Investment banking is a dream for many people. But now that you have got the job, you are already way ahead of the curve. Most people never get to this stage. So, congratulations!
You want to make sure that you are performing well at this job so you can not just keep it, but be promoted. Your goal is to one day become Bobby Axelrod from the show Billions. Or something like that. You want to have billions of dollars under your management.
Now that we know what your goal is, here’s some tips from someone who has been in the investment banking industry for over 5 years now.
- If you get the opportunity to attend a client call, take it
Most managing directors don’t really care whether a new analyst joins in on their client calls or not. But for you, it is a big deal. You will get to learn a lot about reading financial statements and running presentations about the financial model of a company.
These are crucial things because if you want to get ahead in this industry, you will one day have to present that information yourself. So take notes about what the other guys are doing in the meeting and see if you can replicate that, or if you can improve upon that. Not just that, make sure you are taking physical notes, because that will help you remember the things you noticed in that meeting, says Sam Shiah.
You will also learn about how the corporate people communicate with their investor base. You can also get exposure to this info by reading the transcripts of management presentations.
Client calls will be a goldmine for you because you will also see how relationship managers talk about their opinion on capital deployment strategies, constraints, etc. and not just that, you will also get to see how everyone formulates their own opinions and shares them and come to a conclusion.
This is where incredible analysts are made. The good ones will see this and see a combination of art and science. You will notice how the people in these meetings are able to convert dry science from the paper and present in such a way that their clients are interested in deploying their capital in the companies that they are presenting.
That is all well and good, but how are you going to show that information to your boss? The managing director.
Well, when you start sitting in those meetings, you will see where your MD is lacking as well. And trust me, not every MD is good at their job.
Yes, you were led to believe that only the crème de la crème of the world get to work in the investment banking industry. That is not the case.
There are a lot of people working that are not the best by any standards. Get used to seeing that but make sure that you are helping them out and not just pointing out their mistakes.
You want to provide solutions, that’s what you are hired for. So make sure you are doing that to become a valuable employee.
One last thing I’d like to mention before closing off this tip, is that whenever your client meetings are not at the office, they usually take place at a baseball game or fancy restaurants. In either case, make sure that if a spot opens up for a client meeting, you take it.
Who knows, you’ll get the chance to see what fancy wine do rich people like. Or maybe you’ll get a taste of that fancy baseball game box that you always saw at the games but never had the money to get one yourself.
But its not just about that, if you give your client a good impression and they like you, the MD will make sure that they bring you to future client meetings. They want to make sure that the client is having a fun time when these meetings happen and you definitely contribute to that.
- Go to the gym
Investment banking is hard work, take it from me. Especially when you are just starting out as an analyst. The companies will make sure that they squeeze everything out of you because they are paying one of the highest starter salaries in the country.
You will notice that once the workday is over, you will just want to go home and watch some mind-numbing show on Netflix and relax. But that is not how you should be doing things.
If you do, you will quickly get obese and that unhealthiness will start to show in your work too.
Make sure you carve out an hour of your time and go to the gym. Take the time to make sure that your mind and body are in healthy shape so you can continue performing at your peak every single day. Working out will give you a huge boost in mental energy. And who knows, you might start being able to connect dots faster and between things your colleague never would’ve thought about.
Try to keep in touch with people you met during orientation. They will probably become your lifelong friends if they got through the whole interview process and want to continue working in this industry for a long time. You don’t have to be a wall street mastermind day in and day out.
So if they ask you out for drinks and you think you can make, you should go. Don’t choose Netflix over going out with friends and having actual fun. Unless you have to evaluate something. Then by all means, stay in get that done before going out.
This is not just about having a social circle outside of work, it is about networking at the same time. You don’t have to invest a huge amount of time and energy into it. But you do have to invest something. And trust me when I say this – your network will pay you huge dividends in the long run.
I’m talking years and years down the line. You wouldn’t even see this coming. Who knows, some of your friends that you hang out with today might end up becoming your clients tomorrow.