How honest to be in end of year conversation with manager?

Work in fixed income research at a BB in NYC. Have my end of the year end conversation coming up with my manager and mostly likely their boss will be present to talk about my performance and bonus.   

There have been several memorable nights where my manager had me working until 3am to publish reports with them, including a few hours on weekends near earnings season. Keep in mind that our regular start time is 6:30am. After speaking with other analysts, apparently I'm the only junior analyst in my cohort who is put in these situations.

A bit frustrated because I'm no longer able to plan to do personal things on weekdays because I feel as if I'm always on call and too sleep deprived to go exercise or study for the CFA.

I'm not entirely sure if this will be explicitly factored into my bonus, so my question is if I should ask if those late nights are considered during my year end conversation with my manager and their boss?

I didn't sign up to do research to work IB advisory hours because I'd like to maintain some semblance of a life. The fundamental question is how do I make it known that I'm not satisfied with my current situation? Feel like my manager is set in their work habits, so not sure if it will do any good for me to bring it up, or if it'll ultimately cause problems. My manager puts on a "nice guy" appearance in order to ask me to do work late at night and into the morning, even though their ambition is beyond what can realistically and reasonably be achieved. I'm just tired and don't know how to handle this situation.

 

Still an intern so take my advise with a grain of salt. Taking on the other perspective, I'm curious to hear more about you being the only junior analyst who works late into the night. Could actually be a great sign, implying that your manager trusts you with the tough, more time sensitive work and that could reflect on you getting some sort of early promotion or top bucket bonus.

Just my opinion, but I'd bring it up in a way that signifies you're willing to take on more work if there is some sort of inclination to promote you quicker or give you more responsibility on purpose.

 
Most Helpful

Be political but also be forward with your work life balance issue. I would say something along the lines of "I wanted to get an understanding of staffing and how staffing decisions are made. According to my understanding after talks with other analysts, I might be taking on a heavier workload than they are, for example I've worked on xyz in addition to staying late to 3am multiple times as well as being on call for many weekends whereas other analysts on the team are not working those hours/or on weekend. I greatly enjoy the asset class and the amount that I'm learning, but I feel that I'm starting to become burnt out and I would not want that to affect the future quality of my work. Maybe I'm volunteering too much for work? I just wanted to have a healthy discussion about this."

I advise saying the above based on what you stated in your post. I am confident the day of the meeting you will have butterflies and will be quick to just say yes and not bring up any issues, especially if you're being complimented or are intimidated. DO NOT CAVE IN TO THIS FEELING. Have this conversation now, and be confident in your words. If you won't have this conversation, you'll continue being miserable and taken advantage of. 

The only Con of having this conversation is you'll learn if your manager really cares about your well-being, they may be political and try to make you feel guilty for complaining about working too hard. This realization is a great thing. Why do you want to sacrifice your life for someone like that? Someone that works at a BB in fixed income research can definitely find a new opportunity and be treated right. 

PM me if you need more advice. I work in one of the most political companies in the world and if you follow what I wrote you'll be covered politically, but you'll also broach the topic of being worked overly hard. 

 

Non eaque officiis voluptatem accusamus expedita. Quod eum quo voluptate et. Ea ad alias sint ut animi necessitatibus. Perspiciatis id dolor excepturi inventore perspiciatis. Esse ratione error molestiae tempore amet facere.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”