Bad Luck Justin

Having a bad day? How about losing two jobs within a span of a week because of a joke. Next time, consider what you are writing in your next e-mail...

From Gawker:

Barclays Banker Loses Two Jobs After Leak of Insane Intern Email

The Barclays interns who received an absurd email about their upcoming summer at the investment bank may still have to provide their neckties for use as napkins, but it won’t come at the behest of the email’s sender, Justin Kwan, who, according to a source, lost two jobs this week after his missive leaked to the Wall Street Journal.

Kwan, who was a second-year analyst in Barclays’ Global Power & Utilities group, was let go by the bank on Friday, our source says. It was not exactly an unexpected move by Barclays—the New York Daily News reported late Thursday night that the bank was very likely to fire the man who had brought it a bit of bad publicity. (Barclays, which previously refused to remark on Kwan’s employment, did not respond to a request for comment.) This comes at a time in which Wall Street is wrestling with how to allow its minions to experience even a sliver of life outside of banking while still making unseemly sums of money for their employers.

Kwan, though, according to our source, was set to leave Barclays at some point this summer anyway for a job at the prestigious asset management firm The Carlyle Group. But after the email fiasco, The Carlyle Group preemptively fired him, leaving him out two gigs. (Through a spokesperson, The Carlyle Group declined comment.) Because he was fired from Barclays, our source tells us, Kwan also will not get the bonus that he was scheduled to receive upon leaving the bank.


http://gawker.com/source-barclays-banker-loses-two-jobs-after-leak-of-i…
 
7. I recommend bringing a pillow to the office. It makes sleeping under your desk a lot more comfortable, in the very likely scenario that you have to do that

I hope you took yours from the office. It makes sleeping under a bridge a lot more comfortable.

 

I like Dealbreaker's take on it -- great headline: Barclays Junior Banker Who Tried Hand At Comedy In Email To Interns Not A Barclays Junior Banker Anymore

http://dealbreaker.com/2015/06/barclays-junior-banker-who-tried-hand-at…

Having worked at 2 groups within Barclays in my career, I would say that the email's author wasn't really understanding the term "risk management" when he sent it out.
Also, it wasn't very funny, after all that.

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 

It's possible some uptight intern forwarded it to HR but I think what probably happened is some intern found it amusing and forwarded it to friends/other interns, and soon it snowballed and got the attn of the press somehow and then at that point HR and higher ups got involved.

 

This has nothing to do with political correctness. There was nothing particularly offensive or objectionable - it just comes across as immature through the lens of grown adults.

He is a 20-something guy, mistakenly believing that he lives in a world controlled by other 20-something guys.

His middle-aged MDs and the clients they service (who are also grown adults, not kids just a few years out of college) will see this as childish and sophomoric. It makes the decision-makers (not fratty analyst kids) look bad in public when this email is associated with them.

The irony of his email is that he didn't realize he was the boy amongst the men.

Alex Chu www.mbaapply.com
 
MBAApply:

This has nothing to do with political correctness. There was nothing particularly offensive or objectionable - it just comes across as immature through the lens of grown adults.

He is a 20-something guy, mistakenly believing that he lives in a world controlled by other 20-something guys.

His middle-aged MDs and the clients they service (who are also grown adults, not kids just a few years out of college) will see this as childish and sophomoric. It makes the decision-makers (not fratty analyst kids) look bad in public when this email is associated with them.

The irony of his email is that he didn't realize he was the boy amongst the men.

This. Also, the story was quickly picked up by every popular news site adding to the fire. Analysts/Associates don't run the show either.

 

It was a stupid email, but this was pretty unjustified. Particularly the Carlyle let-go. Are you serious? When the fuck did people in finance become so stiff about this stuff?

 

What did he possibly think would be the upside of sending out this letter? Couple of laughs from his buddies? Some respect from the Analyst crew? whatever it might be, it vastly palea in comparison to the downside, which I assume he is realizing now.

I mean, the letter was kind of funny and rather harmless, but why even blast it out?

In the world of finance where hundred's of blameless employee's constantly face the axe- it is hard to feel bad for a kid who needlessly hung himself.

"Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."
 

So what you're saying is no one should ever make any jokes ever again because the downside is you get fired?

How did he hang himself? He (and pretty much everyone else that's posted on this board along with all the guys in my analyst class that I've talked to about this) never would have imagined that some inoffensive joke would get someone fired.

 

Also there's this comment from the DB post: "Friend there said he's in the office today - Gawker's "sources" are wrong"

So I guess the question now is who is more credible: Gawker or the DB comment section? I'm calling it a wash.

 
BreakingintoIBD:

His Linkedin still lists him as a Barclays man

To be fair, if he got very publicly fired from two jobs at the same time, he'd probably be in bed with a week-old beard watching Netflix while surrounded by empty liquor bottles - not necessarily updating his LinkedIn

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 
cik11:

Justin did not get fired. He was in the office today.

Pics or it didn't happen (and i expect the pic to be of him mopping someone's brow with his tie).
"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 
Prinztone:

I can also confirm via one of his colleagues that he is still coming to the office. I find it sad that Gawker would prematurely jump to a conclusion like that.

Gawker being a credible source on anything? Riiiiiiight.

 

A lot of you are missing the point. There is absolutely nothing with thinking or saying any of those things (other than some of them weren't very funny). However, sending it in an email is colossally stupid. This isn't the first time Carlyle has acted harshly when some asshat decides to send a stupid email. Does no one remember Peter Chung?

http://gawker.com/208214/douchebag-hall-of-fame-chung-is-king-chung-is-…

 

this was a joke and in a normal world it would have been taken as such. however, the consequences were entirely foreseeable, so this is 100% his fault for not anticipating. what sucks is just how thin skinned people have become nowadays. Barclay's and other banks needs to take fucking chill pills, or change their analyst models. there is a reason why IB is notoriously tough to get through and this is an environment those same people who fired him were brought up in and condone by their non action. he got fired because he got caught - otherwise he would be cracking jokes about it with his MD. either stand behind your work culture, or change it. it's inhuman to be a jackass and punish people who try to let off some steam as a release for not jumping off buildings due to stress. he was just a tiny prick in a world of big swinging dicks.

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

I was an IB Analyst (class of 2007) and if anything, I think it was sent by a dedicated, zealous and kind 2yr Analyst who himself went through the Summer Program and received a FT offer.

The "tone" of the email is definitely condescending but IMO the guy seems to be genuinely interested in preparing Summer Analysts to perform and be ready for the "grunt". Personally, I would have welcomed this type of email back then (Instead of discovering all of the "IB Code of Conduct") while on the job.

I guess times have changed (especially at Barclays and other BB) and if I were a 2nd yr analyst again, I would rather have a group meeting and say all this verbally rather than sending this via my pro email.

 

Getting fired by Barclays says a lot about their "sense of humour" - it could an overreaction on their part

You're walking around blind without a cane, pal. A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place. Gordon Gekko
 

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