Tips for First Job in High Pressured Industry

[smackman]

My son is about to start his first job in a high stress/pressure/long hours industry. He’s expecting long 12 hour days and weekend work. It’s with a hedge fund/investment bank. He’s obviously worked hard so far as he’s just finished his PhD at Oxford. But working is clearly different.

What tips would you give someone starting out?

Here are a couple of tips: Exercising and taking care of his health and wellbeing are essential if he is to avoid burnout. Having a positive, ‘can do’ attitude is really important and can separate him from those who are bright but entitled. Take care of his reputation- often graduates only get one so he should think about how he wants to be perceived and deliver that consistently.

Don’t do coke - in those sorts of jobs it’s very easy to become reliant on it.

Focus on figuring out what the company wants from him, and what the most important bits are, and then how to prioritise delivering that in such a way he doesn’t burn out. Figure out when it needs to be 9/10 qualify, and when 6/10 is good enough. Get a coach if he needs help or starts to feel overwhelmed.

The first couple years can be brutal for hours, so have a plan to shore up health and sanity - exercise, sleep, food. Get a PT and healthy freezer meals to help if needed. Take proper holidays to reset.

See a financial adviser at the start and set savings / investment goals. What can happen with these jobs is you just get used to a fancier and fancier lifestyle, so after 10-20 years when you are burnt out / just want out you don’t have anywhere near the money to show for it that you should have.