Am I a terrible analyst?
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I feel like everyone makes mistakes and early on it'll happen. Just make sure to not keeping making small mistakes like that and learn from them. Also find time when you have a clear head to look over things and then do it again just to be sure.
Every time I see a post like this, I anticipate the response will be along the lines of "No - everyone makes mistakes early, just don't make the same mistake twice. Ask questions if you don't know, etc." but good Christ, you will be an awful analyst if you make an excuse for and justify every mistake you make.
Also, while it is an associate's job to check your work, it's your job to hand him an error-free deliverable. Deliverables that are being distributed internally for review should be done w/ the same level of care as though they were going directly to the client, under the assumption that the client won't cut you slack if you don't feel 100% or had to work on a tight timeline.
I don't think I was making any excuses. I've taken ownership and am setting aside more time to check my work because I realize mistakes like these are unacceptable. I'm trying to get input to help me better understand how to look at these mistakes and see if they're significant enough that I should have a conversation with my boss about them.
Those bullets read as (i) made a mistake but it was on a tight timeline, (ii) made a mistake, but the associated made a bigger mistake and didn't review my work well enough, (iii) disclosed too much info, but only on 1 out of 30 properties, (iv) asked a dumb question, but I wasn't feeling good.
That said, don't go to your boss to talk about your mistakes. All that serves to do is enforce the perception of you as a guy who makes a bunch of mistakes - odds are that if you stop making the same mistakes you won't garner that reputation. Some practical things to do would be to build in sense-checks to everything that you build in Excel, review your Excel outputs in PDF before sending to anyone, and read any written work that you send out multiple times in PDF (weird how much easier it is to catch errors in PDF than Ppt/Word) to check for spelling/grammar, make sure that every number ties to the accompanying Excel support, and conveys what it's supposed to at a high-level. Lastly and most importantly, don't rush. Always better to do something right than to do it fast - your associates & senior folks would much rather wait a few minutes to look at a well done deliverable than get something w/ obvious mistakes right away.
Everyone makes mistakes and they are learning opportunities. Even your boss makes mistakes. Don’t sweat it. Life happens. You are not a terrible analyst. Don’t worry at all. Think of how many mistakes occur that go unnoticed. It’s because it happens and it’s life. Also, for external deliverables, you don’t want mistakes, but again, they happen. On top of that, the firm that is receiving your work won’t care. They are going to quadruple check it anyway and than use all of their own stuff.
As long as you are drippy you´ll be alright.
Everyone makes dumb mistakes. If you are able to recognize and admit it’s a mistake that’s a solid step. I would recommend stepping away to get water or something for 20 min then coming back to double check your work… or wait in general to send something If you rushed thru it. I’ve caught many mistakes simply by taking a break and coming back fresh
If you’re going to the internet for validation around making stupid mistakes while new on a job you need therapy and some introspection. Find your self worth and get it together
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