Reflexion: It's amazing how toxic junior Investment Bankers can be
I just hit the 1 year milestone working at my desk, and as I am entering my second year in Investment Banking I must emphasise how disappointed I am after seeing how toxic your peers can be.
I joined my group at a BB in London last year along with 2 other analysts, and although I knew IB was a very competitive environment, I didn't expect this. Over the course of the last 12 months I have been stabbed on my back several times, and the other analysts have tried several times to make me look bad in front of senior bankers using different tactics:
- Not telling me important things, or giving me false information
- Not cc me in key emails
- Giving me wrong advise on purpose about what my MDs want or expect
- Offering themselves to give me a hand and then letting me down in the last minute for no reason (not because they got staffed)
- Blaming me for some of their mistakes in joint assignments
- Talking shit about me to associates
In one occasion one of my peers told my staffer that she believed that I had a trip scheduled in early may, so she would get staffed on a very good deal that initially it was supposed to be assigned to me.
It's been a year since I joined, and I must confess it's been the roughest year of my life, with a lot of ups and downs, but after my last mid-year appraisal, I couldn't be more proud of all what I have achieved, despite the adverse environment.
It's just that I find very sad the fact that I have to see my colleagues as "enemies", when during our junior years we should be lifting each others up, and being more supportive. The job is already challenging enough to be acting like kids.
NYC > London
This fucking job attracts only snitches man. If you didn't notice day one you're also one of them.
L for London IB
Sucks to hear, sorry bro. Chin up and hopefully you're off to greener pastures soon!
Let this be an eye-opener to the college kids on here chasing money/prestige etc. In my wise, old, millennial years, culture is now always the single most important thing to me when looking at a new opportunity. Can I trust these people? Are they shitty to be around for long hours? Do they return the respect given to them? Life is too short to waste so much time with assholes, and way too short to be one of those assholes.
At this point just watch you back.
I have seen a lot of brilliant analysts and associates being wasted or burnt out just because they only relied on their skills and they underestimated the importance that office politics play in this industry.
Now you know what your colleagues are capable of, so be careful the next time you need their help. It’s sad but this is banking, and this will only get worse as we see fewer promotions and more lay offs.
That group sounds like a terrible snake pit. Make sure you press Windows + L every time you go to the rest room.
Don’t know why people address OP as bro/man when they have no clue who it is lol. Anyway, if it makes you feel better, I’m pretty much in the same situation. Can’t necessarily say I’ve been crushed by work but the people I have to work with make the job much more draining than should be. No sense of camaraderie among the juniors whatsoever. Just gotta ride it out until something better is lined up. Keep your head up!
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