I am a first year analyst at a top BB and just found out my bonus / rank earlier this week and I am extremely disappointed. I am bottom bucket and have one of the lowest bonuses in my class.
I have never felt like such a failure. Am I completely screwed? What do I do now? Will I ever get another job? I am also scared with all the recent layoffs on wall street, that if they were to layoff analysts, I would get laid off...
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No time like the present. That's why they call it "present." Every moment is a gift -- don't fucking squander it.
At least you were bottom in a bad bonus year so you didn't miss out on much comp wise. I worked with a guy who went from bottom in year one to top in year two. It's tough to do, but possible with hard work and most importantly a great attitude. Back when I was an analyst, they were basically telling you to quit if you got bottom bucket (out of 5). He basically turned it completely around starting in his first week post bonus. I'm not sure how different it is now, but it seems like most banks now have just 3 buckets so it's not quite as bad. Take a look at the higher ranked analysts in your group and try to do better on every front.
Mind sharing some feedback? Interested to know what some factors were that led you to be ranked bottom bucket.
Also, don't let this demotivate you. Try to use it as fuel to turn things around, like the guy TechBanking mentioned.
Tough break. Like TechBanking said, it wasn't long ago that a bottom bucket ranking came with a box. Now's the time to ask yourself if this is something you really want to be doing, because it isn't going to get easier. I'm not trying to neg you out; if you got hired you're clearly capable. You just have to decide if this is what you really want.
I went from a bad review to a top review the next year - take a close look at your review, then ask your associate for ways to improve, and take them seriously. If you PM me with some of the criticisms I'm happy to give a few tips on how to tackle each one. It's really important to understand the reasons for the bad review.
Trick is to show them you sincerely want to improve, then sincerely do it. Looking to the top analysts is good advice too but it won't matter if the higher ups don't notice specifically how you have improved.
We always liked to see turnarounds/surprises - e.g. damn, did you see how XYZ really turned up the heat this year? Total 180. Think of it this way, you've got a lot of room for positive delta and that can show really well. You are a first year and lots of people mature a lot after their first year of work. Your career is certainly not over. To best avoid getting laid off, just make sure you have at least one task you do that the team would not want to train another person to do - maybe you manage the industrials comp set, or you're really good at something else.
Also remember that being bottom bucket is not that bad - you are already in an elite tier. Someone has to be last in the class at Harvard. They still end up fine in life usually I guess.
Only in banking would someone getting a 5 figure bonus be deemed a "failure". Like Eddie said, be thankful you havn't got a security guard waiting at your desk, and do better next year.
You're still an Analyst at a top BB and will have good opportunities when you're done -- more than can be said for 99.9% of people on earth.
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