How do I develop work ethic for IB?
Hi guys,
just wanted to get something off my chest which has been plaguing for quite some years. Atm, I am still kicking my heels as a Big 4 shmuck, but I´ll go into a target grad school this fall and plan to break into IB then.
The thing is, I was always extremely work-averse - I literally physically feel pain when forced to work, no joke. Because of that, I struggled with school and got a very bad GPA (2.2). People like you have this sort of “I have to do this” feeling when seeing something that they can do, like, you see the task, realize it has to be done and accept the workload that goes with it, right? Well, I don´t have that. My senior gives me work to do, I just half-ass it since “it´s not necessary “. Or, I have to fill out some fucking government form for some trivial bullshit, I explode because they dare steal my precious lifetime.
That´s not good, I know that. I somehow winged the GMAT and got into a target school, but I know that the people there are like you guys, former athletes and such, disciplined guys who were always used to force themselves, who know how much work task xyz needs, etc. And I am scared out of my fucking mind, and it will only get worse. The shit my senior gives me now will be like Heaven compared to what is the normal daily routine in IB.
So please guys, help me out here. I still have a few more months before it will get ugly. What can I do to work on my work ethic? Raw steak? Upping my rookie numbers? Pls advise thx.
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I don’t think you realize what you’re getting yourself into.
Please know that deal structuring can sound like “sick shit” when you read the after-the-fact highlights, and some deals are quite unique, but the vast majority of your work will be uninteresting and frankly unimportant. You need a stronger “Why”. Not just for the interview, this is about you. IB is something that takes a lot of commitment and if you have any doubts about it you shouldn’t even waste your time, to be honest with you.
How do you become an airline pilot if you're afraid of flying? I'm not sure what you want to hear but like...there's would be tons of day to day tasks that seem pretty pointless that your seniors will make you do, which can last for very long periods of time. Either you have the drive or you don't. And why don't you just tell us what the PE deal is? It's not like hiding it will protect your anonymity
It was the Osram deal in July 2019 that broke apart in the end. The way they structured the HoldCos and readied the financing was something I had never seen before.
Hate to break it to you but you sound like the philosophy major who wants to do IB because he watched Wolf of wall street or imagines just wining and dining clients and getting paid millions. Only the execs do that and even then you have to guide the client through all the technical grunt details of a deal (even if the analysts/associates are the ones putting the documents together). I'm surprised you are even in B4. How did you survive tax season?
Well if you believe IB will develop you to be tough and hard working then what is the point of this thread?
"i was attracted to ib because it promised to make you into a tough mf, kinda like boot camp."
you sound like such a grade A+ weenie. you can just turn your brain off in basic and you'll be fine. it doesn't "make you into a tough mf" - it just teaches you how to walk in a line and twirl a gun around.
you lack grit and you're soft. tons of dudes come out of basic just as soft as they went in. fix yourself and don't expect to just "get tough" or "develop a work ethic" by virtue of being in IB.
you won't make it in IB if you working makes you "physically sick" and you are already halfassing like 75% of what IB entails anyways.
tl;dr - change your trajectory
If you have to ask...
Start pulling all nighters
Been there, done that.
Shocked you've survived in Big 4, let alone made it in. Your GPA/work ethic/attitude/target acceptance/job make me wonder if something else is going on. I don't think you got into a top school/firm by "being charming." You don't seem to have a genuine interest in IB, you're just hoping it will change you as a person. Bad reasoning.
I don't know.
Do the army before heading to your MBA
Maybe start by actually trying at your current job instead of half-assing everything. Being charming won't get you past a phone screen, never the less a superday for IB. Do you even have any good references at your work willing to put in a good word for you? Have you tried to get staffed on interesting projects that you can actually talk about in interviews? If you talk to anyone who's spent any amount of time in IB at the junior level (which I would assume you never have), they will tell you over 50% of what they do is "trivial bullshit" that isn't "necessary".
If you want to get into IB, clean up your attitude. You come of as a whiny bitch in your post, and no body wants to work with a whiny bitch who believes his time is too "precious" for the work they're assigned. So next time you go into work, stop complaining about what you're assigned and force yourself to complete it to the best of your ability.
Some additional info that would be nice to know: What tier grad school are you going into (list some comparable schools or rankings) and what type of program are you pursuing? I doubt someone like you got into a target MBA, but I'd love to be proven wrong so I know that I have a hell of a chance at one if I ever decide to apply.
I really hope this is a troll post that we all fell for, cause this has to be the worst "please help me get into IB" post this site has seen in a while.
Hey, so by now, everyone, including yourself has come to the consensus that you're not remotely interested in pursuing a career in IB. So I'll give you some unorthadox advice as to how to improve. I'm in a similar position as you, I tend to trail of my tasks and get derailed during my work, and I find that the following advice might help.
First, I would honestly advise taking a sabbatical. If you hate your current work, and you know your position in BSchool is guaranteed, then just start coughing in the office, and ask for a bit of time off. During this time, try to just do three things: wake up/sleep at the same time, eat meals at the same time, and work out three times a week. Everything else in between, do whatever the hell you want. If you're consistent with just those, you'll build up habits from the ground up.
Second, during your sabbatical, think of what you enjoyed in accounting, or why you decided to work at Big 4. If you liked some elements of it, you could try to find a career more suited to that. Essentially, if you dislike work, there's great opportunities in Corporate Strategy and Development that help with M&A of a single firm that offer better hours than IB. Essentially, at this point, you want to consider a theme or some place you may want to try. In BSchool, you'll have the chance to speak with people from different firms, maybe **see what they enjoy and why. **
Finally, if you've at least thought up a theme, perhaps consulting or corporate finance, then I would advise looking for a post-graduate rotational program that will give you the opportunity to try multiple positions.
tl;dr stop working, build habits, find out where to work next.
Great reads if you're interested in work ethics: 5:00 am Club, Atomic Habits, Make Your Bed
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