Bad Bonus

I've recently learned that this year my entire company will be receiving a bonus that is probably 50% or less of what we were each expecting to receive. You may be saying 'oh no, poor you' but considering how much I sacrificed and how much my physical and mental health deteriorated, it's a little depressing. I'm left with the feeling 'i did all that for this? could have been a bartender on the weekends and worked a 9-5'.

Has this happened to you? what did you do? how did you feel?

33 Comments
 
Best Response

It's happened to me and it sucks, no doubt about that. Don't listen to anyone being critical as you signed up to do a job that requires a lot under the social contract that you would expect to be paid a certain amount. Particularly as a junior, you don't impact revenue so in a good year or a bad year your life is probably the same.

Depending on when you get your numbers it makes sense to try and take some time off afterward. Take some time to think about things and decompress rather than making an emotional decision. Firstly, think about what you want to do and how things are looking going forward. Do you like your group and do you and your firm have good prospects going forward? If you have political capital and this year is a one-off year it makes sense to compose yourself and get back at it as a down year as a second year analyst is a drop in the bucket when it's all said and done. Alternatively, if you don't think this company / role is for you, think about what your alternatives are and what the trade-off is with that.

Long story, short, try and maintain some mid to long term perspective despite being very disappointed in the near term.

 

Lol...I had no idea UBS sucked like that. Has it been like this for a while? in terms of bonuses.

You give me a gift? *BAM* Thank you note! You invite me somewhere? *POW* RSVP! You do me a favor? *WHAM* Favor returned! Do not test my politeness.
 

UBS = U B Screwed.

But in all seriousness... it's both comical and a bit unsettling to see how a once prominent investment bank just sucks so d*mn much now.

 

This is the same firm that told analyst: "Your bonus is still being employed" back in 2008.

Not sure what you guys expected.....I expect a mass exodus.....on biblical proportions.

 
UFOinsiderProbably a good place to apply if you couldn't get in anywhere else......

You and every kid at DeVry with a 2.1 are thinking the same thing right now

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

The kid living next to me in my suite right now in Italy is chillin' on a 3.9+ from Tufts, waitlisted from the Dec. superday at GS IBD and is chasing FIG at UBS really hard right now, I cannot try hard enough trying to convince him one is worth pursuing harder than the other.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
awm55in the long run they will be fine, but if the whole bank walks out again they will have problems...
Unlikely: a VP who was waiting his 'turn' and prospective employees [such as myself] jump all over the openings. Things will change there, but one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Projected time until interview +/- 6-9 months, less if there's a mutiny.

Get busy living
 

Seems like people are overreacting. Senior management is going to fight for higher bonuses. At the end of the day, I doubt payouts will be as bad as the article is suggesting.

 
00RSeems like people are overreacting. Senior management is going to fight for higher bonuses. At the end of the day, I doubt payouts will be as bad as the article is suggesting.

Maybe, but at the end of the day its still embarressing. Putting together a bonus pool that is only enough to pay half of the US MD's is a joke. How could they possibley think that would go over well?

UBS in the US still has a bad reputation (its still highly reputabale in EMEA and Asia), and if they want to attract and retain key talent in the places they need to they can't continue to have PR disasters like this.

 
barfIs UBS seriously that bad? I was about to sign for a Summer Associate internship there. Jesuth...

As far as I know the bank does have loads of talent and has the capital to do well in good market conditions, but they gave out alot of guarantees a year or two back and could not afford the people they took on.

 

UBS is a solid bank- great culture w/ great people. No I don't work there ( going to a "top BB"... whatever that means), but I honestly think it's a great bank. You all need to realize that once you enter the industry, people don't care about rankings or tiers or whatever. The only distinguishing divide created separates those who have jobs, and those who don't. That's it. Get some humility, work hard, and you can be successful coming from any bank.

 
xyz12345UBS is a solid bank- great culture w/ great people. No I don't work there ( going to a "top BB"... whatever that means), but I honestly think it's a great bank. You all need to realize that once you enter the industry, people don't care about rankings or tiers or whatever. The only distinguishing divide created separates those who have jobs, and those who don't. That's it. Get some humility, work hard, and you can be successful coming from any bank.

Nice talk, I like your whole 'humility' gig. Try saying what you just said when you worked 100 hours a week the entire year, only to get a $10,000 bonus. Yeah, thought so.

 
xyz12345UBS is a solid bank- great culture w/ great people. No I don't work there ( going to a "top BB"... whatever that means), but I honestly think it's a great bank. You all need to realize that once you enter the industry, people don't care about rankings or tiers or whatever. The only distinguishing divide created separates those who have jobs, and those who don't. That's it. Get some humility, work hard, and you can be successful coming from any bank.

This is absolutely true. There is very little elitism once you actually start working. Only college students are enamored with prestige. That being said, I know a ton of excellent people who work at UBS, and they cannot withhold pay and expect talent to remain. There probably won't be a mass exodus, but over time if the bank gets a reputation for not paying its rain makers, then talent will go elsewhere.

 
xyz12345UBS is a solid bank- great culture w/ great people. No I don't work there ( going to a "top BB"... whatever that means), but I honestly think it's a great bank. You all need to realize that once you enter the industry, people don't care about rankings or tiers or whatever. The only distinguishing divide created separates those who have jobs, and those who don't. That's it. Get some humility, work hard, and you can be successful coming from any bank.

Yeah I work there, all aboive is true, but as much as I appreciate all the culture and access to reports/analyses I would like to get a decent bonus too. The thing with this bank is they have top tier image, or at least they try to build it, but in terms of renumeration they're in the third league. Believe me, you would rather see some decent $ figures on your account than admiration 'cause you're the guy from ubs..

 

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I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.

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