Day 2 on Desk – No Work but Everyone’s Still Here at 10PM… What Would You Do?
Just started at a BB like coverage group this week. It’s my second day on desk and I have literally no live work tonight — my staffings are either super slow right now or the teams I’m on have already left.
Problem is… all the other new first-years (we all hit the desk yesterday) are still here at 10PM. Yesterday, I was the first to leave out of the group and I’m worried about looking like “the first to bail” two days in a row.
I get the whole optics thing in banking, especially early on, but I also don’t want to sit here pretending to work for hours just because no one else wants to be the first to stand up.
So:
- Is it too early in my tenure to leave before others if I’m genuinely done?
- Does “being the first out the door” in the first week actually stick as a reputation?
- Or am I overthinking it and should just go home?
Curious how other analysts navigated this “first week optics” dynamic when there’s no real work but everyone’s still parked at their desks.
In moments like these, I would say, "will it matter in 20 years if I did this". I don't work in banking so take it with a grain of salt.
use the time to prep for pe lol
Depends on the face time culture at your firm. If a lot of people outside of the first years will see you leaving, maybe stay.
Feel like this is obvious, but you should be taking that time to look through the project folders, company IR decks/filings etc to get up to speed on your staffings. If people notice that you’re leaving early AND you haven’t spent any time showing initiative/interest in your work, they’ll assume you’re not cut out for the job. First impressions are crucial
I agree with what you said but this is exactly what I did for the WHOLE day - is it unreasonable to leave at 10pm then?
Just sit there and read. The WSJ, a book, 10-Ks.
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