quickly enough that I can't really spend any quality time learning, so it's basically just data entry.
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SO, I feel like absolute shit. I like all the things I'm learning in AM and trust me, I don't have a shitty work ethic, but honestly the work I'm doing is absolute shit. Or at least, it seems that way to me. Am I being ridiculous and I should just keep working harder? I mean, he seems pretty fed up, can I even change his opinion of me? Now, not only does he probably think I'm slow/lazy/incompetent, but also sneaky by going behind his back. I feel like I'm stuck, no matter what I do. I'm working crazy hard for this guy who is just constantly displeased, while also taking a summer class and networking my ass off in my spare time to land something in IB/PE next summer. It'd be really nice to have him in my corner as a reference, but it's getting to the point where I literally cannot stand him as a human being -- he talks shit about every other department, the other junior analyst in our division, and sucks up so hard to our senior PM. How do you deal with a person like that, as an intern, who might have a huge say in your future?
Tell yourself, "fuck him" and move on.
Your situation reminds me of my first job out of college. Here's an example of the type of shit I dealt with. I had a similar situation as yours. I got my real estate license and was transitioning from analyst to broker. Within the office there were 5 major teams - office landlord rep, office tenant rep, retail, industrial, and investment sales. When I was hired I was told that I would have my pick depending on what most interested me. When I got my license though, I was immediately slotted into the landlord rep team and thus, assigned to the above referenced boss from hell. Meanwhile, I was still doing all of the analyst work for ALL OF THE OTHER TEAMS so I asked one of the other team leads if I could sit in on some calls. Not switch teams, not betray anyone, just sit in on some calls. Previously I personally hooked his team up with the biggest lead he would have ever had. All I wanted was some exposure. In less than 24 hours, that principal tattled on me to my principal and my principal sat me down in his office, told me I was disloyal, dishonest, and basically a scumbag for wanting to learn more.
So fuck my old boss and fuck your current boss. Some people just suck. Do your work to the best of your ability, don't have a meltdown, and move on. Mid-level references don't mean shit at your age anyhow and no bank is going to base their entire perception of you on what your summer internship middle manager thought.
My relationship with my old boss ended in absolute flames in the most dramatic fashion and various people in that company still write me letters of recommendation and still talk to me to this day.
Some people just suck.
Am I the only one that read this and thought why on earth would you want to be a fly on the wall in meetings instead of working on this?
"*basically, he wants me to do a company analysis on this TMT stock that they have a ~3% stake in. Every time I send him my report he makes edits and sends them back to me, and I make the changes. But, as I do more and more, it seems like he just wants my report to be a sell-side research report. I mean, he's encouraging me to reach out to sell-side & IR analysts."
Sure you have to do some work that stinks, but this portion is far more substantial work than many interns get and directly applicable to any kind of future corporate analysis role. I have found people overate "listening to hot shot finance folks- i.e. alternative asset managers" over gaining get your hands dirty experience. Guess which one is more valuable in future interviews? There are other ways to satisfy intellectual curiosity. Lastly, reaching out to sell-side and IR is part of any kind of normal investment process...
What am I missing here? Doesn't seem like he tore into you at all. He is also completely justified in what he said, finish your work and any task for your current boss/team before you go looking at other areas. Yeah, your work is repetitive and boring, you're an intern. Suck it up and do a better job
Hey I was interning in an insurance department at a retail bank and all i did was scanning papers and saving the files in a folder, every day, for four months. Then in my review I've got a comment that I was not interested in the work I did. So, yeah, that's life, suck it up.
Before I get into my advice, I can tell you that I definitely relate and have had shitty manager during summers before. I worked my Junior summer at a BB and worked with a pretty awful associate who made it pretty clear he didn't care about helping me at all. I kept my head down and worked as hard as I could, but this guy was a fucker. Sometimes you'll get guys like that, I just do my best to take notes and try not to replicate any of the behaviors they've exhibited. Dealing with stuff like this is part of life, so get used to being diplomatic and smart about it.
Now to my advice.
1st off this is a great internship to have before your Junior Year and will set you up nicely if you want to continue on in Finance. So as hard as it is (and I'm not being condescending) try to remember that its a great opportunity and just take the learnings you get.
2nd I would work super hard on all the stuff the Junior PM has assigned you, go back at the end of the week, present it all and then apologize to him and say you're sorry you've been distracted by other meetings etc and that you're really trying to pick everything up quickly, that you want to do better etc etc. So you're probably thinking, why apologize to this guy who is 1. Wrong 2. Someone I dislike/disagree with. The point is that the Junior PM obviously has some insecurities and you'll only make him hate you more by trying to undermine him. Put away you're pride, give him an apology even if it means nothing and he'll feel like he's back in control. Then crush your work and he won't even remember this blip at the end of the summer. Hey and if you're really killing it and the rapport is good, ask for permission from the Junior PM to sit in on a few meetings. Then tell the senior PM how the Junior PM is being a fantastic mentor and how much you love working with him. Then everyone wins. Often times in Finance you need to work the people more than the actual job.