Rant: I feel incompetent
Started on the desk this summer at a MM in sf and I feel like I can’t do anything right and that I am too stupid for banking. I didn’t intern in banking, so I am definitely behind where the average analyst is at this point, but I just feel so so far behind the other analysts in my group. Not only that, part of me gets the sense that others don’t want to work with me because they know I will need more help and guidance than any of the other analysts. It’s really crushed my confidence. Everything takes me a while to do because I’ve never done it before and I am scared of messing up. I feel like am getting the reputation as the worst analyst amongst the first years. I try hard and I am always willing to work, but it just sucks feeling like an idiot and and feeling like people don’t want to work with me. It even feels like people ignore me sometimes. I know it’s tough to answer without being there, but am I being overly anxious and people expect a new analyst with no internship experience to be trash at almost everything? I’m scared I’m going to get reprimanded or told to step it up by a senior, if not just straight fired. Is getting asked to leave as a first year analyst a possibility? Would appreciate any guidance or tips. Thanks.
How much work are you doing that isn't assigned? How many models have you built to practice? How many decks have you reviewed to make sure you understand what is expected?
Have you consistently asked good questions at the right time (start of an assignment) or do you wait till the end when your reviewer is under time pressure?
You are now an adult and you need to make sure your shit is fully together.
I get the anxiety, but people expect you to be incompetent for a year or so. Learn from your mistakes, don't repeat them, ask for help early, and do some learning on your own. If you want it, you have to work for it.
Also, try to get a mentor more senior than you and rely on them.
It's not very fun to get up the curve, but you'll feel better having put in the work.
Building models in your free time as a first year? Are you serious😂
Yeah this guy must’ve lost his damn mind. Profile says he’s a director so he’s likely from the “old school” that still believes in doing work for fun.
Get real, old man. No one is doing that shit. Lol.
Lmfao clown advice
no wonder you suck youre a fucking pussy
No one expects you to be amazing for at least the first 12-18 months. You’re definitely going to have to make an extra effort but if you seek detailed feedback, ask for advice and have a consistent GREAT attitude you will likely be ok.
Most analysts suck in their first year. Focus on asking good questions and not making the same mistake twice and you will improve.
Also, you really need to chill tf out. You just started "this summer" which likely means less than six months ago. Did you really think you’d come out of WSP being able to do everything? I get the sense if you’re already this anxious you probably had a pretty sheltered upbringing, so genuine advice here: stop being a pussy.
Lastly, if 1+ year goes by and still feel like you're incompetent and cant do the job properly, congratulations! You now have one year experience in one of the most highly coveted positions in finance. Pivoting into another area won't be an issue.At the end of the day, it's a job. Don't lose your mind over it.
I feel for you OP. It is very VERY hard to process first time you get some negative feedback / experience on this job. We pour everything we have into getting here, and when it doesn’t always go well, we feel completely worthless. Tale as old as time.
My third Thursday on the job my associate gave me some feedback that made me feel worthless and completely ruined my day. Apparently I wasn’t resourceful, I wasn’t detail oriented, I wasn’t producing acceptable work, and there wasn’t anything good about me. I was so lost and confused because I was trying my best and didn’t know why this was happening. I was devastated. Started hitting the bottle that night and didn’t stop for 4 straight days (yeah call me a bitch / pussy I don’t care, I was hurt). I walked on eggshells because it felt like the whole office could find out any second that I’m a complete failure.
So how did this situation get resolved? Did I triple my effort? Did I quit on the spot? Did I make a sacrifice to the Aztec gods? No. I just gave it time. I felt like shit but kept going anyway, despite being seemingly the worst in my analyst class. Often it’s just about being able to endure.
With time I was able to stop making the same mistakes, then successfully complete a pitch, then win a bake-off, then get staffed on my first sell side M&A deal, do well on that, then get put on financings, then put on several more sell sides, and so on. Give it time. Some people walk in being rockstars. You are just going to have to work your way up to being one.
Just remember you're still better than anyone in Big4 consulting.
Or any other human being
Well, first of all, there is very little real work given to interns, so don’t convince yourself that you are at an insurmountable disadvantage because you didn’t do an internship.
Second, take heart that the vast majority of first year analysts are still figuring things out and not trusted with anything very substantive. As others have said, people expect it will take you 6-12 months to ramp-up and become perceived as useful.
However, if you’re still worried, make sure you are doing everything you can to proactively develop yourself. No, most analysts don’t do this and not all need it, but most would probably benefit. For example, if the associate went ahead and built the model himself, make sure you study his work and ask questions (without being annoying). Go back to your prior pitches and deals where someone else took on the modeling or analysis and do the same. Don’t think you understand LBOs? Ask a more experienced analyst to share a model he likes, study it, and try to build it yourself.
Yes, I’ve been around a bit longer and have witnessed the easing of analyst work/life balance over the past 10+ years, but nothing replaces experience and reps. You just have to invest your own time instead of waiting for someone to make you.
Cheer up! Investment banking is a long game. Don’t ever let past mistakes haunt you to the point you can’t keep pushing forward.
What specifically are you struggling with? Turning decks? Running Comps? Building operating models? Diligence processes? Buyer lists? Here's some advice for some of those coming from an A3
Turning decks: Slow down. Any senior banker would rather have a deck ~30 min late than ~5 min early and having spelling / grammar errors. Print out your deck and compare it to the markup- a lot of times printed copies turn up more errors than just reviewing your work on a screen. Check things 3+ times when you're starting, with the last time taking a ~1 min walk around the office to reset your eyes
Running comps: leverage other bank's work here. Many IBs publish various industry comps in market updates they provide. Try googling "XXXX investment bank industry updates, "industry whitepapers," etc.
Building operating models: so much of banker's work is just leveraging prior outputs made from similar processes. If you're making an operating model, many times you don't have to start from scratch. Leverage other work as much as you can
Diligence processes: you need to stay hyper organized at all times. Keep a running tally on where documents are published in the data room to start
Buyer lists: it really depends on the industry, but CIQ buyer screens, pitchbook buyer screens, and just straight up googling can generate ideas. It's always better to have more buyers that are tier 2/3 rather than a handful that are tier 1 and not many additional ones. Be sure to build lots of support into your proposed buyer (how large are they, have they done any recent deals, similar geography, similar customers / end markets served, etc.)
If you're able to tell me what areas you're struggling with perhaps I can assist more
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