Overcoming the Learning Curve without being Annoying
I recently found a LMM investing seat after 2 years at a BB /EB coverage group as a mid to lower mid bucket analyst The group I was previously in was also a completely different sector than what my new team covers (example: industrial -> tmt)
Maybe some of you had been in a similar situation and can relate. I’d like to know: 1) What was the learning curve like for you / how long did it take for you to fully get up to speed on the sector and getting how stuff fully works? For me I like to understand the “why” behind everything, instead of just the “what”
2) Did you have somebody to help guide you through concepts that were difficult to understand if self-learning wasn’t fully effective?
I want to learn efficiently without appearing annoying or incompetent when stuff isn’t clear, although I understand I’ll still be annoying regardless. Any general advice on how you guys successfully overcame your learning curve?
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Slightly different experience, but I'll take a shot.
Start reading everything you can on the new industry - publications, blogs, announced transactions, literally anything you can find. Everytime you have a question, write it out, then start googling till you have an answer. Write this answer down as well, and keep this with you. Continue to do this.
See if you can find a "mentor" either in your firm or outside of it. Use this person to confirm your understanding of your answers. You look so much better saying (at the appropriate time) "I know we're looking at this thing, I've been doing some research and I think the answer is this, do you agree? If not, why is that wrong?" Vs. "I'm new, I don't know where to start, please take time out of your busy day to babysit me."
If you cannot find someone in your firm, start networking. You're a BSD titan of industry on the buyside, reach out to sell side people and pick their brain. My guess is that they'll trip over themselves to help you in the hopes that one day you'll throw them some fees.
In summary:
1) do the work yourself
2) find a mentor
3) get creative
Congrats on the new gig - time to forget about where you were bucketed previously and work to succeed in the future.
Great advice, thank you!
I am in Trading and not IB, but I think the advice is universal. To me it’s always been about the value proposition. If I want to take time out of someone’s day, I make sure to bring something to the table for them as well. This could be as small as a compliment, “Hey man I heard you’re the absolute guy when it comes to this topic…” or offering to buy them lunch.
Even more effective is to offer some services in return. Think about how you could fill a need for them, doesn’t have to be huge. “Hey I heard you are working on X, I happen to have some experience in Y (tangential topic), maybe I could be of use to you…”
I’ve found people are happy to talk about whatever they are working on/an expert in so long as they don’t feel like it’s a one sided exchange and they are building you up at detriment to their own time.
A1 advice - will definitely keep this in mind moving forwards.
The advice above is very useful.
Additionally, any questions you are reluctant to ask your team or manager, ask on here for others to help answer. To my knowledge, WSO was created to help people discuss and learn about conceptual, technical and job-related topics, and to share and receive insights on recruiting.
I wish I had discovered this site as a college student and in my earlier analyst years, as it would have taught me so much valuable knowledge early on. You can learn a lot by searching the historical posts as well. However, this site has become more of a venting platform for people to complain about their emotional issues and criticize their VPs and Associates for being harsh or incompetent. These topics have some relevance, but they should be separated into new forums for mental health and culture/team dynamics imo.
The quality of the content on this forum has declined significantly compared to several years ago, but I still find some helpful guidance here and on other forums.
Yes, there should be separate forums for mental health + team dynamics issues. Not really meant for the off topic forum either. Mental and emotional health at work is important, those should their own topics
The IB + PE forums should just be more focused on IB + PE
Great advice above, any other insights?
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