Incompetence? Inexperience?
Hey Monkeys, Just wanted to ask how it was for members who went to IBD roles from a more lenient career trajectory. Recently joined an M&A team, and I was assigned to multiple deals within the first 3 month. Not sure what I was expecting, but I did not expect so many tasks to be thrown my way without proper training/mentorship I had initially minimal PPT experience, with minimal use of various basic (but specific) tools in Outlook, excel, etc. It doesn’t help that the I have no project management experience, and that the company has some cultural differences that I’m still trying to get myself ready. Just wanted to throw my experience out and ask if this is normal. I’ve been shoved down so many things and (quite honestly) feel absolutely overwhelmed, that I mess up some easier tasks from exhaustion. Is this a sign of incompetence? Or should I be demanding more from the firm (not actually) I don’t think I’m getting canned, yet. But I’m starting to think that it’s going to be something inevitable. Btw went into the role as second year analyst.
You’re diversity aren’t you?
It is weird how he got a lateral role without any PPT experience though. All lateral roles have a case study with modeling and presentation as part of the recruiting process.
No ppt experience, minimal excel and outlook? Don’t type to me again fool
Not even US based…
Would saying I was a personality hire make me more likable?
How did you get this job? Not asking this to insinuate diversity or anything but this place sounds sketchy. If you came from a non IB role to a second year analyst role this wouldn’t be normal.
Is this place a small regional boutique Op? Did you go through a formal case analysis during your interview?
I went from Corporate Banking to IBD role. Just want to mention that this isn’t in the states.
What kind of firm is this? Is this a regional boutique? Is this an institutional bank?
This is rare in Europe as well. I’ve never seen anyone make that change. Congrats though, if you adapt to the hours there’s definitely a lot of positives
Post 2000% made by some bored unemployed white kid, who then replied to himself “you’re diversity aren’t you?” Lmfao touch grass.
His anon would not be mine though r$tard
Rent free.
I would be shocked if anyone in IB had never felt overhwelmed or never made a mistake. I've been guilty of appalling mistakes, as have pretty much all of the seniors and juniors I work with. And I learn from the mistakes and improve.
You can spend 30 seconds on this forum and find experienced bankers burning out, on the verge of quitting, or feeling some mental health issues coming on. This industry has a way of being horribly overwhelming. That's also part of why we get paid an absurd amount of money. I have a friend who made the reverse move you did (the WLB wasn't for them - nothing wrong with it, just where you get you shits and giggles), and was much happier as a person with the cut in pay but better hours.
Now, that aside. I'm not just going to tell you "it's ok". It's not ok to consistently make mistakes, be slow with deadlines, or mismanage priorities. You need to fix that. Understandable that you'll be behind your class given your backgrond, but you need to work extra hard to close that gap. My advice is to do extra reps with technicals and basic PPT / XLS / etc. work potentially in your spare time. This will have the MASSIVE benefit of making you more efficient, less error-prone, and overall you'll feel less overwhelmed.
You're probably in for a tough few months. In my view you'd be either (A) outstandingly smart, or (B) outstandingly lucky if that weren't the case. Most of us aren't either (including myself). But it'll get better
This is an extremely kind and thoughtful comment that makes perfect sense
On a more pragmatic note, and please take this constructively, you should be aware that you are wildly unqualified for the role. This might be fixable. My advice is thus:
I am just trying to help. From my experience, unless you can get comfortable with 1-4, you probably should be pragmatic and consider resigning.
Thank you both vm for this.
As I look towards other comments, I can see that I was pretty lucky to be hired for the role and that I’m too inexperienced atm.
(I think the interviewers really liked my track record, as well as the answers to some of the technical… honestly can’t think of other reasons why I got hired)
I think it’s too early to call game, so I’ll try to stick around for a while and see if I can grind it out.
Definitely going to go back to the books on some basics whenever I have time (DD process has been hectic)
Thanks!
It’s just familiarity. Don’t sell yourself short. It’s not the rocket science. As time passes by, you’ll pick it up. However, I guess spending some time outside of the working hours to get up to the speed is necessary.
female junior banker spotted
Who have leads they can’t contact or convert(companies)?
OP, the fact they brought you on with your background is rough, and the fact you didn't get formal training is coming through. I want to clarify I'm not saying they made a bad decision, as you sound like a very hard worker, but typically they grab people from banks a tier or 2 below their own, or bring on people from valuations-type work at places like Big 4. You're going to have to put in extra legwork to catchup. I don't want to dox myself, but I went from IB to corp dev and now run my own business and my WLB is leagues better than anything I had in IB, and about on par with corp dev but with no office politics (which were very prevalent at my F100). Leaving an IB role early only closes the doors to other high-pressure roles like IB/PE/HF, any other employer will completely understand the IB/PE life isn't for everyone, but in your current situation your only 2 options are: 1. catchup to speed by working extra hours or on weekends 2. look for something lower pressure. I was a top bucket performer first year, mid bucket second year due to burnout, and then got great reviews at my corp dev job. Now my life is awesome and I genuinely like waking up every day.
Thank you for your comment. Good to know that IBD experience will open up more career paths outside of traditional finance
I’ll commit to see if I can make something out of this opportunity, but yes, I am definitely going to have to raise my learning curve.
I appreciate you for sharing your experience as well!
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