I HAVE NO WORK AN1 - JERKING OFF DOING NOTHING ON DESK
Currently an AN1 at a BB in London. Started mid July, so about a few weeks in. My "day" right now is 9am to 10pm of essentially nothing — refreshing charts, occasionally touching a comps slide, and self-teaching modeling/precedents on the side because there's genuinely nothing else on my plate. It's gotten to the point where I'm watching summer interns pull more live work than I am, which is a strange thing to sit with.
To be clear, I'm not passively waiting around. I've explicitly offered to take work off my associate's plate - the grunt stuff they don't want to do - just to get reps. Nothing's landed. If anything my staffer has gotten colder and less responsive since last summer, which I can't tell is coincidence, annoyance, or just a busy person.
I know self-taught modeling only gets you so far. You can run every LBO template and precedent screen in the world on your own time, but there's no substitute for doing it live, under time pressure, with someone checking your work and telling you where you're wrong. F2-ing a DCF by yourself doesn't replicate that.
The honest complicating factor: this is objectively a great lifestyle right now. Manageable hours, free dinner most nights, paid well, zero real stress. If I'd been told "you'll coast for two months at full pay with no pressure," younger me takes that deal instantly. But it's not what I signed up for, and I'd rather be stretched and learning than comfortable and stagnant especially this early, when the compounding matters most.
Is this just normal late-summer lull before staffing picks back up, or is going quiet/cold from a staffer after you've asked for work a real signal worth escalating on? Would appreciate hearing from people who've been through a slow start on a deal team — did it turn around on its own, or did you have to force the issue (and if so, how, without looking like you're going over someone's head)?
You're everyone's competition and everyone wants to be staffed. Either you prove your worth through your technicals/leadership/people skills/sector knowledge, or, you continue coasting like this until you get fired.
How can you prove yourself with no work?
You should clarify how the rest of the team is doing in terms of busyness (as well as the rest of the A1 class). People might just want to go on holiday at this point of the summer and can’t be bothered to send stuff to you as it will take them much longer to explain and check. If everybody is super slammed and you’re the only chilling it’s just a bit odd though. At my firm end the worst analyst were still doing something
Unfortunately you can’t control everything so I suggest you keep up a positive and proactive attitude and keep asking people and the staffer. But don’t pester them if they say no, wait a bit before asking again. I know it’s super boring to not have real work but when do get real work you’ll be missing these days
I am on a marketing, some others are on a few more. No live deals as of yet pretty sure for the others. But the difference is visible when they are walking about discussing work with their assoc. and I am stuck on my desk with nothing.
I just feel a bit frustrated because I want to be better and even become the best analyst here eventually, but right now I don't have the opportunities to improve. As I said, there is only so much you can do by yourself.
But trying to keep a real positive attitude and remind myself that I am here for myself, so when I have had the opportunity to go home at 7pm, I take the opportunity to go work by myself for a few more hours and push as much learning as I can.
Dont sweat it too much though
If you manage to go home at 7pm just opens Teams on your phone so you’re green status for some good old facetime culture (on the laptop you go yellow / inactive after a while, phone keeps you green) and go jerk off or crack some beers
When deals come you’ll wish you were farming tomatoes in the fields instead of spreading comps at 3am
No point working at night for the sake of it
It's August. Come September you will look back whistfully on days like this
Congrats on jerking off!
Enjoy this time of the year. September is when it becomes a nightmare
this is not a unique issue. everyone has experienced this at least once and usually the next thing you'll run into is the sweatiest deal of your life where you beg to be back in the position you are currently in.
point is this happens all the time and the ramp up is inevitable. just enjoy the time right now and do what you need to pass your probation. you started in july, that's barely even a month ago. my interns used to do jack for the first 2 months then boom they're making a 100 page CIM in 2 weeks and have to stay up til 4am every day
Got my first live deal staffing in end of November - so was coasting since September. Was only on marketing / RfP - it was simply luck / new deals were starting after new years.
have been working on average ~90 hours since then - had probably few weeks with less than 80 hours. So do enjoy your time.
Do well on your marketing / RfP staffing - those can include modelling work and ensure basics are covered when your staffed on live deals
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