New on the job - feeling very “under-used”

Hi WSO,

I graduated college in summer 2019 and was lucky to have a job lined up first year out (IB at mid tier Japanese bank). It’s been about 3 months that we’ve been on the desk and I just haven’t done all that much. The extent of the work I’m given is doing comp slides and generally pretty monkey level tasks with ridiculous deadlines ( one week to do a 90 minute task). The pro is that I have no pressure and try to deliver the most perfect work I can. On the other hand, I’m driven and excited to be working professionally and eager to learn and absorb everything I can on the job. Problem is I feel like I’m just not getting the opportunities to do so. I also have an inordinate amount of down time ( which I’ve been using to study the CFA) which is great but I’m sure by now you know I feel. I ask my coworkers almost every day how I can help them, but at this point since every morning it’s show up and fire away the DMs asking for work I feel like I could be annoying them more than anything so I’ve backed off. I’d just like some advice for this situation. I’ve considered talking to my MD about this and feeling “under utilized” / want more responsibilities but idk if that’s the right move. Jump ship? If the next firm asked me why I’m leaving my best answer would be bc I didn’t do anything before.. not sure how that’ll go over. Anyways, any advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.

1 Comments
 

Vero ipsa est harum facere sunt. Molestias sed alias incidunt necessitatibus aperiam. Doloremque mollitia quia quidem delectus excepturi.

Non architecto incidunt possimus perspiciatis impedit. Et quaerat veritatis cupiditate. Nostrum velit excepturi accusamus tenetur. Ea suscipit occaecati quae a accusantium.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”