Solved quit
Hi - my friend just joined an
Trending Content - Off Topic Forum
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
June 30, 2026
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
High Finance Applications
Guaranteed
Get at least one offer GUARANTEED
- 1:1 support
- 92% success rate
- 2,000+ mentor network
- Unlimited Live bootcamps
- AI for resume + LinkedIn
- Networking automation tools
- HireVue simulation tool
- Full course library
- Private Slack community
- 20hrs of mocks
- + much more...
How is this possible? Surely your friend was aware of what he was getting himself into?
Is two weeks in a job really enough to judge whether your miserable? Can't be just the hours right?.. Especially if this is something he wanted to do. Must be something else going on.. Is he very sensitive to manager criticism etc..?
Happens when people are unable to deal with sudden stress, loss, failure, depression and so on. If a guy is willing to quit 2 weeks into the job then he only came in for the money and prestige rather than the field itself.
This.
He says they are making him do things he has never done at his previous job and when he asks questions it's frowned upon because they expect him to know how to do it. Seems like a bad situation.
He said when he told a manager he had a better way of doing something he was told this is how X does it so do it like this
hmm, I had a similar situation in my first job. Stuck it out for a few months & things got drastically better. This is not a good enough reason to quit so early.
Also, i second what @dingdong08 said.
Tell your friend to stick it out. Two weeks isn't enough time to judge anything. If he doesn't know how to do something tell him to figure it out. Unless it's something that's purely an internal process you can learn how to anything with this useful tool we call the internet.
And if his boss did tell him the correct way to do it (well that actually seems like them telling him how to do things...) he needs to do it that way. Maybe when he's been there longer he can bring up better ways to do things but since he's been there two weeks it's best to prove himself and then in a few months bring it up as a more efficient and better way to do things. Even if his way is better, it's best not to come in thinking he knows better than people who have been doing it for years and change processes that have been in place for perhaps decades. He also has no clue if they do it this way because later on it will fall into a larger work product. Or it could be a shit way of doing it but two weeks of working there isn't going to give him enough credibility to change things, especially if he's entry level.
And if he quits he'll make you look like shit. If someone you recommend doesn't work out after a year it's one thing but if someone quits after two weeks you'll look like an ass.
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"
(source: http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/1acupoftea.html)
I agree he should stick it out. But the environment is not good according to him. No one asks him to go to lunch, lot of useless tasks, work everyday (no Saturday rule), no training. Just nothing good. Says MDs stay until 9 or 10 every night and come in on weekends. Seems like a sweat shop.
I'm going to guess you're not at a bigger firm because there's no training (though I guess it's off cycle) but it's been two weeks. Two weeks. If there's no training figure it out yourself. You're an adult now. You shouldn't expect anything to be given to you, you need to figure it out yourself and just do. What do you expect now and what did you expect coming in? It's fucking investment banking, not pre-school. It's long hours and lots of what seem to be useless tasks that are repetitive with bosses who can often be harsh and be megalomaniac psychopaths at worst. Working weekends? God forbid. No ones inviting you to lunch? Again, it's been two weeks and that's actually a factor in quitting a job, in two weeks? The MD's working late? Again, it's fucking IB. People work long hours, even MD's. Maybe the groups in the middle of closing a deal so everyone's busting balls to get it done and don't have time to bring the new guy up to speed.
I'm going to say one more thing. It's been two weeks.
Lol these millennials. No one asked him to go to lunch together? I couldn't even eat lunch back in my banking stint.
Saturday rule? Lol I got staffed on Saturdays.
Dude sounds like a huge pussy.
second this. dude should not have gone into banking to begin with
I'm going to go off on a limb here and say he should just quit so they can replace him ASAP. Dude isn't gonna make it. Looks bad on you either way (quitting vs shitty work/him hating life).
You sure we're not talking about you? Definitely DO NOT quit. And dude, going to lunch? I am able to go out to lunch maybe once every few weeks and I've been doing this for 4+ years now. I won't even get started on you trying to change processes and provide feedback two weeks into the job. Also, there may be training at most BBs but 99.9% of what you do day to day is picked up and learned on deals, pitches and on the desk. And yes, MDs will stay until that time when it's busy -- this is investment banking - what did you expect? I want to think this is a bit of a joke.
No I'm not talking about myself. And I don't know what he expected honestly. The fact is he isn't doing what he expected to be doing and that's come as a bit of a shock to him.
Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too.
I may be overstating it, but leaving now vs. a year from now seems like the difference between something that could be a great résumé stamp vs. a red flag and/or something he'll need to omit or explain away.
Surely if you're at the same firm you can provide some colour here? "Seems like a sweatshop", again if you were at the same firm you must have heard this from your colleagues prior to your buddy starting? Is it a particularly busy time for the group or is this normal? Also, what did he expect? As said above, sounds like he only took the role for the money and the prestige. He really needs to grow a pair by the sound of it.
The sooner he quits the less of a redflag it will be. Future employers won't know what he was doing those 3 weeks on the job as it was during holidays, he can just write it off like it never happened. If he continues to stay he'll have to account for his time there along with the shitty experience he gained.
I'll take his spot!
Perspiciatis consequatur corrupti in adipisci consequuntur. Ex magni quia aut sequi at quisquam quos. Dolorem fugit aperiam sed non. Fugiat consectetur mollitia sapiente corrupti illo porro dolores.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Amet asperiores dignissimos sint ea et nihil. Voluptatibus dolor nemo necessitatibus. Et unde nihil ea ut occaecati dolor dolorem. Non enim ab qui non non delectus animi. Ut dolores similique deserunt cumque illum beatae et. Exercitationem voluptas explicabo quo dolorem fugit ea.
Delectus harum dolorem in vel consequatur. Voluptatem dolorum ullam necessitatibus vitae sapiente non. Non quia dolorem asperiores aut.
Culpa ea rerum numquam eveniet numquam. Facere sequi ex cupiditate quas quod. Sequi aut unde enim numquam sed. Distinctio id molestias libero est maiores. Cupiditate quae aut necessitatibus qui officiis nemo.