VP giving fake deadlines!!
Hey guys,
I'm a first-year analyst who hit the desk earlier this year and something I (accidentally) saw today completely surprised me and I don't know what to do. I'm working on a live deal and things have been pretty up and down in terms of sweatiness. Today, my VP pulled in the ASO and I working on the deal into a meeting today and laid out one of the deliverables. He said that this will require a big pull next week and he's sorry thanksgiving might suck but it really is the client and the debt team (who needs the deliv) by next Friday and it's a crucial deadline.
Later in the day, one of the SVP's from the debt team forwards our MD a thread w/ communication from the client that happened earlier today (which the VP was a part of), which the MD CC's me and the ASO on. Basically it was a really long thread detailing what the ask was and where to access the relevant docs needed. I scrolled all the way down and saw that the client had stated they were all OOO next week and will be looking to receive the deliverable "by the 2nd of Dec". Moreover, the debt SVP also communicated that his team will be providing working outputs to put in the deck the monday after thanksgiving (in an internal section of the thread). The MD on my team on this deal is well known to be a great guy and everyone who has worked here has nothing bad to say about him - which isn't true for everyone so I know this has some merit to it. So I know for a fact that he's not breathing down the VPs neck to fuck us over the holidays. I get that the VP might want us to have it done early so we can really iron out any errors or mistakes, but this just seems really absurd. I tried talking to my ASO about it, but he has an 8-month-old and has a "I-dont-really-give-a-fuck" attitude about the new analysts. He knows it won't be a tag team since I'll have to do all the time consuming menial shit and hate myself.
What should I do
This is completely normal. Next Friday is one week from December 2nd. Your seniors want some time to review and also to potentially have breathing room to iterate. They also will likely not send it out exactly on the 2nd, but a few days earlier. Suck it up.
Wow gen Z has gone soft
Hate to say it but this is totally normal. As a first year it's expected you will make a bunch of errors and require extra time.
If the meeting is December 2nd, next Friday would be a very normal timing to get a nearly-finished draft to an MD, especially if it involves other internal teams who will always have incremental comments or pages. More than likely, you can push hard M-W and your Thanksgiving will likely be fine, VP probably just setting expectations that you won't be chilling all week in case you thought you might be
I would redact your post - I get you're upset and venting but WSO is heavily used in the IB world and god forbid your VP finds this
I didn't say I had an issue with grinding on the ask. I just had an issue with the VP framing it heavily as the client and the team wanting it to stay buddy-buddy with us. If he wants to have 5 days to review something I've done over and over, is not technical enough that it requires multiple page-flips nor is something as important as a final pitch deck, sponsor-facing material, or imperative to the success of the deal then just be straight up
Yeah I'll give you that, he could have told you the actual meeting date. But there is still a deadline next Friday which is ultimately being driven by the client wanting it shortly after thanksgiving. Honestly bro, you've been on the desk for 2 months and he's been doing this for years. You had to know going into IB that you'd be working holidays and dealing with tough personalities
If it's not technical or "important" (seriously dude, too early for you to decide it's not important... every client meeting on a live deal is important) you should be able to get it done by Wednesday no problem
I would still delete your original post. seriously it is so easy for anyone in your group to identify you
Analysts who "have issues" with how the seniors plan the project is exactly the reason why seniors lie about deadlines. Nobody wants your input on how to please the client.
Delete this or we’ll be chatting Monday
This is completely normal, especially because 1) you're working with your product team as well so there's multiple workstreams to be managed and 2) you're a new analyst who he might not have had the chance to work with frequently yet and doesn't have a clear idea of your capabilities.
If the client deliverable is 2nd Dec, nobody is going to be comfortable letting you finish a first draft just one or two days beforehand, because there's definitely going to be multiple turns of comments on your work and for all the VP knows you could just end up producing rubbish that needs to be reworked entirely because you just joined the desk and aren't experienced yet. Basically, if the client wants something by day x, the MD is going to want something by day x-2, the VP is going to want something by day x-4, your associate is going to want something by day x-6, and so on. Until you have a track record of producing reliable quality work, the timeline is always going to remain like this. It's just how the bureaucracy works, and everyone will need some cushion time to be able to review. This isn't something unique to IB btw - most companies work like this.
Are most companies telling their junior staff to work thanksgiving and deliver a workstream the following Monday? The answer is no. I think this is more the issue OP cares about. I don’t think anyone’s complaining about a week in advance deadline in normal times, but someone telling you an internal draft is so crucial to take time away from your family for one day a year? Unless we’re closing the deal on Monday it’s almost never that urgent.
I also just think you’re generally wrong here too about the most companies comment. People forget that most jobs are 9-5s where your work day ends not when your work is done like in IB, but when the clock hits a certain time. 99% of companies don’t require weekend work / work more than 5 days a week. Yeah new employees always take more time to do tasks and and teams plan ahead of that. But in those jobs it’s more the workload dictating the timeline vs. in banking it’s timeline dictating the workload.
I don't disagree with your points, but OP is getting paid nearly $200k to make slides. It's very well known to prospects that you will sometimes work holidays, especially as a first year. My first year I was grinding dawn til the early AM the entire Thanksgiving weekend (Weds-Sat) and I worked all of Christmas too. It's just part of banking and it sucks sometimes.
This doesn't even sound like OP is getting killed on Thanksgiving either - more that he will work M-W as normal, and Friday until the deck goes out. From his telling, it's a quick deck and he has a week to do it. IMO he'd rightfully be upset if VP was chasing him on Thursday afternoon for an internal turn that'll go out to MDs Friday, but I just don't think that is what is going to happen
When I was a VP (and even now), when I had / have a long dated deliverable, I explained to the team exactly what my objectives were, exactly when I would have a window to review and in my judgment how many iterations it would take. I then asked the junior team to go back to me and revert with a specific and detailed workplan (assuming they had the experience to do so), which I would sign off on or modify as the case may be. I then made it go in writing to everyone in the deal team. That way, the work has the buy in and accountability of the people actually doing the work and they had a window into my thinking, rather than me simply dictating deliverables. I in turn used this to make MDs and clients feel like everything was totally under control so they wouldn’t f@ck with my life.
The team could also manage their time better. Recommend this approach for those managing downwards and upwards.
as to the dilemma at hand, it doesn’t feel like a false deadline but if try creating an alternate Workplan (and be serious about it) and getting buy in, Although it’s not clear whether you have the knowledge to do so.