Bank on Banking

Let’s be honest – getting yelled at sucks; getting reprimanded in front of your peers or other senior bankers sucks; and being dumped on for something that isn’t even your fault and only taking the heat because you are the lowest man on the totem pole sucks big time – so what do you do when you take it on the chain from a more senior banker – pout, yell and curse, plot a bank takeover (doubtful, though it could definitely get you through a late night or two)? Probably not, the answer: it depends on who is doing the yelling and the situation as a whole. Being reprimanded by an associate is different than being reprimanded by a senior banker. Being reprimanded once is different than being constantly tossed under the bus for anything and everything.

It is important, in these situations, to analyze the incident as a whole before deciding how best to tend to it, if you need to make an issue of it in the first place. One thing you shouldn’t do is yell right back at the senior banker – especially if we are talking about a VP or above (considering an associate is still senior to an analyst, but not technically a senior banker). I know there are tough guys out there that will recommend you curse at your senior bankers, yell back and frankly, not take their sh*t. These people are most likely not bankers and are students, or are bankers looking for a good laugh at your expense. The simple fact is that they are senior to you and while it is wrong that they dump all over you, it will be seen as a bigger wrong for you to lose yourself and go ape-sh*t on the senior banker – there is a better way to handle any situation – even if you really want to just act as immature as said senior banker is acting. Let’s go through a few of the general summary scenarios.

VP and Above – Consistent

You need to really analyze whether the problem is your attitude and/or your screw ups or whether this senior banker just has something against you. Comments that are racist, ethnic, or belittling in general are one thing (and are obviously not acceptable as that is a lawsuit waiting to happen), but getting yelled at or reprimanded for screwing something up, forgetting a date/time, missing a few periods in a pitch (yes, it happens often) or just generally being the venting tool for general frustration sucks, but will often happen and is frequently tolerated and accepted (not just by the junior banker, but by staffers, HR, more senior bankers, etc).

Some key things to consider are: does the senior banker act like this to all junior resources – if not and it is just you, then you have a few options. If, however, you find that this is just the way your senior banker, or, worse, bankers in your group, behave towards their junior resources, then your only option, outside of learning to deal with it, is in making the group switch. Reason being: since it is a common theme among all analysts there is really no way to complain about it as an individual. As an analyst, it is tough to inspire a change in a senior banker as it is, but if you are the only person complaining about a situation that is impacting all of the junior resources, you are only going to isolate yourself and, frankly, piss of the MD and annoy whoever you go to see to make your complaint (staffer, HR, etc).

Getting back to the first scenario, where you are taking the brunt of the reprimanding and find yourself alone in that position – meaning the other analysts are generally going unscathed – the question becomes whether you are just screwing up more than everyone else or you are taking the heat for a lot more than just your mistakes. If you are, simply, just screwing up too often, I wouldn’t be concerned about the reprimanding, I would be concerned about getting fired. Although the market is improving and hiring is slowly on the rise, we are still by no means booming and it is very easy to fire you and bring on one of three dozen analysts looking for work. Your best bet here is to learn to deal with the criticism, get your stuff together and start nailing projects without the little and/or glaring mistakes. If, however, you are not screwing up too often, but find yourself being chewed out for much more than your small mistakes and more frequently than your fair share, it might be time to take action.

In addition to either dealing with it, or switching groups, you can attempt to remedy the situation in one of two main ways – 1) talk to the senior banker directly, 2) talk to either the senior banker’s boss or a staffer as a means of either toning down the banker or being staffed with other senior bankers instead (where that is an option). Personally, I prefer to give option 1 a try first, and then, only if necessary, go with option 2 as a last resort before moving on (whether to another group or bank, if possible). I have found that confronting the situation in this manner allows you to talk to the senior banker, as a professional, rather than going behind his/her back to complain. This option shows respect for your senior banker, while at the same time shows your confidence, which is often respected, or at least acknowledged by said banker. By confronting the banker, I do not mean march into his/her office and start yelling and swearing, or, just as bad, if not worse, whining and complaining, but rather setting up a time to discuss something that’s been on your mind and then making your point – explain how you are fine with criticism, but don’t think it is necessary for it to always be in front of the rest of the team or always in a belittling manner. By leveling with your MD, but not asking for special treatment, just fair treatment, you might find out that the MD didn’t even realize he/she was doing it or had a rationale for doing it without realizing that it bothered you. If, however, option 1 fails to make a dent in the situation, option 2 is your last resort. Unfortunately, option 2 is rarely successful, since senior bankers are, as sad as it is for some of you to read, far more valuable to the firm than analysts (yes, analysts do all of the leg work and carry the team, blah blah – it is what it is – deal with it). As such, you will probably find that you are told be either party you go to that you just need to deal with it, or that they will “talk to the banker,” and then you realize 2 months later that the “talk” probably isn’t going to happen. At this point, it is time to either deal with it, or move on – 2-3 years is a long time, so it really is up to you to gauge just how terrible the situation is and how much different it could possibly be in another group or bank – and, don’t forget, it could, potentially, be worse.

