Hi Monkeys,
Title says it all but is there anyone that knew they had terrible attention to detail going into a banking analyst program and worked diligently to greatly improve it (particularly when it comes to modeling)? Would appreciate any tactical advice on improving beyond the simple double/triple check your work and print it out.
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Yeah, I got yelled at by my VP / assoc on the first bakeoff I did until my attn to detail improved.
Some practical things you can do... - Always print your books and review by hand backwards (last page to first page) with a red pen - Make sure numbers tie across pages by pulling out the specific pages and highlighting them as you confirm they tie - Whenever you're called out for missing something, write it down on a post it and leave it somewhere you'll see every day - Use Factset's trace precedents tool to make sure numbers are coming from the right place - Build a "check" into your model (subtract assets from liabilities - adj. format to show three dec. places)
Literally the exact things you should do - though why do you back to front?
When i'm turning comments i'll get used to seeing the book chronologically multiple times, so it's easier for me to miss small nits. By going through it backward, the order is unexpected and feels like it's the first time i'm flipping through it, thus I end up paying closer attn to things i'd otherwise miss.
These are all good points. The challenge will come when you have an MD with ADD who doesn’t give you time, ever, to print and review like other MDs. I think with enough time, you should be error free, but if everything turns into a fire drill....the solution is around being more “present” as you do the work or becoming less distracted ->>>Let me know if you disagree.
"Let me know if you disagree." Isn't this something that only people on LinkedIn say lmao?
it helps be engaged and excited about what you're doing, that way you'll care more.
1) Print books; for key emails, send them to yourself first (and print if really important) 2) Go through book front to back and I use a yellow marker for markups. 3) Fix markups 4) Go through book back to front with a purple marker 5) Fix markups
A lot of attention to detail is slowing yourself down and also working precisely in the moment. It also helped me to use correct grammar and the like when texting/typing informally.
1) There simply is no substitute for going through multiple hardcopies. For some reason, you are simply far more likely to catch errors looking at paper than looking at screens unless you have to check formulas (which shouldn’t really be a problem if you’re working off good templates).
2) If you care enough, you will automatically improve at checking your work. Sounds weird, but just like you get better at typing in historical inputs, it somehow starts happening. You will see the patterns around where you typically make mistakes, know where you might be more likely to make mistakes (homonyms, missing dollar signs, etc). This also informs how well you make the doc in the first place. Eventually, you’ll get a feel for when your work is where it needs to be, and the number of drafts you need to go through to get there decrease, even eventually being able to do it on screen. But this took me years, so just know you need to put in the hard work.
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