The 4-Hour Investment Banking Body: How to Keep Off the First Year 15 and Get In Shape While Sitting In a Cubicle Staring at Excel All Day

It’s midway through your first year as a banker.

You just got back from the holiday party, and after taking a day off to recover from your hangover, you’re ready to rock and roll.

You pull out your favorite pair of slacks from the closet, fumbling to put them on…

…and as you do so, they split in half – far too small for your waist, which has gained 4 inches (10 cm) in the past 6 months.

You’re fat.

And now you’re naked from the waist down, too, but that’s a smaller issue.

Here’s what went wrong, and how you can lose all that weight you just gained – with only 4 hours of free time (or less) per week.

7 Simple Steps to Avoiding Investment Banking Burnout

How do you avoid burnout when you work 80-100 hours per week and are constantly in the office, “on call” and sometimes even sleeping under your desk?

This question came up the other day with a reader who had recently completed a banking internship – and I realized that avoiding death by Excel might interest you as well.

These tips apply even if you’re not working in investment banking specifically – anything where you’re sitting motionless in front of a computer for extended periods can lead to burnout.

Happy New Year! And December 2007: Month In Review

Happy 2008 everyone! If you’re looking for an investment banking summer internship, your New Year’s Resolution may be to find one this month. And if you’ve already accepted a full-time offer, you may be looking for tips on starting your job successfully and adjusting to the working life. Over the next month you’ll find answers to both those topics on this site.

After launching in late November just after Thanksgiving and explaining what exactly investment bankers do, Mergers & Inquisitions featured a variety of posts in the month of December.