Hating job, don't know what to do
Six months into a commercial banking (not corporate, think $50mil or less) analyst grad role at a BB. In short: I hate it. The small, monotonous transactions. The sleepy, chat by the water cooler nature of the office. The fact that I feel I'm learning fuck all about finance (or any other real skill): the challenging aspects of the job all stem from a) remembering the minutiae of the credit policy, and b) checking that policy against the documentation supplied by the clients. I went in with the attitude that I was going to nail it and that would open doors for me in other areas of the company, but it really seems like it will only open doors for me within this part of it. My feedback's good, I'm doing the work fine, but I can already tell my attitude is hampering my productivity.
I honestly don't really know what to do. I went to a target, got a solid GPA, but I feel my internships let me down while I was recruiting (neither was at a brand name institution, nor in IB). I interviewed for the IBDs of two BBs, was apparently the "runner up" for one, as if that helps me. Also got an offer at a (tiny) boutique, but it would require a move to a smaller city and the deal flow looked pretty bad.
I've been doing company valuations in my spare time after work (using skills I learned in the BIWS modelling course); I guess I was dreaming that I'd show these to some contacts I have in the IBD and it would impress them so much they'd give me an opportunity, but I'm beginning to realize how naive that is. I'd take any other job (IB or otherwise) that paid a decent enough salary and taught me some real skills, I'm just determined to leave this role by the end of my first year.
Any advice? Any suggestions of either a) how to break in to IB or b) other businesses I should and could target?
I would brush up your resume and start reaching out to your career center and alumni contacts. You got to go back into the recruiting channel and pound the pavement while keeping your current role. It's a lot harder to get a new job lined up if you quit.
It's a bad sign that your team gives you an okay performance review and that your attitude is spilling into your work. I've been in your shoes before, and it's only downhill from there. This can't be a long term solution for you because they have already labeled you as not a promote-able employee.
Cheers for the advice, guess that's the way to go.
Maybe I didn't write that clear enough - all my feedback has been very good so far, I'm doing the work well, learning it all quickly enough, but I know that if I was actually invested in the work (as I've been invested in projects or internships in the past) I'd be going above and beyond that.
I'm starting to feel that the holy grail answer of problems on WSO is networking. Good luck
Yeah he should start talking to people.
Yeah, have a few connections at least. I'll keep trying to leverage them
PM me office & location, so that when you quit, I can quit my own job and fill in. Your old bosses will love you for being thoughtful enough to find a replacement.
Serious, do it. Life's to short to be boring and simple. You will earn accolades by having a replacement step in the moment you walk out.
Same advice as to everyone who's in a shitty business role fresh out of undergrad and looking to transition to IB. Your situation isn't unique in any way.
1) Continue recruiting for IB jobs (utilize network; ideal if a friend at a bank drops your resume) 2) Study for the GMAT in your spare time; crush it 3) Once you've got the GMAT out of the way, start taking the CFA exams (will give you a slight boost in getting an IB job, if nothing else because it shows you're willing to work hard to achieve your goals) 4) If you still haven't found an IB job 3-4 years out of undergrad, go to a top b school to reset your career and recruit for associate positions
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