M&A/Career Advice for somebody who is ADHD/Generally Ineffective
Hi,
I'm in my final year at Uni, got diagnosed with ADHD but never actually took the meds as my condition isn't hugely severe/generally I do just fine - think this isn't the case in a work environment...
Interned at a top EB last year, didn't convert because "attention to detail" and "time management" was poor. Socially everybody liked me (especially the VPs/MDs as I was the only intern who would actually have a chat with them) and my technicals were decent, I just wasn't particularly good at the Intern/Analyst roles.
I've landed a decent tier 2 consulting job (ATK/RB/OW/LEK etc) and another internship in Sales this time at a BB, but I can't help but feel I'll be equally useless here? I interview very well but that doesn't help once I'm on the job.
I've got through my life winging most things with some decent charm, arriving late but being humorous and well-liked so getting away with it. I always interview well, but when it comes down to working I'm pretty damn average. Is anybody else like this? I had a banker genuinely say to me that I'd make a decent Director (lol) but just aren't enough of a grinder for the Analyst role.
Anyone else get this feedback/manage to grind out the analyst years regardless?
I think that one one of the best things that you could do right now is get some advice on how to channel that ADHD to help you crank our more work. I'm kinda that way too, and I used to have trouble focusing in school because I would get distracted so much. But I learned to use that energy to crank through work twice as fast, and have become more efficient at cranking out work than I ever thought I could.
I think that you might want to consider switching careers. If you have trouble concentrating, then you might want to move to an area like trading that is faster paced. With that faster pace, I will be easier for you to concentrate, since the work will be not as slow as it might be in other areas of finance.
DM me if you have any other questions.
I would question if M&A or IBD advisory work and the hours of laptop work, executed with precision, is the best fit for someone with ADHD. You are likely very smart, but perhaps a person with ADHD ought to channel their career into a function that better uses their talkents while not playing to their challenges. Sales is often a good place for ADHD people. Consulting may work for you given the variety of work, but ultimately as an analyst in consulting you still have to grind out work, so not 100% sure this will really suit you long term either. Tough call. Any chance you can shadow a friend in each job somewhere or otherwise test the waters?
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