From Analyst to Associate and Beyond: How to Get Promoted In Investment Banking

So, what happens if you’ve lost your mind and suddenly don’t want to move into PE, go to a hedge fund, or become a venture capitalist?

You continue on in banking, and move from Analyst to Associate – and beyond.

If you’re in the US, you might be wondering why you’d ever want to do this – but in other parts of the world exit opportunities are less hyped and many bankers actually remain bankers.

Plus, if you don’t get any buy-side offers you’ll have to stick around in banking anyway – so here’s how to get promoted and how to avoid turning into Patrick Bateman in the process.

Why Would You Want to Get Promoted?

Why Do Investment Banking Associates and Analysts Secretly Want to Kill Each Other?

“Dude, this new ex-consultant Associate is such an idiot. Why do they even hire people like this?”

“At least yours didn’t make you spread the same comps ten times for no reason.”

“Why is that Analyst so annoying? Why does he think he knows more than us?”

It’s some of the most common chatter you’ll hear when walking through any bank: Analysts and Associates talking trash about each other, and occasionally plotting to kill each other.

And they’ve been at war for a very, very long time.

So how did it all start, and what can we do about it?

How to Spin and BS Your Way to Success in Investment Banking

“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

Not sure why you want to do investment banking?

Don’t know what you did in your last job besides watching YouTube?

Haven’t the faintest clue what your “story” is?

Then you need to learn how to spin.

Lying is bad.

But spinning – making yourself seem more impressive than you actually are – is essential.

Just think: it even got a President elected. Time to learn his tactics.

Why Do You Need to Spin?