Trouble with HR - intern overdrinking
currently a SA at a top BB (GS/MS/JPM)...got in trouble for overdrinking at an HR event...work has been fine otherwise but was pulled aside by HR. They said just be careful in the future, spoke with some seniors in the group and they said it's fine but don't do it again obviously.
does this mean no return? obviously not a good look
how do i get my team to love me
Depends. How many pool balls can you fit in your mouth at one time?
LOL fck MS
When I was a SA there some dweeb reported me to HR for saying some stuff at an intern event. HR tried very hard to block my return offer. Thankfully this was towards the end of the summer and an MD who I worked closely with was also on my school's recruiting team and fought tooth and nail to get me the return
Why is HR even involved in recruiting, they have no idea how to build a team.
Really case by case here. Depends on how much the team likes you, and if you were good drunk and not causing a huge scene you should be fine as long as you are a good summer analyst. You can redeem yourself still.
yes it was a good drunk, everyone i've spoken with says it should be ok but still very scared...
It's funny to hear that people can go to hr or lose return offers for drinking a bit too much at a drinks event..
If it was a good drunk and people were having fun at the event then don't sweat it. Probably every other person in any modestly fun group has been in your shoes before. As long as you did not blackout or do anything stupid.
Work hard and have a good attitude, and do not mess up your deliverables. Next time, drink less.
Whether you think your response is logical or not you’re wrong. Getting too drunk at a company event is basically an automatic no return offer and most get fired immediately. It happens to multiple interns every single year (excepting the virtual internship years). It’s considered to be extremely unprofessional and such interns are seen as a liability.
I think you are a pussy. I want my interns to be able to get black out drunk one evening and be fresh and sharp the next morning for a client meeting. That's called being adaptable.
It depends….. some HR people can really block your way trust me especially if they envy you in any way (like wanting to go in IBD but being stuck in HR)
I hate to say this but realistically you’re done and you’re very fortunate to have not been fired on the spot. There’s always a few people who get too drunk every class and they plus the outright lazy/entitled people who do no work are the 20% (assuming the bank doesn’t intentionally overhire) that don’t get offers.
EDIT: This is for US
Stop bullshitting everyone on this thread. Haven't been on WSO in over a year, but things haven't changed in 15 years with some middle schooler always chiming in. Always some random idiot interjecting with some supposed knowledge. I've worked everywhere, PE, trading, PB you name it.
Yes if you were a blathering imbecile and groping some uptight associate you will unlikely be made a return offer. If you are drunk, a bit excited and annoying, it's OK. If you are GOOD they will take you, if you are shit, they'll use any excuse to get rid of you. My juniors get drunk, some annoyingly so, if they can give me some deliverable without mistakes I value this more than them getting a bit tipsy at an event.
Not a good idea to get drunk when you are trying to get a job or interning. Not a good idea to get drunk when you are far advanced in your career. But life happens and we all slip through. If you are good you will be valued. Reminds me of this great trader who came back to the trading floor at night and passed out drunk NAKED, he had to be let go the next day because HR, but was made an offer the following day at a competitor. Again, be good at your job.
Some assholes will judge you, so be mindful - blacking out, not the way to go. But shit happens, get on with your internship and work harder than you ever had and you will get the job. I never did cocaine in my life, only people I really saw indulge in the stuff when I was a junior were the HR ladies - great fun, and party mad. I only have respect for some HRs, they just have to say those things as they can't have every intern getting blasted.
Also clients... You are an intern, an analyst - you shut the fuck up and never talk to clients in IB, whether you are blind drunk or sober won't make a difference.
Need an end of summer update about this
Unless you were blatantly racist or said something very off color should be fine, no problem
The number one rule of any work-drinking event. Never be the drunkest, they always remember the drunkest, not the second drunkest. Yeah, it's not a great look but everyone makes this mistake generally at least once if not you are a boring person. So don't stress too much it happens. Generally advice I give to people in this scenario.
1) Blame it on a medical interaction or some bs that can be spinned off as one-time event
2) talk to people you trust and see if you pissed off anyone off drunk (if you did apologize and get gift or something to get back on the goodside)
3) End of the day if you do good work and make people's lives easier people will write off a one-off happy hour event (just don't make the same mistake twice)
Sorry but point #1 above is terrible advice. The worst thing you can do is come off as shoving BS on top of your drunken antics. It takes maturity to own an event and own your behavior. That will sit in people's minds much better and much easier than some stupid nonsense you come up with about prescriptions. "Yes, I was wrong to be overs-served, won't happen again, I apologize". That is the mature, professional way to handle it.
For clarification on 1:
Own it first but add spin control/context if you have leg to stand on. For example, working late hours, family issue, meds whatever. Think that makes it easier to write-off vs. standard happy hour gone wrong.
"I got overserved and my behavior was unacceptable, it won't happen again, I apologize. It was my first time drinking on new meds to get over some lingering covid effects and I miscalculated"
No. It's incredible that you got it wrong twice. You don't know how this works, do you? Ownership is about you, not about making excuses. You're simply wrong on this.
You need to stop giving advice to people. You can't take ownership AND give excuses. To the smarter people out there you will come off as a sociopath that always blames others. That's not ownership, that's just digging yourself deeper into the hole.
Without knowing the people involved, I don't think we can objectively say how this is going to turn out for you. People could view this anywhere from finding it mildly amusing to thinking it shows bad judgment that could result in not getting an offer. I just wouldn't dwell on it and focus on putting your best foot forward for the rest of your summer.
Now for a story along those lines. At my bank incoming IB analysts (that were starting the following summer) were invited to the Christmas party. One incoming analyst (we'll call IA) proceeds to get blackout drunk and starts making weird comments to other juniors. VP observes or hears about this and decides its time for IA to head home and strong arms IA into a cab. IA gets in one side of the cab, goes across the seat and exits out the other side and then proceeds to take off running down the street. VP, who is going above and beyond at this point, follows down the street to find IA passed out in the snow in an alley. At this point, VP is done and it is a safety issue, given how cold it is out. VP calls the police and IA is taken to the drunk tank. That could not have been a fun experience. Offer was pulled. If IA had just gone home in the cab, it would've been fine. It worked out okay for IA though, re-recruited at a boutique and is Director level there now.
Time for big 4 buddy. We are deloitted to have you analyst 2.
I and a few other interns were in a similar position where we blacked out at multiple company events, and it was fine after we addressed and owned up to the issue with the few people concerned. Didn't do harm or anything...just completely blitzed. That being said, my firm had some degens, so I'm sure my incidents were not nearly the worst things to happen. I say this to give you comfort that a lot of people in finance, at the end of the day, won't give too much of a shit if you're proven to be good at your job and you didn't cause any real harm.
It seems like you were given a leash ("don't do it again"), which to me implies they won't hold it against you unless you go ahead and do it again.
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