Am I fucked on the desk if I think Im actually lowkey retarded

Incoming FT IB analyst at BB. Did not do an SA (which also greatly adds to my nervousness). I was never an amazing student and always did poorly on IQ tests/SAT/ACT etc. Went to a prep all boys school so that probably allowed me into getting into my semi-target way more easily. Got decent grades in finance major which was not difficult at all, and then just downloaded the PDF guides for my interviews and got an offer. It irks me that FT hiring is crazy right now so I feel like I only slipped in because of the hiring spree and that made it much easier. 


Maybe I need more confidence, but does anyone feel like I do ? I am not ready to be surrounded by super smart tryhard kids as I never fit this demographic and seriously feel like I slipped through the cracks.


My biggest concern is getting chewed out and yelled at for fucking things up lol I guess some things to keep in mind to avoid this would be:


Print out everything and triple check everything

Don't ask a question without trying it first and exhausting all other options

Don't ask a question twice/make some mistake twice 

Whenever someone is explaining a new task for you to do write everything down 


Anything else to keep in mind? Im seriously so nervous 



 
Most Helpful

Nah you’re chilling. I was the same way. Always mediocre in school, but got into a target because of athletics/legacy, and then BB through a family friend. Only after starting did I learn how much people studied/worked to get into this industry, which made me worry that I wasnt qualified. Very quickly realized that none of that shit matters at all because this job requires nothing but basic intelligence, knowing how to google, english, and not being awkward/unlikeable. Even then, there are a ton of antisocial virgins on my team who do just fine. Everything else you learn from training and on the job (though your learning curve will be steeper for the first few weeks).

Anyone who puts in effort and tries will do fine

 

OP - honestly you’re way overthinking this. The fact you got an offer suggests you’re (probably) good enough to do the job.

The way you’re talking about banking makes it seem as if you think it’s rocket science - it really isn’t. Especially as an analyst, the 2 key things you need are strong work ethic and attention to detail (triple-checking everything as you said). Sounds easy but when you’re doing 14hr says it can be hard to keep up your concentration/focus.

Even modelling in IB/PE is not particularly complex - once you have the basic understanding of the concepts it’s really just a case of applying them in excel, and checking everything flows through correctly. So again attention to detail is key here.

Good luck OP - I’m sure you’ll do fine. Just work hard, have a good attitude and minimise any mistakes as much as possible.

 

I’m a 2nd year that went to a semi target with mediocre stats and ended up at a group that is very prestige whore-y with almost all Penn and other Ivy kids. You can’t be an absolute idiot on this job and I doubt you are because you ended up getting an offer, and it obviously helps being naturally smart. I did not have many alumni in the group and people probably thought I would be behind the Penn and Ivy kids, but I worked hard, kept my head down and half way into my first year I started being told consistently I was the top analyst. 

The fact that you can write this shows that you have a lot of humility and are willing to grind because of it. Reminds me a lot of myself actually so felt compelled to comment. Although you should be more confident in yourself (this will help people’s perception of you, people can tell when you are not confident), if you work hard, are thoughtful, and have a high standard of work product, people will regard you as a great analyst. It is not the smartest analysts that are the best analysts. But you will likely be the top analyst if you are the hardest working analyst (and by default, you likely have the most reps in and therefore are probably on par technically if not the most technical).

As previous posts say, this job isn’t rocket science. You get reps in and learn on the job. Working hard and grinding is 80%+ of the battle. You can pick up the technicals pretty quickly. Befriend analysts in your class and you guys can serve as resources for each other and help each other out. Pay attention in training and that will get you far, you would be surprised about the number of people who are hungover / don’t pay attention / blow it off. I don’t regret actually paying attention and being a try hard in training whatsoever. You’d also be surprised at the people who make the same mistakes twice, blow off their deal teams and are just frankly lazy which translates to being a pain to work with, but went to Penn / Ivys and have perfect GPAs and test scores.

 

There have been a few people in my class / group that were self-proclaimed retarded, would always joke about being bottom bucket, and weren't great at modeling even after being in the job for 2 years. They ended up doing fine and are in decent PE shops now. Don't have additional advice to give you, other than most people have imposter syndrome once they hit the desk, and Target School kids are better at pretending.

 

Those are good strategies. Most of the advice I give to myself and younger friends is just attention to detail, asking questions at the right time and to the right people, and not messing up twice. And things like communication take 0 intelligence but are critical. If you actually want to do banking/deals, or are interested in finance despite maybe not being the smartest on the first go, you will do fine. You will just have to work hard and be gritty, which is really what is rewarded in banking, not intelligence.

However, if you are going against the grain of your personality/interests and going to hate the work, in addition to having to work harder, then maybe banking will just be your stepping stone into bigger and better fit things for you.

 

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