How to work on this feedback ?

Recently received feedback on my stint where I was told to be more communicative of the deadline 

this is something that I have been struggling with , for instance let’s say I am working on a task for person A and told them that I will have it done in 2 hours and person B messages me saying they need something in one hour. How would you react? 
I know it’s common to prioritise based on urgency but everyone tells me they need it ASAP that I don’t know how to handle 

Any advice pls 

Also how do people tell deadline time when they are doing a task for the first time???? You would obviously be slow especially as an intern so how would you react 

Is it necessary to over communicate your every move , like ‘I will make a start at Xpm , take X hours and get it done by X’

i also read here that it’s good to share progress of a task ? but wouldn’t this just constantly annoy your associate and best to just send final deliverable ?

pls help out a confused monkey :(((

4 Comments
 

Follow up from above (for tasks you are doing for the first time) 

is it acceptable to say ‘this is my first time doing X so may take longer than usual. Will aim to have it done by X , will update if may take longer ‘

or is this too casual ??

 
Most Helpful

The scenario you outlined of two separate teams needing something in 1-2 hours unexpected is very rare. As a first step, you need to be actively thinking ahead about your calendar and deadlines proactively. For example if you have a pitch tomorrow at 1pm, there's a very good chance you will be turning comments up until the last minute. Good analyst recognizes this and plans with other teams in advance (i.e. not the morning of) that you will be focused on that in the morning and can get to other stuff after. That way there is no must-have other ASAP requests being directed your way. For 95%+ of IB these types of conflicts are easily recognizable.

That's an example of a true ASAP deadline. You need to also recognize what are ASAP deadlines and what are not. MD needing some comps for a client call in 2 hours is an ASAP, your VP asking you to fill out a buyer log and send back to him to review in 2 hours is not. Finish the ASAP first while telling your VP you are managing another deadline and say you'll do it right after.

For tasks you don't know how to do, make sure you are communicating that to your associate so they can help you out and/or build in some extra buffer (because they are going to have to check it and make sure it is right). 

You don't have to communicate hour by hour but if you are just radio silent then your deal team members aren't going to know what is going on. If you aren't given a specific deadline, always ask when they would like to see something by that way there is a clear time for when they should be expecting something and you don't need to provide the play-by-play. If you sense that deadline is slipping let them know as soon as you have identified the potential problem (i.e. don't wait until you've hit the agreed deadline time). That way they aren't sitting around hitting F9 wondering when you are going to finish something. When you are asking about this deadline this is the time to also raise if something is a new task and you need more time and/or teaching.

 

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