Being a Star Analyst isn't hard.
If you can excel in the top 10 best practices below, you will excel in banking:
1) Be responsive: Reply back within minutes, never more than half a hour, especially during a live process 2) Good attitude: It's late, we're all tired, last thing we need is to see you complain or push back 3) Over-communicate: We know you're multitasking, but so is everyone else. We cannot read your mind 4) Be organized: You can have mold growing on your coffee cup and it's totally cool, but keep your files organized in the drive because other people will rely on it. Yes, color code your fonts, version up your files, etc. 5) Be a team player: If your deal team is still working and you're done, offer help; don't disappear 6) Don't ask stupid questions: Don't ask questions you can find answers to on the internet 7) Be attentive to detail: Extra period? Extra decimal? Extra space? Misspellings? 8) Understand your place in the hierarchy: Never overstep the person above you 9) Have common sense: If you don't have this by now, I can't help you 10) Don't repeat the same mistake twice: People will forgive you the first time, but people will judge you the second time
Banking isn't rocket science, but any banker will tell you that a bad analyst isn't one who can't model--it's the analyst that cannot seem to uphold standard business practices. All the above are transferable to any firm and industry. The only difference is that banking is far less intolerant of failing to meet the above.
Mod Note (Andy): top 50 posts of 2017, this one ranks #24 (based on # of silver bananas)
Number 5 can't have enough emphasis.
There's a lot of these threads on here, so just a few highlights. I would emphasize the following:
What really helped me become a better analyst and get much better even as I left IB for corp dev was taking ownership of my work. This can be tough in IB because many analysts really are there just for the paycheck (nothing wrong with that), but also because most senior bankers do a terrible job at keeping analysts up to date of the process, so analysts frequently work on assignments with no clue how it fits into the bigger picture or even what purpose it serves. What I would suggest doing is when you receive some assignment, even if it is incredibly mundane, ask yourself what the purpose of the assignment and its worth is. Then, not only complete the assignment as asked, but try to add some value, insight, thoughts, etc. Maybe that just means bolding the important part of an email or highlighting three or four comps that you think should be removed, but that shows that you care and it really does result in you producing better work because it forces you to actively think.
understanding your place in the hierarchy is so so important. We got two new hires. Both good kids and good workers. One is an annoying girl that talks way too much and says stupid shit. Asked me if I was in a fraternity and still talks about college in regards to all her stories. The biggest problem I have with her is that it's her second week, and despite her havent said anything bad to me, talks to me as if we've been friends and through the grind for over two years now. She's just way too comfortabe with herself and doesnt really feel like she has to earn our respect or even earn our friendship. The other newbie is this cool dude. You can tell he likes to have a good time with his buddies outside of work, but he stays quiet, listens mostly during our office banter, and knows when to throw a sentence or two into our off topic conversations during work. He asks the senior analysts and associates questions in a tone that clearly indicates he is aware that he knows little but is willing to learn.
Nope there's a right approach in the beginning and a wrong approach. Take it slow until you know people.
Can we see an IBD associate version?
Don't think you'll need one when you're an intern forever.