It's a slow Friday, so figured I'd take a walk down memory lane... feel free to add things I miss.
1. Your reputation.
You are building your reputation on day 1, and the first 3 - 6 months will define your reputation for the next 2 years.
2. Who's Important?
Figure out who the important people are in your group and do great work for them; learn to push back on everyone else.
3. private equity recruiting.
If you're going to do PE recruiting main cycle, decide and prepare early. You need to get the practice in early to succeed
4. Ask questions, but not stupid questions.
People want to see that you're thinking about your work, and trying to think about the bigger picture, but don't ask things you can google or find on the drive or find by asking another analyst
5. Always print and check your work.
Errors appear when you print. Find them before your VP / associate do.
6. Work efficiently.
If you can outsource work, do it. If you have a graphics team, use them. Attention to detail is very important, but no need to waste time on tedious shit that you can have someone else take a first pass at. Use logointern.com, bamsec.com, mappingintern.com, etc. Save yourself time for the stuff that matters.
7. Specific behavioral tips:
- Stop talking about "college" around anyone more senior than an analyst - it just highlights the age gap
- There's a fine line between not speaking enough and speaking too much. For everyone and every group, this is different. Try to find and hug that line. In the first ~6 months, err on the side of caution.
- Nothing ventured, nothing gained. After you've built trust with your teams, ask for things. If you want to go to a meeting, ask your associate / VP if you / they can ask the director / MD. Chances are, even if it's a no, it will reflect well on you for showing the initiative. Maybe they'll bring you next time.
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Have at it, monkeys.
Learn to handle stress well. It's rarely the end of the world. If you're even-keeled that will help balance out your team and grow their trust in you when you're coming up on tight deadlines.
Even if it's silly, respect the hierarchy.
One cannot stress the hierarchy thing enough. The more senior guys/gals worked their asses off to get where they are. One should respect that.
I would also add: don't make overly complex models with features that no one is gonna use anyway. It just eats away at your precious time and increases room for error. Keep the models simple.
Intern4ever, I posted this in another thread before, but:
What really helped me become a better analyst and get much better even as I left IB for corp dev was taking ownership of my work. This can be tough in IB because many analysts really are there just for the paycheck (nothing wrong with that), but also because most senior bankers do a terrible job at keeping analysts up to date of the process, so analysts frequently work on assignments with no clue how it fits into the bigger picture or even what purpose it serves. What I would suggest doing is when you receive some assignment, even if it is incredibly mundane, ask yourself what the purpose of the assignment and its worth is. Then, not only complete the assignment as asked, but try to add some value, insight, thoughts, etc. Maybe that just means bolding the important part of an email or highlighting three or four comps that you think should be removed, but that shows that you care and it really does result in you producing better work because it forces you to actively think.
Excellent post. i think some trifecta of staying humble/grounded, being current in the situation, and not taking things too seriously are very helpful in navigating through that inevitable crash that most of us inevitably approach.
I can't stress enough about being current. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about the next [ ] years, charting out what to do when this is done. At a certain point you just have to recognize that this is where you are, and that you should put your best foot forward in the here and now. Eventually, things start to make sense, the pace slows down, and you find yourself near the end of your two year stint, wondering where the time has gone :)
Every day is a new day. Do not get down on yourself for errors made the previous day, it happens and you can bounce back.
Manage Up - Keep asking yourself how you can add value to your boss so he can look good to his boss. This applies more at the associate+ level but getting into this mindset will pay dividends down the line, even if you don't intend to stay in banking.