Investment banking: Interpersonal skills vs Intelligence and work ethic

If you had 250 "skill points" and were building the ideal banker in a video game, how would you distribute the points between

Interpersonal skills: ?? /100 Intelligence: ?? /100 Work ethic: ?? /100

I would make my banker...

Interpersonal: 90/100 Intelligence: 60/100 Work ethic: 100/100

A 100/100 intelligence is basically John Nash, Stephen Hawkings, etc.

21 Comments
 

Interpersonal: 10/100 Intelligence: 10/100 Work ethic: 230/100

OR

Interpersonal: 0/100 Intelligence: 250/100 Work ethic: 0/100

... because omnipotence gets shit done.

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 
The Phantom
Nouveau RichieInterpersonal: 10/100 Intelligence: 10/100 Work ethic: 230/100

OR

Interpersonal: 0/100 Intelligence: 250/100 Work ethic: 0/100

Have you ever worked/interned at a real ib?

Analyst Interpersonal: 25/100 Intelligence: 25/100 Work ethic: 200/100

Associate and up Interpersonal: 170/100 Intelligence: 60/100 Work ethic: 20/100

Hah... Well I don't think Wasserstein or Milliken (though he was a trader) would have 170 for "Interpersonal"... just a thought. Interpersonal is the most important but the other 2 are also crucial. For PWM, there's a heavier relative weight towards interpersonal skills.

 
Best Response
The Phantom
Nouveau RichieInterpersonal: 10/100 Intelligence: 10/100 Work ethic: 230/100

OR

Interpersonal: 0/100 Intelligence: 250/100 Work ethic: 0/100

Have you ever worked/interned at a real ib?

Analyst Interpersonal: 25/100 Intelligence: 25/100 Work ethic: 200/100

Associate and up Interpersonal: 170/100 Intelligence: 60/100 Work ethic: 20/100

Yes, I have. The second scoring is just a dumb joke about omnipotence/being a god (which you conveniently cut out of the quote) and the first scoring literally attempts to make the exact same point as your analyst scoring.

Given the fact that you're not saying anything wildly different than me, please explain to me where your little spot on the high horse is coming from. If anything, your profile suggests that YOU'RE still the prospective monkey, whereas mine is intentionally vague.

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

IP 50 I 50 WE 100

You can't be a rainmaker when youa re dumb. Neither can you be a rainmaker when you are not likeable. However before you reach that stage your work ethic is the single most important metric people will judge you on. It doesn't matter if you don't know anything, it can be teached but if you are not willing to work and make sacrifices you will never be successfull. Yes there are exceptions of women or sons of CEO's who don't have to work or those bitches who use their body to fuck with MDs to advance but most of us will need to show a relentless work ethic.

 

As a Private Equity guy who has hired bankers, I honestly don't care about the interpersonal skills of the analyst one bit. I'm generally not interested in talking to them as I have 100% of the data already and just want them there to process deliverables that I would otherwise be doing. Work Ethic aka the ability to crank is all I really care about in an analyst (or even associate for that matter).

For senior bankers, it is a little different. Personality matters a lot more, but it is still all about dedication to MY deal as well as intelligence. If I have to spend time explaining any issues that arise to the senior banker than I don't really care how personable he is.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 
CompBankerAs a Private Equity guy who has hired bankers, I honestly don't care about the interpersonal skills of the analyst one bit. I'm generally not interested in talking to them as I have 100% of the data already and just want them there to process deliverables that I would otherwise be doing. Work Ethic aka the ability to crank is all I really care about in an analyst (or even associate for that matter).

For senior bankers, it is a little different. Personality matters a lot more, but it is still all about dedication to MY deal as well as intelligence. If I have to spend time explaining any issues that arise to the senior banker than I don't really care how personable he is.

That is an interesting perspective CompBanker. So when PE firms are hiring Pre-MBA associates, they are just looking for number crunching and deliverable processing slaves?

 
TheBenevolent
CompBankerAs a Private Equity guy who has hired bankers, I honestly don't care about the interpersonal skills of the analyst one bit. I'm generally not interested in talking to them as I have 100% of the data already and just want them there to process deliverables that I would otherwise be doing. Work Ethic aka the ability to crank is all I really care about in an analyst (or even associate for that matter).

For senior bankers, it is a little different. Personality matters a lot more, but it is still all about dedication to MY deal as well as intelligence. If I have to spend time explaining any issues that arise to the senior banker than I don't really care how personable he is.

That is an interesting perspective CompBanker. So when PE firms are hiring Pre-MBA associates, they are just looking for number crunching and deliverable processing slaves?

My apologies, I just re-read what I wrote and realized it could be mis-interpreted. When I hire bankers "to sell one of our portfolio companies," not when I hire bankers "for jobs at my shop."

I have interviewed a number of analysts for pre-MBA associate roles and I will say that my shop puts a LOT of emphasis on personality. There are only a dozen investment professionals on my team so if the candidate doesn't fit, it is a non-starter. We have frequently passed up the smarter candidates in exchange for those that will mesh better.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

At the end of the day, your MD, is going to make you revise documents 50x, while you have to stay in later than all your friends. I'm pretty sure this is called WORK ETHIC and a WILLINGNESS to KISS A$$.

At the end of the day, the MD is making the relationships, and at a the analyst level all your doing is making pitchbooks and crunching numbers all day long. I want to hire analysts who are willing to find a data number, not someone who doesn't shut the f*** up.

Work Ethic > Personality > Intelligence

I would say you need :

Personality: 80 Intelligence: 70 Work Ethic: 100

 

Interpersonal: 0/100

Intelligence: 0/100

Work ethic: 10/100

Being someone's bitch: 240/100

These are the skills it really takes

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
 

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