Your answer to MD asking "what do you really want?"

Curios on how you would respond to the "what is it that you really want" question if an MD ever asked you this, especially as a junior?

I would love to be honest, but I think the stakes are high here - it really depends on who you are talking to.

As an example, a friend went for a meal with his MD in his first or second month on the job, who asked him what he really wanted (in the sense of what he is pursuing and why he is where he is) and my friend actually said money, which turned out to be the right answer for this MD (the only one he wanted to hear).

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Really depends on what you want and your relationship with the MD is.

If you want to leave for PE and you only really care about that extra $10k on bonus, might not be a good thing to say. 

If you are considering staying and are well-liked, it's fine to say you want x - staffings on a certain type of project, higher-level work, even money if you're careful about how you say it.

I find that MDs with the awareness to ask this type of thing are usually pretty decent people who care about juniors, so I wouldn't get too caught up in high stakes. As long as your answer isn't offensive I think it's an invitation to have a broader career / motivations discussion.

 

Not sure how this will sound, but the main reason I joined this industry was to have the opportunity to see how the real world works and how important decisions that influence society at large are made (might not get to really see it now, but it is a possibility down the road).

I genuinely never came here for the money/prestige/exit opps, at least not my main reasons, just genuinely interested in being part of something that matters at a high level. Never could experience it, nor did anyone close to me (90% of friends before finance and family are blue-collar workers).

 

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