Over the past few months, through a decent amount of research, I’ve decided on fully pursuing Investment Banking. I think it’s really common to shrug off the hours because they’re just numbers on a screen, but I’m not an idiot and I understand that it is absolutely grueling in reality. My question for those who have gone through it is: what is the best way to keep your sanity to sustainably work such long hours and prevent a burnout? Is there anything you might have done to prepare, and do you ever truly get used to it?
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You get used to it. The first month is the hardest. You are slow as you are still getting used to how people want things formatted, plugin tools, etc. You are going from an academic environment to a highly stressful and demanding job. There's going to be an initial shock as the reality of working an insane amount of hours kicks in but it phases away as you get adjusted to a routine.
Preventing burnout is really based on your mental will and mindset. What helps with me is a genuine interest in the work I am doing. I am fortunate to be in a firm with strong deal flow and am given important tasks and analyses to carry out. Yes you will also spend time formatting slides and aligning logos but that's just part of being at the bottom of the pecking order. It's really important to always think of the bigger picture when you are doing annoying work.
Be a 'yes person' but don't be a pushover. People will more often than not respect you when you have a legitimate reason to push back on assignments. Always communicate what you are working on and always ask what you should prioritize. Everyone wants to impress their seniors but trust me, if you take on too much and deliver subpar outputs on your projects because of time constraints and lack of sleep, no one will be impressed.
Develop a 'healthy' sense of apathy to your job. Your life and future should never solely revolve around your job. This may sound weird but knowing that I have other options out there has really helped me during tough weeks. What I'm trying to say is that if you are ever in a position where you find your career and mental health at a crossroads, just know that there is more to life than banking and that banking isn't the only path to 'success' however you may define it.
Cut up however long you want to be in banking into time chunks. This may not be the best of comparisons but think of movies where prisoners etch out tally marks into their cell walls. This actually does help but ignore this point if you want to be a career banker.
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