Hi all,
I wanted to give back to the community so will share my story, my main advice and let people ask all the questions you want, if anyone is interested.
I started as an off-cycle intern in a regional bank in a European country (<Tier 3 bank if you look at it globally, maybe Tier 2 regionally) - my CV wasn’t great (too much partying at uni, almost didn’t go to class and that was reflected on my equivalent GPA, it was good, but definitely not 4/4) and I came from a family where no-one ever heard of banking, so I was pretty late at recruiting and didn’t do that great.
As an analyst 3, given my good performance, but more importantly, great relationship with a senior person, laterally moved to a Tier 1 firm at their regional level, there, I was fast tracked to associate.
After that, a fund I was advising, offered me a position as an associate at their PE team and was fast tracked to VP.
Recently, one of the top 3 funds in the world just offered me a position as a VP and I will be overseeing a region of the world on my own working directly with a Senior MD in charge of the fund at that “supra-region”.
I can’t stress how important networking is, but also, how being “a human” gives you an edge in this industry.
I think I am ok at what I do, but I have genuinely cared for my work colleagues, junior and senior, and that has reflected extremely well in my reviews and opportunities to get more responsibility, as well as how my interviews have been conducted.
I see too many robots and sycophants in this industry, the senior guys are too obvious, they don’t give a shit about anyone and you are just a tool to their ends, juniors are less obvious but throw their colleagues under the bus or backstab them. I tell you, those profiles might thrive and get away with these things, but I am also sure they will never have as many opportunities as people that are genuinely liked by coworkers.
Being smart is a given, working a lot is a given - at some point, even originating business is a given - a real edge is making people like you: coworkers will work harder for you or try to give you better opportunities to learn and shine, clients will try to go easy on you and give you more business, companies’ decision makers will prefer to partner with you or support you at boards - never forget we are all human beings and by definition we thrive in societal set ups, too many hard dos trying to play the lone wolf and failing, don’t be that person, you won’t enjoy it and will probably be disappointed by your results...
Very well said. Reputations carry, who tf wants to work for an asshole. You can still deliver results results without being a dick.
As you become more senior your results will depend on people that work with/for you than your own work.
I will always argue that you will want people to like you just for the sake of it, but regardless of that, from a selfish point of view, if people like you, they will want to work more and harder for you, and will prioritise your work over others, so it is still on your interest to treat others well
Thanks for sharing your story. What's your suggestion for how to stay in touch with acquaintances/ industry folks you meet along the way? I have read things like "sharing a career status update" every 6 months or so. But to me, this doesn't seem very genuine. For example, I may reach out to speak with a mentor of mine for some targeted advice (2 months or 18 months may have passed since I last spoke with that person - so I haven't stuck with a specific timeline per say).
There is a specific reddit making fun of “Linkedin Lunatics” that post useless stuff periodically so people notice them.
Business-related, my advice is to talk to people when you have a topic to discuss even if it is “general market review”, then just pick a more relaxed setting (i.e. over a coffee or a beer if you can) to discuss these, being on opposite sides if a board table vs. In a more personal setting changes a lot the tone - if i) the person that you are talking to is helpful or ii) you like them, you will find yourself wanting to reach out more frequently and the other way around.
I have seen people trying to develop an automated system, but it is just difficult to reach out periodically “just to tick a box” and not coming across as a sycophant.
Voluptas atque quis et accusantium facere repellendus. Voluptatem quis veniam ex illum ea tenetur. Odio cupiditate amet et distinctio.
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...