Associate – Consistent

Generally, if senior bankers notice it, they will sit back for a little while and hope that it works itself out, but if need be, they will step in to diffuse the situation – I don’t mean they’ll stop the associate from yelling at you or chewing you out, but rather, they will take said associate aside and let them know to change up his/her methods a bit as it appears too severe or unnecessary. If senior bankers do not notice it and you have already built up a bit of solid reputation for yourself – in other words, you are not 2 weeks on the job with people still calling you by someone else’s name – you can absolutely go to one of your senior bankers and talk to them face to face, or, preferably, go to the associate first and express your point of view. You don’t want to appear whiny or that you are complaining about how terribly you are being treated, but rather, let them know that although you are sure that he/she (the associate) means well, you feel that you are often being picked at in front of other bankers for issues that can easily, and far more effectively be discussed in a one on one manner. You have no problem with criticism, but don’t feel that everyone needs to be called to attention when you make an error in a model, or fail to catch a few spelling mistakes before passing a pitch along (by the way, don’t downplay your errors as this will only fuel the associates fire). There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism and having your mistakes pointed out to you to help you avoid making them again and again, but this does not, in any way, need to be a public showing. Going about the complaint in a manner similar to this does not make you appear unable to handle criticism, but rather the way in which the criticism is being delivered seems unnecessarily public, offensive and counterproductive (as you may not be as comfortable working with the associate just for this very reason – no one likes to be publicly belittled or even reprimanded). Although this will generally work, as many times the associate is not even entirely aware of the issue/problem, if, after this conversation, the associate doesn’t seem to acknowledge your issue(s), then approaching your senior bankers in the same manner and expressing your points in a similar fashion will be your best plan of action.

Associate and Above – One Time Thing

Doesn’t matter if it is your fault or not, the short answer is: you have to shut up and deal with it. Anyone who tells you to yell back or curse, or throw a tantrum is wrong (I don’t care about exceptions to the rule, because, frankly, they are lucky). The ever-popular phrase, “sh*t rolls downhill” is absolutely on point and as such, being the junior resource ultimately means that you are getting yelled at whether or not something was necessarily your fault. The important thing here is to not allow this one blowup to make the relationship weird for you – the senior banker usually won’t see it any differently, and will be perfectly fine with you in no time. If, however, you are unable to snap back, you are opening yourself up for a poor review, less interesting work, and a drab team atmosphere – 3 things that I do not wish on any junior banker.

With associates, you can usually pull them aside, after the situation has cooled a bit, and try to talk to them in a similar way as you would if it were a constant thing. Let them know that you understand why it happened and that emotions and stress often run high on the job, but you would feel much more comfortable if he/she just pulled you aside or pulled you into a conference room and went through everything as opposed to yelling at you in the middle of the floor. The important thing here is to try to make light of the situation (without downplaying it or poking fun at it) since while you don’t want it to become a regular occurrence, you also do not, by any means, want your associate to feel uncomfortable, annoyed, or thinking that you are the analyst who is going to make his/her life difficult and complain all of the time.

In this business, most people will snap on at least one occasion. If it becomes a regular occurrence, then you definitely have to analyze the situation a bit closer. If, however, stress was high, and the banker just lost it for a second, try to let it go. There are much worse things in this world than being reprimanded or even yelled at by a banker. Keep your head down, remember those worse things, and do your work…do it right – tomorrow is another day…hopefully…a yell-free day.

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