Don't think its Lincoln as Lincoln's incoming FT analysts don't hit the desk until October. Also Lincoln hasn't done any layoffs to the best of my knowledge. Think the firm is actually trying to grow and gain market share rn by increasing hiring.
I will probably never truly understand the plight of Investment Bankers but numbers like 110 are hellish. Is the money right now really good enough to justify that? If not then I'd say bail. A sinking ship that is desperately trying to keep the same volume despite losing heads is definitely not a sustainable business.
no the money can’t justify it what so ever (especially since bonuses are way down), I am just thinking long term (family, kids, etc.) and I don’t want to make a rash decision that will derail my career entirely. Every time I think about just bailing, I just call my self a bitch for not being able to suck it up for 2 years and snap out of it.
Did you read the whole post? Do this only if you want to make that 25% laid off into a 26%. We all know what is happening here under the hood. OP may be only be kept because he is cheaper than those let go, or because he was at just the right spot. Like everyone else says, float your resume. Fuck your bank but don't fuck yourself by sticking your head up.
You should talk with your staffer / an associate or VP on your team that you've built a decent relationship with. Don't complain, but work on finding areas that are taking too much of your time and possibly get taken off a non-live project.
It's a weird time and everyone is getting crushed. No one wants to lose even more people to burn out
Let's see the numbers. Say that OP does this and talks with his staffer and by praying to the saints of investment banking by a miracle of God this VP or associate doesn't give him a look of disgust and the old talk of "Do you know how fucking lucky you are to have this job during this pandemic? Do you know how many people just like you are now unemployed and desperate but you have this incredibly high paying job and you STILL complain".
What is reasonable? Let's say that, again, by a miracle of God, OP gets his hours reduced by 10% (really far-fetched). At >110 hours, a 10% reduction will still be about 100 hour weeks. Is this really the improvement we are looking for? Is the money not good enough for 110 hours but is good enough for 100 hours?
That’s why you have this talk with someone you’ve built a relationship with. Clearly you’ve never gone thru those hours or had someone below you pulling those hours.
Any VP or staffer who takes that attitude when OP is working 110 weeks and it’s borderline killing him is an arse and not somebody that OP should be working for, regardless of the money.
A reduction of 10 hours from 110 is a huge improvement and possibly life saving. 2 extra hours sleep on the weekdays? That’s possibly the difference between OP’s health deteriorating at a rapid rate, and OP managing to keep on.
You’re telling OP to grin and bear what is borderline torture. Workers in literal Eastern sweatshop factories get more sleep than this. Just because OP is being paid a good sum of money, that makes it ok? Nah, fuck that OP, go do something about it. Sure, be prepared to face the consequences but it’s clear you can’t continue like this for much longer.
do what you need to do, suck up as much experience as you can, and leave when you’re ready. don’t kill yourself in the process. just do the minimum you can to preserve your mental health without looking like a terrible analyst. as long as you don’t get fired or laid off, you’ll be able to lateral eventually
Want to say this is certainly a personal problem, but some outside input would be great.
I have been on the desk FT for about 3 months now. Working at a LMM bank that is largely a volume shop (note I interned here last summer). Basically since I have started FT, it has been a sh*t show. About 25% of the workforce has been laid off and we aren’t straying away from volume work. Even for the past 3 months the hours are proving not to be sustainable, posting 110+ weekly resulting in severe weight loss and basically depression from being locked in my apartment with no association of the outside world.
I want to ultimately stay in finance and hit on cycle private equity recruiting, but I am not sure I can stand up to the current expectations without severally damaging my physical/mental state more than it already has been.
Should I just send it and bail and try to restart somewhere else, or try and push through here. If anyone is in a similar boat, some motivation would be awesome....becuase I am basically at rock bottom (proven by the fact I am turning here for life decisions).
Any other analysts in your class? Could ask them how they’re handling it and everything.
yup there are eight of us and everyone is struggling to stay afloat, same applies to the 2nd year analysts who didn’t get axed. Just an absolute mess of a situation.
An MD I worked for would tell you to grow a pair and then head over to his higher up and drop your name for the list of next layoffs. Not everyone is rational or logical to the think the way this discussion is. My personal advice is to be diplomatic about the way you approach it. Being that you are new they clearly know you are new to this lifestyle so I’d approach the staffer in a personal matter and say something along the lines of “hey so what do you find affective for you during these unprecedented times working from home with these hours?” Just make up something where it sounds you are asking for advice but at the same time pointing out the obvious regarding being stuck at home and doing insane hours. Everyone is losing their marbles so make it about the pandemic and not the work load. Even that MD I mentioned probably hates being home with his wife up his ass all day. My second piece of advice is to give yourself a goal aka i want to have 1 year so I can bail from here. This will give you a light at the end of the tunnel rather than stuck thinking about the tunnel itself all week and will calm you down hopefully. Thirdly start pumping out resumes left and right. People worry about looking bad for bailing early but if a bank interviews you and hired you then that logic is out the window as long as you don’t bail from there too soon as well obviously.
Lastly if non of these work I’d “kill” off a family member every other month and take some days to “mourn”.
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Is this Lincoln?
