Analysts, Push Back on Over-Staffing

  1. You should always do a GREAT job on 2-3 projects rather than a MEDIOCRE job on 5 projects.  You will get a much better reputation and if done correctly, people will respect you for it.
  2. In addition, hilariously at my EB you used to pick 2-3 year-end reviewers, so once again just a giant incentive to do a great job for 2-3 people and tell the others to get lost.
  3. Finally, someone else wrote to give yourself a quick "sanity" buffer of some time after projects, which is a great idea.  I just wrote this in another comment

I always think of it as (old EB numbers):

middle bucket $160K

bottom bucket $145K

typical CorpDev $85K

So incremental difference between middle bucket and bottom is $15K but cost of moving to CorpDev is 4-5x that.  So I'd way rather give myself some buffer time and sanity than potentially burn out and quit altogether!

That doesn't even factor in:

(1) opportunity cost of leaving the preftigious IB > PE > MBA > greatness track

(2) often times I think I gained both respect and ability to do good work when I pushed back

Final note, I was top-bucket with this strategy lol

6 Comments
 
Most Helpful

1. Agreed. Try to focus on doing great on the biggest projects you have like the sell-side you're staffed on rather than that random book you're doing. 

2. I used to think this was true but at least at my group, this didn't seem to be the case as much. I was getting feedback that I know only 2 people at my group would have given me (and these were the only 2 people I specifically chose not to include). 

3. Definitely provide a buffer for your sanity. No one's going to care that much. I slightly disagree with your analogy though. While bottom bucket is much higher compensation wise than CD, if you're aiming to be bottom bucket, you're going to be removed from the "preftigious track" as well by being asked to leave / not getting promoted. 

 

I think you are overestimating the agency juniors have when it comes to deciding staffing.

 

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