Can you be a banker and not be detailed oriented?

Been on the desk for about a year as a analyst and although I am getting better at catching things my associate/VP still manages to find small details that need to be fixed. I feel like this correcting is causing me to lose credibility. I know the VPs and Associates sometimes get the broader group to check out a finished deck in case she/he made errors which is rare but have any of you faced this? Possible to still climb the ranks yet still be cursory?

4 Comments
 

Usually the more experience you have the more you have a general sense of how things should be and so error checking becomes more intuitive.  Still, I would recommend reopening the file you attach to the email right before sending and read through it in detail every time.

It's not really possible to not be detail oriented and in this job.  Right now you have the benefit of having an Associate, VP and possibly Director above you who may all check numbers to a greater or lesser extent.  As you move up, there are less people above you to check numbers.  One of the biggest responsibilities of being a VP is making sure errors don't get through, because the people above you aren't going to check things in detail usually.

So no, you need to be detail oriented.  But at the same time as you get more experience you get a good idea of what things should look like and how things should turn out so it becomes easier to spot issues.

 

absolutely possible.

banking is a sales/relationship business.

no one really cares about the numbers except VPs, Associates on both sides of a deal.

Everyone above them doesnt give a flying phuck.  Synergies are made up, projections are likely false, and the multiples are too high regardless

If you can bring in business and win deals because the head of corp dev of some firm likes you from your frat days/golfing excusions, then you can be an excellent banker.  Too many people think success in this job is all about tying numbers and ensuring logos are aligned correctly.  That's forever VP mentality.

 
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