Bank on Banking

So let’s say you have just been accepted into the newest incoming analyst class at a BB, what now? Let your grades flop, pull all-nighters to prep, buy 5 pairs of Ferragamos and a 52” LED TV – probably not, but why, you are after all, a banker now, right? I have been asked this question several times by many different people, and I can honestly say that, in general, less change is better than more change. To help answer this question, I’ve decided to put together a quick list describing what you should be doing between the time of acceptance and training completion. Some of this will be pretty intuitive to some of you, but you would be surprised to see just how many people think that pulling 3-4 all-nighters a week starting a month before training is in their best interest.

Dumb Banker

The All-Nighter Prep

Pulling a few, or many all-nighters to prep for the job is never a good idea. You are expected to be tired at 11pm, or 2am, or, even, 4am, but you are not expected to be sleepy at 1pm because you have pulled 23 all-nighters in the past 30 days BEFORE starting the job. The all-nighter, or the near all-nighter is by no means a fun aspect of the job, and, as such, no one is expecting you to be a master of the activity – no one is – 3rd year analysts will hate it as much as 1st years. Therefore, do not tire yourself out and burn yourself out before you even begin the job – save the all-nighters for when they are actually necessary – when you are on the job! Trust me, if your group is busy, you will have plenty of opportunity to become an all-nighter or late-nighter pro – why spoil the fun ahead of the job? Get some sleep, as much as you can, within reason, ahead of beginning the job – you will be glad you did.

Models and Bottles (and Televisions)

You should not be running around spending thousands of dollars when you haven’t even stepped foot into the building, let alone, the cube (I know, you most likely stepped inside the building when you interviewed, but go with me on this). Many analysts come decked out day 1 in expensive shoes and brag about their new purchases – you sound like an idiot, and probably look like one as well to the senior guys. Once you get your first bonus check, you can absolutely have at it, but don’t get ahead of yourself and start spending the money before you see a dime. There are a lot of analysts who don’t even make it to bonus time, and even if you do make it, in this market, many of you will not be pleased with what you get. Living in NYC is expensive as it is; you don’t want to dig yourself into a huge hole before you even move there for the job.

Hounding Bankers/HR (/Anyone who will listen)

It really is an accomplishment to break into this business, and if it was one of your goals, then by all means, congratulations, you’ve done it – you should be excited! That said, please, an email or so to HR expressing your thanks is fine, and a thank you email and/or an email inquiring into the specific group (if your interest is genuine) sent to a few of your interviewers is fine, but please do not start sending daily (I am exaggerating) emails to every colleague you’ve ever met. Everyone is excited that you’ve earned a spot, but you don’t want to be “that guy,” before you even start. A few questions are fine; the bankers should be more than happy to answer them. But keep it brief and intermittent – perhaps, for example, after receiving the offer, then just before sell day to learn about that process, their group, etc is fine. Then once you learn what group you’re in, you can by all means shoot your group contact an email to learn more about the group. Just keep all of these interactions light and relaxed – the interviews are done, you can loosen the tie and take it easy. Trust me, you will have more than enough time and opportunity to know your team VERY well once you start and a deal hits.

Taking expensive excel modeling classes

Personally, I don’t believe that it is necessary to take financial modeling classes at all (a simple primer should more than suffice), if it isn’t part of your job, you will not retain or learn as much anyway. However, for those that insist on taking the classes to “get ahead,” I would recommend staying away from the classes that cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Honestly, there is no reason for it. The most important aspect of analyst training is the financial modeling. In there you will learn a large number of shortcuts, macros (if any) the bank uses in excel (more shortcuts) and how to build the basic financial models. The rest will be quickly learned on the job as needed. If you are not in a group that works extensively with Excel on modeling (many industry groups), you will not remember much of what you’ve learned in the overpriced training course, and if you are working in a group that performs a lot of financial modeling, you will have MORE than enough opportunity to become an Excel pro – the training course is not expected and usually not recommended, as some outside training courses will teach you different ways of doing things that at your new employer, and you will have to be detrained of the “bad habits” before you can be trained in the bank’s “habits.”

Smart Banker

Keeping your grades up

I know I could have gone the negative route with this one and said, “don’t let your grades slip,” or something, but I decided to take the high road and encourage you not to just coast by (and not let them slip), but to keep at it. Unless you are planning to remain with your new FT employer from analyst up to and through VP (and have a guarantee from the firm that you will be promoted), you do not want your grades slipping, and should work towards keeping them up or bringing them higher. Considering most of you are either uncertain where you want to be in 2-3 years, or, at the least, don’t have that bank employment and promotion guarantee, you will need good grades to move on to other opportunities later.

Whether you are considering Business school, P/E, boutique IB, V/C or something else entirely, your next potential employer/opportunity will take your U Grad grades into consideration when analyzing your resume and candidacy. Sure, it is not going to be the most important factor in making the decision, but if you have a 3.8, why let it fall to something mediocre, or if you have a 3.5, why fall into the borderline GPA category (3.2, 3.1) for top shops – there is no reason to. No one is telling you to pull all-nighters studying, but you shouldn’t be pulling all-nighters drinking and partying, while nearly failing your classes either. Keep your head on straight and focus on the prize. A few more months, a little more work and you will be done, a graduate with strong grades, and no worry about your GPA potentially coming back to haunt you a few years down the line. For those students who didn’t do as well on the SAT as they would’ve liked, remember how annoyed you became when some companies asked for your SAT scores, 4 or 5 years later, as if that mattered – well it did to them, and so too will your U Grad GPAs when it comes time to move from the IB position you are about to start. Don’t potentially give yourself a few years down the road – keep your grades up and put at least that concern to rest.

Enjoying your life pre-banking

Enjoy your life. Make time for some hobbies, maybe a trip to unwind and decompress from the interviewing and college work. Gather your bearings, because before you know it the analyst program will be starting and where there was once freedom, now an iron ball and chain; where a phone for casual text messaging once dwelled, a blackberry filled with late night emails and assignments has now taken its place. Is it completely miserable, no, I don’t think so; but it is definitely not college and not the freedom that most of you once knew. So before starting the job, be sure to take a vacation, even if you don’t go anywhere, just relax, decompress and enjoy yourself and freedom.

Wardrobe It

Before you start the job, make sure to track down the sales (See: Clothes Make the Man…) and get yourself a banker wardrobe. Once the job starts, you will be surprised by how little time you have for shopping (and that little time is time that you would rather spend doing something else). I’m not saying go out and buy 4 pairs of shoes, 25 shirts, 4 suits, etc, but you should at least have a few dress shirts, a few pairs of pants, a suit or 2 and a pair of dress shoes or 2 to hold you over until 1) the first paycheck comes in and you know you’re spot is there and 2) you find out exactly how casual//formal your group is; how often you will need a suit, etc. Additionally, with the holidays around the corner, it will be a perfect time to capitalize on some nice sales at Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom, etc – pick up a few things and don’t worry anymore about it until you start the program. You’ll have time to do some shopping, but it is always nice to be ready to go ahead of day 1, so that you can have more time to get to know the city, adjust to the new life and lifestyle and ideally meet some new interesting people.

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