Preparing for FT IB role

Have about 3 weeks before my start date for an IB role as a first year analyst , I’m switching from a completely different industry (fintech, payments) and will not have analyst training because I’m not coming in with an entire class. My team told me to do some prep beforehand but no specific examples.

For those that started out of undergrad , is there anything you guys would have done differently knowing what you know now to better prepare for the ramp up or make your life more efficient so you can finish up work earlier

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If you were starting out of undergrad I would tell you to take a sick vacation with the boys and enjoy your freedom while it lasts-- same advice I give any incoming analyst and should be the answer to every hardo college kid on this forum asking about how they can best prepare during their senior year. However in your situation sounds like this is a valid concern. You might assume you should read up on valuation, modeling etc. and a basic understanding of all of that going in would be good but I think the most valuable (and underrated) thing you could do is learn as much as you can about your specific industry. If you are in a coverage group I think this will be the most useful thing to get you started since you'll understand what people are talking about from the get go and so much of your time will be spent making qualitative slides/comps. More technical knowledge will have to be learned and perfected on the job anyway imo

 

Yeah thanks for the advice, I’m going into ib completely blind and haven’t built out a model or became comfortable with ppt. Are there any resources that best prep for what the actual job is like?

 

To be fair most first year analysts aren't good at excel or ppt on day one and most of what I remember from analyst training is exploring nyc and going out virtually every night, so I think you will be less behind than you expect. Since you will be following a template or precedent for all complex models and just creating adhoc calculations/pro-formas for the specific deal, I think just being comfortable/efficient in excel with important formulas and shortcuts is the most important thing. I really don't know how best to practice Microsoft office beyond maybe following along with some YouTube tutorials-- the best way to learn this stuff is just doing it a million times and naturally learning how to do things more efficiently when you get sick of dragging logos and clicking cell borders manually.

From a technical perspective, since I mentioned a lot of models/formulas will be prebuilt, I think people undervalue the importance of solid accounting knowledge-- its crucial to easily and accurately find or calculate the inputs you need from existing financials you are studying. Get comfortable reading a 10-Q and understanding key drivers of performance for your industry. Hope this is helpful!

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

Not necessarily a hb - something along the lines of jefferies / Wells Fargo , rbc. I just networked a shit ton- I would focus on MDs because they have enough political capital to get people in ge door even from non traditional backgrounds

 

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