Don't think its Lincoln as Lincoln's incoming FT analysts don't hit the desk until October. Also Lincoln hasn't done any layoffs to the best of my knowledge. Think the firm is actually trying to grow and gain market share rn by increasing hiring.
Also isn’t something that would be disclosed regardless
isn't Lincoln most known for their really chill culture? would sound contrary to everything I've heard
Only The Rock can send you to the bottom
I will probably never truly understand the plight of Investment Bankers but numbers like 110 are hellish. Is the money right now really good enough to justify that? If not then I'd say bail. A sinking ship that is desperately trying to keep the same volume despite losing heads is definitely not a sustainable business.
no the money can’t justify it what so ever (especially since bonuses are way down), I am just thinking long term (family, kids, etc.) and I don’t want to make a rash decision that will derail my career entirely. Every time I think about just bailing, I just call my self a bitch for not being able to suck it up for 2 years and snap out of it.
110 hours are something else (even the sweaty shops don’t get close to that). Problem is with career).
Tell your staffer
Did you read the whole post? Do this only if you want to make that 25% laid off into a 26%. We all know what is happening here under the hood. OP may be only be kept because he is cheaper than those let go, or because he was at just the right spot. Like everyone else says, float your resume. Fuck your bank but don't fuck yourself by sticking your head up.
Don't listen to this guy.
You should talk with your staffer / an associate or VP on your team that you've built a decent relationship with. Don't complain, but work on finding areas that are taking too much of your time and possibly get taken off a non-live project.
It's a weird time and everyone is getting crushed. No one wants to lose even more people to burn out
Let's see the numbers. Say that OP does this and talks with his staffer and by praying to the saints of investment banking by a miracle of God this VP or associate doesn't give him a look of disgust and the old talk of "Do you know how fucking lucky you are to have this job during this pandemic? Do you know how many people just like you are now unemployed and desperate but you have this incredibly high paying job and you STILL complain".
What is reasonable? Let's say that, again, by a miracle of God, OP gets his hours reduced by 10% (really far-fetched). At >110 hours, a 10% reduction will still be about 100 hour weeks. Is this really the improvement we are looking for? Is the money not good enough for 110 hours but is good enough for 100 hours?
That’s why you have this talk with someone you’ve built a relationship with. Clearly you’ve never gone thru those hours or had someone below you pulling those hours.
A 10% improvement is still an improvement.
Any VP or staffer who takes that attitude when OP is working 110 weeks and it’s borderline killing him is an arse and not somebody that OP should be working for, regardless of the money.
A reduction of 10 hours from 110 is a huge improvement and possibly life saving. 2 extra hours sleep on the weekdays? That’s possibly the difference between OP’s health deteriorating at a rapid rate, and OP managing to keep on.
You’re telling OP to grin and bear what is borderline torture. Workers in literal Eastern sweatshop factories get more sleep than this. Just because OP is being paid a good sum of money, that makes it ok? Nah, fuck that OP, go do something about it. Sure, be prepared to face the consequences but it’s clear you can’t continue like this for much longer.
do what you need to do, suck up as much experience as you can, and leave when you’re ready. don’t kill yourself in the process. just do the minimum you can to preserve your mental health without looking like a terrible analyst. as long as you don’t get fired or laid off, you’ll be able to lateral eventually
Any other analysts in your class? Could ask them how they’re handling it and everything.
What you described sounds so fucked.
yup there are eight of us and everyone is struggling to stay afloat, same applies to the 2nd year analysts who didn’t get axed. Just an absolute mess of a situation.
No amount of money is worth your health bro
An MD I worked for would tell you to grow a pair and then head over to his higher up and drop your name for the list of next layoffs. Not everyone is rational or logical to the think the way this discussion is. My personal advice is to be diplomatic about the way you approach it. Being that you are new they clearly know you are new to this lifestyle so I’d approach the staffer in a personal matter and say something along the lines of “hey so what do you find affective for you during these unprecedented times working from home with these hours?” Just make up something where it sounds you are asking for advice but at the same time pointing out the obvious regarding being stuck at home and doing insane hours. Everyone is losing their marbles so make it about the pandemic and not the work load. Even that MD I mentioned probably hates being home with his wife up his ass all day. My second piece of advice is to give yourself a goal aka i want to have 1 year so I can bail from here. This will give you a light at the end of the tunnel rather than stuck thinking about the tunnel itself all week and will calm you down hopefully. Thirdly start pumping out resumes left and right. People worry about looking bad for bailing early but if a bank interviews you and hired you then that logic is out the window as long as you don’t bail from there too soon as well obviously.
Lastly if non of these work I’d “kill” off a family member every other month and take some days to “mourn”.
Voluptatum voluptatem blanditiis dignissimos nostrum voluptas delectus. Corrupti quod reprehenderit labore ad temporibus consectetur laborum. Sequi amet aut magni soluta. Rerum et consequatur veniam adipisci ipsum sit incidunt. In molestiae aut et excepturi aut nemo.
Voluptatem omnis sint id et aut. Illo dolorem praesentium quisquam vitae sint. Aspernatur incidunt corrupti qui qui vitae animi praesentium.
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