First week as an analyst — low standards and zero training, how do I actually learn?

Hey guys,

I just started my first week as an M&A analyst in a regional office in LatAm (satellite office of a larger bank). This is my first job out of school.

From what I’ve seen so far, the modeling standards and overall organization are quite low. The models have a lot of hardcodes, messy formatting, and poor structure. File organization and naming conventions are also pretty chaotic. I’ve seen much cleaner work from people who trained at bulge brackets, so I can tell the difference pretty clearly.

The team consists of 3 analysts, 1 associate and 1 MD. We currently have 7 live deals, including one $500m+ live deal, and we just closed a $300m transaction. For US these are relatively small deals, but in LatAm they’re considered pretty good.

I’ve already spoken with the other 2 analysts on the team, and they told me they basically got zero formal training when they started — they had to learn everything from scratch on their own. That’s what worries me the most.

None of them have done an LBO, or a merger model ever. Which is kind of a red flag i think.

Since this is my first job, I’m scared I’m not going to get proper training and I’ll end up with big gaps in my skills (especially modeling).

My question is: how do I navigate this?

• Are Wall Street Prep, WSO, or Training The Street courses actually helpful in this kind of situation?

• How should I go about learning properly when the team itself doesn’t have strong processes or training?

• Any advice on how to improve my own skills without coming across as difficult or trying to change how the team works?

Appreciate any honest advice from people who’ve been in similar spots. Thanks