No Idea what I'm doing

I'm a first year analyst at a regional office of a BB bank (Chicago, Houston). There aren't that many bankers in my office (15ish), and I only came in with one other analyst.

As a result, I have not been able to gauge what my performance should be like - there simply isn't enough people at my level to compare myself to.

I went through training, but still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. I have had trouble with some models, etc., and have made mistakes. I would love to heart about some other people's experiences starting out. Did any if you feel like you had no clue what you were doing?

If so - how long did it take before you really got the hang if it, and what did you do to get better?

 

Take a deep breath. You're not going to get Tiger parent curb stomped for a few modeling mistakes in your first 3 months.

1) Learn all the excel shortcuts and functions as quickly as possible. Force yourself to use them, it will pay off. 2) Have a great attitude in the office so your superiors like you. It will help when you make mistakes. 3) Work together with other junior people around you. If you can't figure something out in google ask them before going to more seniors for assistance. 4) Don't worry, after a few deals you'll start to crank and alot of the work will become second nature.

 
Best Response

a good flashcard system to study is to create 4 buckets, labeled daily, every other day, weekly, monthly. The labels are for how often you study those flashcards.

Start with all your flashcards in daily, if you get it correct, you move it to the every other day bucket. If you get it wrong, it goes back into daily. Tomorrow, you repeat, but moving flashcards to the more frequent buckets when you get them wrong, and less frequent when you get them right.

the point of this is that your brain doesn't actually know what information to remember unless you get it wrong. When you're lost, you use bad directions to help you find the right way. It turns out learning is very much the same - that's why we remember the questions that stump us so much more than the ones we get right. So by pushing back what you already 'know', you are spacing out your practice, which causes you to forget at first, but ultimately strengthens that neural connection.

 

I didn't feel completely confident in myself until after a year. You're working with people who have been working / out of school for at least 3-4 years, so some things will make sense to them that will not make sense to you. Just keep an open mind, take the time to shore up what you think are weaknesses (but don't spend all your free time doing it), and one day you'll see a project and know what to do.

Also, take time out of work to not think about it. I know it's hard being a first year, but do something that you used to enjoy, like going to the movies or reading a book. Sometimes, if you step away from the job, more things will make sense when you come back to it.

--Death, lighter than a feather; duty, heavier than a mountain
 

Libero ut expedita iste et quia voluptatem doloremque. Vero libero dolores qui ex molestias non facere. Qui non velit adipisci et aut unde quasi exercitationem. Omnis beatae doloribus deserunt id accusantium et dolores. Odit sit qui commodi eligendi. Nostrum asperiores excepturi nihil deleniti vel veritatis laborum unde. Tempore labore quas odit tenetur quos.

Necessitatibus quo accusamus omnis sed tempore. Quisquam occaecati repellat in sequi esse dicta. Molestias quo dignissimos sit maxime minus ipsum totam. Illo dicta repellendus nihil non ipsa et id. Aut eum quo ut qui.

Temporibus ea dignissimos ipsam quae modi quibusdam. Magni fugiat ipsam mollitia eligendi. Omnis alias ut placeat inventore sed vero qui. A dignissimos et nam fugit est modi non.

Quis reiciendis accusantium laboriosam nobis omnis. Excepturi consequatur at a hic distinctio natus. Ut dolorem doloremque quisquam et laudantium id maiores. Repellendus ratione omnis aut assumenda est. Quia autem sunt neque. Et qui nemo eaque iste vel explicabo.

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

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...”