Chill group into Sweatshop

I work at a well known MM IB in ATL. I am a southern guy from (UVA, W&L, UNC) and it’s been chill I am able to golf/go out w/ friends.

We just hired a new MD who is known to crank juniors from NYC. He is notorious for making them work on weekends. Today he just asked why I am leaving the office before 11pm and I said I had dinner plans w/ my gf. He said that is what Saturdays are for.

We cannot leave until 12 at night and must be in at 8 am bc he is an “early bird”. Last weekend he made the entire team come in on Saturday at 9 am to review a pitch we lost to GS/JPM/MS. Clearly shouldn’t be competing. Another example I was on the golf course for 2 hours and he made me come after I had this on my calendar for months. This was a Saturday at 4pm after I pulled an all nighter that week for another pitch.

All we do is pitch against BB and lose. Is this extreme?

What should I do? I have 1 more year left before promotion. After this past month not sure I can do it anymore.

Any advice?

34 Comments
 

Hey man, dealing with a similar situation at my shop. Recently made a crazy new hire who does not fit the culture at all. Was working pretty normal hours (60-80ish) until they hired this absolute slave driver. Have enough social capital at the firm that I can maneuver for now, but eventually going to have to deal with this guy taking a hit to my normal performance review, so I feel your pain. 

 

Thanks man just looking for some advice. Do I leave now or stick it out. I don’t want to flame out and end up in corpdev. I have tons of friends who that happened to and that is the last thing I want. Not many opportunities in ATL which is hard all my friends are here and I went to hs out here as well.

 

Feel your pain here. Was in a similar boat now getting completely cranked even at VP. Also new MD is losing every pitch as well. I’ve weighed my options. I can transition somewhat easily, but fuck that. I’ve gotten to where I am because of my analysts & associates, it’s a team sport. Doing everything I can to protect my people & plan to just outperform this guy until I replace him

 

Hey man same here UVA/UNC guy I think I was at the same boat you were in. That is terrible but we have all been there. The getting out to golf thing is a bit extreme you are an analyst save the links for your MD years. Cmon that is expected. 

 

Dude you have time to golf? Doesn't sound that bad. Probably better for this new MD to work you if you're not used to grinding. At the end of the day nothing lasts forever so count your blessings while you can still play 18 on the weekends

 
Most Helpful

RomanianRocket:

Yeah it was kinda funny. Almost like you lose a football game on Friday and the coach makes you run Saturday morning

Story time. Senior year, I got into it with one of our assistant coaches—the head coach’s worthless Napoleon Complex son—over something even worse than this.

We were pounding some team 42-6 in a Friday night home game when they pulled all the starters in the middle of the 3rd quarter and put the JV guys in. The final score ended up being like 49-24.

On Monday, we did our normal film study and physical recovery work. Tuesday evening there’s an oddly scheduled JV game and the Varsity head coach is overseeing so the rest of us—Varsity team—are on the practice field while it’s happening. His raging little midget 23-year-old assistant coach son, fresh out of college, is at the helm. He tells us we’re going to run 24 sprint drills (brutal) for the “24 points you guys gave up.” I thought he was kidding. As a team captain, I’m like “Look man, everyone here right now gave up 6 points on a blown special teams play. We earned 6 drills, not 24. And I understand that we’re all one team, but the youngsters who gave up the other 18 points are over there having a JV game right now. Maybe we should do 24 sprint drills tomorrow when they’re back?” (Also, I wasn’t even on special teams for the 6 points because I started on both offense and defense and rested on special teams, but whatever, I didn’t mention that.)

This turned into a heated argument among several with my coach’s dipshit son that ultimately led to a confrontation which led to me getting kicked off the team in the middle of my senior season. We were 3-0 at that time, and I got to watch my best friends finish 5-4 and get bounced in the first round of the playoffs without me on the field as probably the best defensive player and a solid asset on offense. The head coach booted his All-Conference strong side linebacker and starting left guard, over his idiot son’s fragile ego, when everyone else agreed with me, including his other assistant coaches. I’m still not over it. I loved football more than life itself. I’m a fool for not walking on at the D1 college I attended because I might’ve made it, albeit it was well above the D2/D3 schools that actually recruited me before I got kicked off the team.

The head coach and his son were fired right after the lost playoff game, and the controversy around my removal—the other assistant coaches were livid and told me so directly later, as were many parents—played no small part in it.

So the point of this WSO therapy session is that some of these types of people truly are insane and arbitrary “slave drivers” to a self-destructive degree. I don’t understand it. In that case the head coach just blindly sided with his idiot son I guess. He went from a father figure to never speaking to me again. It cost him his coaching career, all downhill since.

You might think “Well, you know, if we reason with this guy, he’ll see the light and make adjustments.” Maybe, maybe not. Don’t be so sure. Arbitrary dictatorial fake tough guy slave-driving leadership like that is clearly not rational. And some of those types will double and triple down on their fake tough guy persona until it causes a mutiny among everyone else that costs them their career.

I’m really sorry about what you’re going through. I would tend to suggest you try to get staffed under other MD’s or start trying to land at another bank before you try to get this miserable lunatic to lighten up. He’s not being rational. And he’s old enough to know better.

"Now youse can't leave." -Sonny LoSpecchio
 

Respect. But if it's a well known MM IB in ATL i'd like to think you could lateral into another peer firm, are u at the associate level?

 

Reminds me of my time at STRH lol 

Would talk to your staffer and try to not get put on that guys deal teams at the very least. He might ding your bucket around bonus szn but would just work to get close to another MD or two thats willing to pull for you. In any event, personally wouldn't re-recruit until you get assoc promote or a lateral assoc position given analyst culture's going to suck anywhere you go so no real way to know if you're stepping into the same situation at another bank

 

bewareofbearxings:

Sounds fairly intense for Atlanta. I'm local trying to break into IB. Can I PM?


Just PM him bro. He might not read all these replies (he’s dealing with a Draconian supervisor) but that doesn’t mean he’s rejecting your request. Worst case scenario, he either doesn’t have time to get to it or doesn’t see it (which I’ve done here before, apologies all) but this community is people helping people. He’s not going to screenshot and post an awkward PM like some Instagram thot trying to roast you for not being handsome enough. Nobody here is offended by a polite PM requesting advice and if they are then fuck them.

"Now youse can't leave." -Sonny LoSpecchio
 

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