What would you say if you could talk to your past self when you were a new IB analyst?

Title says it all. As I get older I find it funny to look back and realize how little I knew about life/work. Hell, I'm still in my early 20s so I imagine I'll have another good laugh at my current self in about 3 years. 

 
Funniest

Buy that freaking bitcoin, throw all of your money into it, I don't care that your bank account is in the triple digits and you make $15/hour until graduation, buy all of the bitcoin you can. Then, in a few years, buy GME anywhere below $100 and AMC anywhere below $10. If you do this, you will never have to work again.

 
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Take it easy. Like literally, take it easy. Don't sweat, when seniors scream at you, never put work over family, friends and personal health. Stand up, communicate clearly, don't be afraid to set boundaries. Don't miss big events, parties, enjoy life as much as you can. Banking is tough, but manageable if you're not a pushover. 

No one is going to fire you because you have a wedding coming up. Act adult and never, ever let someone walk over you just because tHiS iS InVeStMeNt BaNkInG. Nope. You can actually have a great career in banking AND lead a happy life, even as a junior. It's not easy, but it's up to you, so don't listen to toxic strangers on the Internet and own your life. 

All the best man. 

 

Bump this. When is it appropriate to push back? Examples would be helpful

 

Overcommunicate and use your judgement. Be smart. If you see that a horrible live deal all-nighter is coming up, then probably suck it up and work through. But if you KNOW that you have a big party coming up in two weeks, just communicate this. Inform your folks, make yourself equal to them, don't beg, don't be a pushover. Communicate in advance and expect being treated like an adult. Manage expectations, manage upwards, don't hide anything and don't be the guy who always takes one for the team, because bAnKiNg iS BruTaL. Own your time as much as possible.

 

medellin

Take it easy. Like literally, take it easy. Don't sweat, when seniors scream at you, never put work over family, friends and personal health. Stand up, communicate clearly, don't be afraid to set boundaries. Don't miss big events, parties, enjoy life as much as you can. Banking is tough, but manageable if you're not a pushover. 

No one is going to fire you because you have a wedding coming up. Act adult and never, ever let someone walk over you just because tHiS iS InVeStMeNt BaNkInG. Nope. You can actually have a great career in banking AND lead a happy life, even as a junior. It's not easy, but it's up to you, so don't listen to toxic strangers on the Internet and own your life. 

All the best man. 

Agreed. Banking is demanding but you don't have to sacrifice your self respect. I've had a few situations where I've had to just give a hard no to something requested of me. 

Also, most of yall are going to end up VPs or Finance or Directors of CD at F500 companies, so take it easy in that sense too. Dip out the office on Friday's occasionally, go to sleep and don't wake up to that 6am wakeup call, etc. Be adequate at your job and aim to be Cal Ripken not Barry Bonds, just stay in the game and you'll be fine. 

 

Love and agree with this but should clarify for the younger folks. This doesn't mean blow off work to hang out with friends whenever you feel like it or going to santacon by ignoring an email for a live deal. 

But it is important to manage upwards and set expectations in advance when possible, especially as it relates to your time and plans. Be overcommunicative with your associates/VPs/Directors with regards to status on work assignments and especially with regards to timing. What I mean by this is that you don't want to just become the guy who gets assigned work and sets a precedent of turning it in the blink of an eye without saying anything given when it comes time to you needing to push back on timing etc, it will be perceived in a much more negative light as your perception will be broken in a sense. 

Also exercise judgement. It is probably not a good idea to push back on live situations as, after all, that is what you came to banking for with regards to experience. But as it relates to the internal deadlines set by mid-level folks and the non-live related timelines, definitely push back where you feel is appropriate and make sure you are able to do so by communicating any conflicts with your junior colleagues so you don't fuck them over, and your seniors so they are aware and better informed when you have plans to attend to personal things. Nothing is worse than informing people of a wedding you have to go to for the first time while you're en route to said wedding and just got asked to work on something.

Sometimes nothing you try will work and it sucks, but often times that is more a result of the asshole who is pushing work on you and not because of something you did. There are several more situations/nuances I could address but I felt that managing expectations and managing upwards was the most important. Happy to expand

 

you cannot discreetly go and fart on your neighbor's chair and then try to hide it or make it look like nothing happened. You will get caught, and it will be a smelly mess. Both literally and figuratively. 

 

Technically this could be said of any job. Jobs in themselves are a means to an end. Nobody actually cares about the job. They care about the money they get from it and the goods and services that can be bought. If we could all stay at home and sleep while still somehow covering all our basic survival needs, everyone would.

 

When buyside recruiting rolls around, try to be rational about the hype and think clearly (as best you can) about what you actually want to do after banking and what types of companies excite you. Obviously leverage your second-years, but even more importantly talk to people who've been in PE/GE/VC for a few years and can give you a more balanced view.

 

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