Mediocre Unofficial Review

For some background, I interned at a bank during my junior summer and received strong mid- and end-of-summer reviews, finishing in the top quartile. Due to headcount constraints, I was placed on a different team full-time than the one I interned with. The work is pretty different from what I did over the summer, but I was honestly just happy to have a job.

I had my first mid-year review in January, and that feedback was confirmed when I received my bonus in March. The reviews were positive—they said they appreciated my flexibility and that I was acclimating well to the new team.

Last week, our staffer scheduled 1-on-1s with all the first years and called it a quarterly review. He said he wanted to check in now that we had more experience, since the initial review was based on only a few months of work

I felt confident going into the meeting—I’ve consistently produced good work, have a strong attitude, and try to be helpful. He started by saying that people like working with me, appreciate my flexibility, and that I have a good work ethic. Then he mentioned that one person said I could improve on modeling. He didn’t name them, but I’m fairly sure who it was—I didn’t use their model template on a staffing. I agree my modeling can always improve, but I didn’t think it was at the level that would lead someone to go to the staffer, especially since I’ve consistently asked for feedback and been told everything was great.

What surprised me most was when he said a few people mentioned I don’t take feedback well. That really caught me off guard—I’ve never thought of myself that way. He said it might be because I try to show I understand the feedback, but that sometimes it comes across as defensive or like I think I already know the answer. He also mentioned that since many analysts and associates have had a tough time in this seat, they’re not always open to first years asking a lot of questions or appearing to push back

This was confusing to hear because I genuinely ask questions to learn, especially given that I never received formal training in this product group. It’s becoming clearer that the lack of onboarding might have set me back more than I realized

When he asked if I had any questions, I was clearly shocked. I kind of paused, choked up a bit, and just said, “No, I’m good—thank you though, this is all very helpful.” I think he could tell I was surprised by the feedback.

That said, I know this is something I can improve on. If multiple people have felt that way, it’s worth taking seriously. My staffer did say the modeling feedback might have been a one-off, while the perception around feedback came from a few different people.

So my question is—how big of a deal is this? This wasn’t a formal review, but my next one is in July, followed by bonus season in January. Do I still have time to turn things around? And is this kind of feedback something that can permanently hurt my standing? Sometimes when I get feedback, I ask follow-ups to confirm I understand, but it seems like that might be part of what’s creating the wrong impression.

Edit: the worst fucking part of it all was when someone tells you you’re not great at taking feedback, you can’t even say anything back because that just proves the point which is why I was tongue tied