Tricks to work less in IB
Curious to hear efficient ways of doing things faster in banking or sneaky things you do in order to appear busy and avoid staffings. Pls discuss
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take an hour to reply non urgent emails so people think you're fucking busy
Applies to all fields:
From a business point of view, you are hired for your output. Why would companies want to keep people who adopt these tactics over people who try to get as much finished as possible?
intern, why do you think you're smarter than a senior consultant
Sad truth is that until you get to Associate you are 100% hired as a task monkey. If you just do tasks to (or beyond) the required level, then you start getting valued for your input but that takes a while.
Why would you give a shit what the company wants you bootlicking dweeb? “Think of the poor megacorp! Rich people out there are making a penny or two less because you aren’t maximizing efficiency!”
Pure house slave mentality
Because juniors will burnout within 12 months (about the right amount of time it takes for analysts/associates to get a handle on the job and become useful to the seniors above them) and then you're saddled with a brand new hire that you've got to retrain/hand-hold until they can work independently + you've got to dilligence the ever living fuck out of their math pages (or moreso than you would with an experienced analyst with no burnout problems and pose way lower bust risk on model output pages).
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Actually the calendar block thing is also a good way to keep to do lists when you’re swamped, since it appears on your inbox so you have it in front of your eyes all the time
The point on previous deliverables is spot on. Do not waste your time creating a perfect format on a new spreadsheet or powerpoint, use the previous deliverable and tailor it to the needs of the deck. However, in relation to the second point,I would take this with a pinch of salt. It is fantastic if you can send a deliverable hours before the deadline, but this is a Catch 22 as you will be 'rewarded' with more work. For example, if your deliverable is 8pm and you finish at 4pm, send it at around 7, that way you allow for further comments and it shows you work efficiently.
Helpful, thank you!
+SB at the hilarious irony. Senior consultant giving the recs then going to swoop in with an actionable "cost savings" plan :)
When it comes to IB there is no more important skill than proper time management, hone your time management skills. First thing I do everyday is lay out my tasks for the day and break down the bigger tasks into smaller manageable chunks to make them seem less daunting; granted your to-do list will probably change throughout the day but this way you are organized and can shuffle tasks as needed . Also, if you are stuck and spinning your wheels when creating slides for a CIM, pitch, etc. just move on and come back to it, 9 times out of 10 if you try to force inspiration you'll end up creating garbage and have to redo it anyway.
quit investment banking and become a Greek Orthodox Monk in Meteora
anything factset/bbg/market data related that you're even slightly unsure about, just f1f1 on bbg or use factset help, 99.999% of the time (esp for factset) if you ask them for formulas etc they'll just build them for you
+SB for the Factset bit. You can effectively use them to outsource data digs (that you can save down and use as templates in the future), and they'll turn it around/kick it back to you in a few hours.
Lol Do the same thing. I always get the same guys when I run help desk. They sure must hate me.
Following
Quit. Work immediately stops coming in
Be mediocre (I mastered this one by accident!)
Under promise, over deliver. Kind of the idea driving all of the above.
Reading these tips, it’s clear that I’ve been banking incorrectly. I always work on requests as soon as they come in and send out as soon as I’m done. I also do not spend enough time going through old decks to see what could be leveraged. Whoever said they’ll just keep piling it on is on point - it has gotten to the point where I don’t even have time to eat during the day and I’m still getting new staffings. Any tips on how to reset expectations now that I’ve fucked everything up?
Tell your staffer you’re jammed and that you’re burning out. Communication really is key.
Try and automate your tasks with multiple tools available. One example is TombstoneHub it automates the updating of TombStones and gives you formatted slides in minutes.
Does your firm pay for the subscription? Also, do you have any other external services that you use?
Yes your firm has to pay for the subscription. The cost is super reasonable. You can also checkout ProfilesHub.
Going to check this out, thanks!
I would say though it’s not only about working less.. but also about getting in the right deals at the right time.. getting the proper positioning in order to avoid bullshit coverage and focus on actionable opportunities in your target area - then you’ll be in a position to tell your staffer - I can’t take this pitch, already on those 3/4 deals that have near term deadlines
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