Lifestyle Change from Associate to VP
Anyone have first hand experience on how this changed for them? Is it immediate, or do you ramp into it? Obviously you still work a lot - but hopefully less than your Associate years.
From a ramp perspective:
+For your first few months, are you still treated / acting like an Associate
+Did you find it easier to delegate work and at certain point, just call it (assuming no fire drill, client demand, etc.)?
Just looking for some input on how it finally starts to get a little better.
1. Was a mix depending on the MD or deal lead. Some were a bit more hands off and gave me more leeway, others took a bit of time to adjust. The transition period was stressful because I would still be generating and checking work product like an associate but also be held to task for the VP shit - tying it all together, crafting messaging, bigger role in execution etc. Important to try and push through this "transition" phase as soon as you can.
2. Before the jump, was doing this anyway, albeit a bit more hands on with the work and getting more defined guidance in terms of expectation.
It gets better but IMO, depends on how quickly you can embrace the independence and step back from generating work. You want to be spending time taking more leadership and responsibility during execution, more involved in idea generation beyond the analysis work, day to day stick handling of clients. The sooner the better.
For me, instructions got far more nebulous, e.g., from "have a meeting next week, want to here are 10 names to profile as acquisition targets" to "have a meeting next week, pull together some ideas and let's discuss". Embrace that shit, the faster you can demonstrate ability to operate independently like a senior banker the better it gets.
I was also lucky enough to have rockstar associates and analysts who stepped up to fill the void. That helps too.
Any change in the number of hours (from associate to VP)?
Mixed bag but generally better hours. I spend less time at the office but more of my free time working.
Not staying up all night putting together decks and models but sometimes have to review and be ready for morning. Typically am done between 7 and 9 with the not infrequent late nights depending on number of live deals.
More responsibility though, so have to be available 24/7 and ready to speak with clients and senior bankers. This means spending a lot of time preparing, reading, "thinking" and being generally informed to be ready to engage with clients/bankers on things like strategy, preparing for negotiations, planning and managing execution workstreams etc. Not a lot of time to do that during the day, typically filled with meetings/calls, reviewing work, markups etc. So I do all my prep after I get home.
I noticed that I wasn’t really modeling as much and I was in meetings all the time.
A lot of strategy discussions and trust. You’re still busy and marking things up.
I can go in detail if you really want
Any change in the number of hours (from associate to VP)?
Would love to hear more detail on this!
yes - would love to here more. was an AN/ASO then moved to buyside; now moving back to VP role
Hi, would you mind if I PM you? currently associate in buyside and I don't enjoy the work. I would like to move back as senior asso or VP role and would like to discuss about your experience.
Thanks!
This was not my experience. In my group, I was told that if I expected to be promoted to VP, then I needed to be operating as a VP by the time I was a senior associate. So by the time I got promoted to VP, there was actually no real transition. The promotion just made it official.
I think life gets better the minute you get an associate to manage the analyst. If there is nobody between you and and an analyst, no matter what your title is and/or how good the analyst might be, you will be bogged down in the weeds with no way out.
That said, I don't think the job got any easier when I got to VP. It got harder actually. Sure, I wasn't in the office as much. But I was ways on some client or internal call. I found it more stressful to deal with clients than perfecting some deck or double checking a model. I think that it just depends on your personality but I am of the belief that the role gets more challenging as you continue to move up.
Felt high for a few days, then the new adrenalin kicked in - how do I now make Director/SVP/Principal.
Are you enjoying it more?
Absolutely. Echo the general view that it’s challenging to wear multiple hats, but I see it as an opportunity to grow as a person/spend more time on certain skills. Just sitting at my desk here strategizing business development / travel plans for 2022.
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