Storytime: When a co-worker did/said something nice to you

We've all been there. Those long nights and worn out mornings.

We've all been under the cosh - you've seen it, you've read about it here but what I feel like I don't hear too often are the stories where your co-workers or seniors (be it associates, VP, directors etc.) gave you a lift when you were down and out.

I want to use this thread to let people know that despite IB being a rough place to start your career, there are still nice people - forgiving and understanding. I'm sure some of us already know this so this could serve as a reminder and a small nostalgic trip down memory lane.

I'll start with mine.

I was a first year analyst, less than 6 months in the job I think, and was swamped with what I felt was a mountain of work (on hindsight much of it could probably be explained by my general inexperience and inability to cope, compartmentalize and progress on multiple work streams optimally). I had a couple of presentations for two different but equally demanding directors that were time sensitive. I had to work on a model for a company in a sector I barely understand. All this was on a Friday evening after a couple of testing weeks. Simply put, I was pretty demoralised.

Out of the blue, my desk neighbour, who's a couple of years my senior and who was working with me on one of the projects, turns to me and says, "Hey, don't sweat it man, we'll do it together this weekend. Grind it out and send it out." In that moment, I felt so relieved and glad I'm not alone in this. Those were simple words but the timing and the way he said it gave me a huge lift. Sometimes, a few reassuring words and the willingness to rough it out with your juniors will gain you some long-lasting goodwill - it sure did for me.