Motivation After a Bad Review
After starting banking last summer, a few weeks ago, I had my first performance review. I wasn't expecting anything stellar, but I was completely blindsided by how abysmal my review was. It could not have been worse.
Every work product I have sent to the ASO always gets the response "Looks good! Good to send to md" and the MD comes back with only minor comments. So I was a little dumbfounded when I found out that everyone I work with thinks my work products continually suck. How is it beneficial for anyone if I am told I am doing a good job, only to shit on me in my reviews? This is not productive. Tell me I suck, when I suck.
I was also told I frequently miss deadlines, have zero technical skills etc. (but I cannot think of a single deadline I was anywhere close to missing a deadline for and I have no problem with technicals). I understand I have room for improvement -- I've only be at this for 6 months
I didn't hate the job before my review, but now I dread having to wake up everyday to work with people who apparently hate working with me and think I'm stupid.
Do I stick it out or try to find something else? Not much to find given the job market... and it's too soon to switch to PE now... do I apply to MBA programs (too little work experience, probably... and if I try IB or PE after MBA, it's going to be a red flag that I lasted as an analyst for only 6 months.) Any career path recommendations for a failed IB analyst that are still "high caliber"?
They’re fucking you so they can pay you a lower bonus. It’s messed up but this is how some banks use reviews, as a way to justify lower pay. That or the work product isn’t all that, which seems unlikely from above.
You need to speak asap to an MD and tell him what you told us.
If there is such a huge disconnect between your reality and the review, something odd is going on.
You don’t need to cry foul to your MD, it’s more of a mentoring talk and how your direct feedback is the opposite of your review.
I wonder if you’re being set up to be fired or something.
Who actually gave you the review? A vp staffer?
Agree and echo this 100%. The other advice is good and you should parallel track (e.g. look outside for other opportunities) but if you want to salvage the current situation you should reach out to your MD immediately. You need to be deliberate, but not combative, and frame it in the context of truly wanting to understand what you need to work on. Don't be afraid to show a little passion here. If what you're saying is true, you need to advocate for yourself and this set of circumstances is the perfect opportunity.
Devil's Advocate Thought: Think hard about what interactions or work products might have led to this review and consider also that there are a ton of socially awkward nerds that have been put in positions where they're managing others when they couldn't lead their shadow into the sun. I've come across plenty of people that will tell others to their face that their work product is good, fix it behind their back, and then sewer them in reviews just because they're afraid of conflict. If that's the case, the failure is on them and it's probably best to leave anyway.
Been there, sorry to hear that. In my experience, it’s not the tangible work outputs of the job that make or break the review, but rather the intangibles surrounding your perceived attitude and enthusiasm.
For instance, are you responding to an email ask with “sounds good, will do” or “perfect, thank you for the detailed instructions - will get right on this and will let you know of any questions!”?
To get good reviews in this job, your work being high quality is only 50% of it. You need to feign being aggressively enthusiastic about getting railed in the ass on even the most mundane tasks and workstreams.
If you ever decline a new bullshit staffing, you must say “I’d love to get this learning experience but I just don’t think I can dedicate this project the time and energy it deserves!” rather than “sorry I don’t have capacity”.
Be the person that sends out random press releases on relevant transactions or industry news, even when nobody asked for it.
Ask super smart questions, even if you probably know the answer already.
I left banking as an A3 (ignore title), and in that time I got shitty reviews for about a year and a half, until one day I decided enough is enough and I shifted my attitude 180 degrees and took the repeated ass-fucking with a pleasant smile on my face and became the most unabashedly positive, enthusiastic, cringe version of myself. Ended up turning things around in my reviews, and I honestly think my work product got slightly worse in that period lol.
First let me say this has happened to me before when I was in another field. I’ll the be the first to say it fucking sucks. I was told “you’re not qualified to work in this industry and I’m not sure why we hired you as an associate. You were more of an intern” trust me it fucked me up. Assuming you enjoy IB and want to continue here’s what I’d recommend
Hope that helps. As one whose been in your shoes i can tell you it’s a Shitty experience. You can private message if you want more insight. Best of luck!