The Investment Banking Analysts Rules

Now that you have gone through the investment banking interviews and signed your contract with BigBank and that you have permanently infiltrated the ranks of the investment bank full time staff, take a few minutes to consider the following advice based on our combined decade of investment banking wisdom.

Rule #1: Do not be a smartass

Too many aspiring bankers try to look smart and show their intelligence or skills Remember! you were not hired for your intelligence, but only for your ability to work hard, very hard, all the time and anytime, with a high degree of accuracy. Using your nitelligence and strategic thinkgin will only come when you reach more senior levels in the investment bank, and before then, you will have to prove yourself. An investment banking analyst job is mostly to perform manual labour, which includes binding pitchbooks, photocopying, and enter data on Excel and Powerpoint. You'll be paid a lot to do this - so you'll be expected to put in the hours.

Rule #2: Know where you stand in the investment banking pyramid

It does not matter that you wear Armani suits, Berluti shoes and Hermes ties - as an analyst, you are still at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy. A rule of thumb is to never dress better than your associate (and your MD!), however do make sure to not dress far worse. Even if you sometimes feel you could do the job of your associate, VP or MD better - you are wrong. Senior bankers achived their position because they went through the experience of closing deals, because they have relationships, and because they did not make any major mistakes to date. They may be wrong sometimes, but they are able to get things done. As an analyst, your respect will need to be earned over the years. If you are really outstanding, you will be promoted faster.

Rule #3: Make them look good

You should expect your associate to take the credit for all your work: when its good, its theirs, when its wrong, its yours. Oh, and by the way, your work will always be wrong. At best, it will always be something that can be improved. And don't even try to point to the VP or Director any mistake you spotted, because the Associate will give you hell for it and you'll be the one to be assigned on updating this set of 250 comps ("because you are so detail-focused") and you'll get in trouble at appraisal time.

The banking world may seem unfair at times, but most bankers are intelligent people that know what is really going on (even if they don't say so, or son't show it). Just accept it and maintain a good attitude. In time, rewards will come. Remember: if you are the victim this time, you will be the beneficiary next time. And if you are so good that you feel you deserve more, then the headhunters should be calling you every other day and getting into top teams and top banks should not be an issue. If they are not calling, maybe you need to revise your expectations and accept the fact that it takes time to establish a reputation and prove your value.

Rule #4: Dont ever complain:

Your associate will give you hell because you messed something up, even if its not your fault. Say thank you for pointing the mistake, and go fix it. If you complain you're not getting enough sleep, they will just tell you that you should be more efficient and you are just taking too long to complete your work. Senior bankers like to print out everything you do, mark it up with red pen, and then leave a stack of changes on your desk - if you think this is tedious or annoying, just think about the fun that ensues when you get 5 markups from different bankers, all with conflicting changes.

Just face it. You’ve signed on to spend the next couple of years in a highly stressful and unfair environment. However as an analyst, the rewards are huge: you will be paid well, trained well, build a fantastic network, and make a lot of great friends that will last you a lifetime.