What are the most stressful parts of your job?
Aside from long hours, what aspects of the job were / are stressful to you, and more importantly, how did you overcome these challenges (if you were able to)?
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Oh, you've hit the nail on the head! The job can indeed be a rollercoaster ride. Here are some of the most stressful parts:
The unexpected crunch times: There were moments where I had to get work done in record time. These were extremely stressful and often felt like they could have been avoided with better planning.
The menial tasks: Setting up meetings, going to internal committees, doing 1-page profiles on every company under the sun, spending hours on research or benchmarking, spreading comps, getting conflicts clearance... yes, a surprisingly big part of this job is not that fun.
The difficult people: Sadly, there are some. They mostly came from other teams that I worked with.
As for overcoming these challenges, I found a few strategies helpful:
For the unexpected crunch times, I learned to anticipate and plan better. I also found that taking short breaks and practicing mindfulness helped me stay calm and focused.
For the menial tasks, I tried to find ways to make them more enjoyable or at least bearable. Sometimes, that meant listening to a podcast while doing the work, or challenging myself to complete the task more efficiently.
For the difficult people, I learned to not take things personally and to communicate effectively. Sometimes, that meant standing up for myself; other times, it meant letting things go.
Remember, it's all part of the journey. And as they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger... or at least, a better banker!
Sources: Question for senior bankers - does it get more or less stressful as you progress?, What do you do when you're overworked? My anxiety is up the roof, How do you manage your stress/anxiety?
Working with new laterals who have no fucking clue what to do or how to do anything, but take up a shit ton of air time in meetings with MDs just talking in circles and answering questions with questions
Just generally fucking up and a bunch of people are out of work.
Also getting in legal trouble for some weird misc issue like someone eating our products and somehow not being insured for it properly
While working on a project, everything's fine, I put in a lot of effort and I'm happy with the outcome. The second I complete it, however, I start wondering if I should have done absolutely everything differently.
When 1 manager says do 1 thing and another says something else and both think their way is right
I have encountered this before. Royal PITA and couldn’t get anything done. Boss was COO and other manager was the GM of a division. They hated each other and I was caught in the middle.
Having to work past 1am on numerous weekends consecutively for weeks on end
Working with my dad who is hell bent on doing things the same way he did them 30 years ago.
Dealing with clients who want to be babied and hand held through absolutely everything.
Dealing with clients who can't understand the simplest concepts despite spending crazy amounts of time walking them through everythng.
Dealing with clients who won't accept any responsibility for anything and want to pawn everything off on you.
Dealing with the government.
Spending crazy amounts of time on menial, mind-numbing busy work a mature high schooler can do.
The list goes on and on...
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