Corporate World: Those who live by claws die by claws - lessons for new interns

So why makes the corporate world so hard sometimes? I will explore this topic very briefly.

They say those who live by claws die by claws. This is true to a great extent, particularly in the financial services. Thats's one reason why there are no 60-something in the bulge bracket. You become too old, too old to fight. Even 50 is pushing it. Pretty much, you die young in the financial services.

You are constantly challenged by new joiners and and you fight for your place, for your survival.

To turn this table around, for a new joiner like interns, you have to prove yourself. You will be beaten constantly, but you should never be defeated. The old people will challenge you, bully you because that's how they survive. You are a cub who just started to walk on your own; everyone is against you and if you give them a chance, they will eat you alive and that's what they want.

Too aggressive, you will be let go. Too soft, you will be a doormat or let go all together (unless you want to clean after what everyone else does). It's like going to a try-out for a sports team. You want to make friends with current players and guys in your year, but if they stay and if they get a place in the team, you will never get the chance to play. In order for you to play, you have to beat them.

As an intern, you can't be challenging people around you from day 1 because no one would listen to you. You first make friends with some key people (bearing in mind that eventually you will have to take them down to do what you want to do), find people who listen to you, and gradually you make your mark. You won't have forever, you will have probably only a year to make your mark, by the end of the first year, your team and department have already made up their mind about who you are, what you are capable of, what use they have for you. After a few years, the pecking order is already made and once it's in place, it takes hell to get out of "your role" or "your place."

M&A in particular is about human relationship. Sales is always a dog-race. But you can't be too aggressive because this will isolate you (some jobs are suited to those people, no question about that), but you need your supporters to succeed, to make your voice heard. But you can't be too nice to them because eventually you have to face them and beat them.

Knowing one key individual is better than knowing 1000 nobodies. LinkedIN should assign a numerical value to all members and show the final score. For example, connecting to Bill Gates (not following) has to be better than knowing 10000 Joes and Marys.

What consumes your energy in the corporate world is precisely that. You have to manage and rate a relation or relations everyday. Is he worth my time, is she worth my time? Am I good enough for him? Am I in the same class as them? If you don't respect the existing social hierarchy, you will be a complete outcast. You have to play the game. And you make your move when you think the time is right.

New interns, don't make a mistake of thinking that you are in any way important. Yes you are probably important to your parents, but not at all to the real employees and the company they work for. You have to have the right attitude. You are not a pushover, but not too aggressive to be taught. It's a balancing act.