Best strength to have for Investment Banking?
Hello,
Not looking for answers like "ability to be awake for extended periods of time", but rather answers regarding ones personality. Such as: sociability, intelligence, street smarts, etc.
Curious to hear others' thoughts regarding this.
At the Analyst level I'd say the most important strength to have is EXTREME detail-orientation. Most Analyst work is putting together models/presentations that are used as discussion materials with clients. As such, at least at the banks I've worked at, ultra clean formatting/analysis was the most valuable thing an Analyst could do as that meant the higher-ups could focus on the "big picture" of what they were presenting rather than footnotes being spaced inconsistently. Also, if you have this level of attention, it makes spotting modeling mistakes significantly easier. As you progress, it becomes more about thinking critically about what types of additions might help get the point across, but initially, just do what exactly what your told to well.
I completely agree, but this is overused. Went into an interview the other day and was asked my greatest strength. I started by stating outright that I had worked hard to develop a close attention to detail and the interviewer cut me off mid sentence with "Don't say that. Everyone says that and it is completely overused."
Interviewer sounds like kind of a dick. It's a stupid question so how is he gonna get mad when people have a stupid/overused answer.....
A better way to phrase it might be..."What have your superiors consistently praised you on?"
The appropriate answer to which is..."Nothing because I am a worthless maggot not fit to lick the loafers of the hallowed bankers I've had the privilege to work with!"
A strength I have noticed of some of the rockstars I have worked with so far can be summarized as "problem solving + grit". What this means is that they don't just give up and go ask their associate/manager/vp for help when they run into a problem. Rather, they take the time to understand the problem and identify what information is necessary to solve it. Often times they will do their best to solve the problem and then go talk to a higher up and show them they problem and how they try to solved it.
There will inevitably be any number of problems you'll run into as your beginning your career and it is totally fine (and recommended) to seek help. However, higher ups are looking for people who can demonstrate that they are a) willing and b) capable, of solving problems on their own. The grit comes into play when people refuse to let a problem get the better of them - they stick with problems until they truly understand them and can tell others how they worked through it.
There are three attributes that have really helped me and other analysts in my class
1) Thick Skin
Having a good attitude is crucial. People are going to freak out, unpredictably drop massive work loads and unleash all of their built up frustration upon you. It can really take its toll on your mental well-being if you're not prepared. But if you accept that everything is out of your control and expect things to inevitably fuck up, then you'll be a lot less stressed when shit actually hits the fan. It's practically like pledgeship all over again, for those who have gone through it.
You knew it was going to be shitty, so just suck it up. Smile, do your work and don't complain. Your associates / VPs know your workload is tough, and you're really helping them out by taking tasks off of their plate. Believe it or not, they do recognize and appreciate your good attitude (and truly hate that one analyst who complains about everything).
2) Critical thinking
3) Attention to detail