IFC perks:- Fly business and stay in 5 star: That’s right boys and girls. Whenever you fly for business, you get to actually ‘fly business’. Shit loads of airmiles and business class lounges are the side-effect. I heard this story that one’s …
IFC perks:
- Fly business and stay in 5 star: That's right boys and girls. Whenever you fly for business, you get to actually 'fly business'. Shit loads of airmiles and business class lounges are the side-effect. I heard this story that one's upon a time, chauffeurs used to fly business to Washington D.C. (World Bank ka Mecca) to attend the annual retreat. But join fast guys because this policy I understand that this policy is being phased out soon.
- 26 holidays: That's right, at IFC you would work for approximately 200 days a year. This is how it adds up: 365 days a year [people who just spoke of 366 in a year, for them – 'Beta, tumse naa ho payega'] (-) weekends which is 52* 2 [people who didn't get this – “Beta, tumse toh bilkul bhi naa ho payega'] (-) 10 public holidays (-) 26 paid leaves [good luck getting all of them though] (-) 10 sick leave = majja ni life.
- Work-life balance: Though doesn't apply much to analysts, IFC and the World Bank Group overall offers a great work-life balance. Even for the analysts an average day would not be more than 10-12 hours, unless you have real shitty luck (such as the conceiver of this website). Thereby, though IFC's overall pay package does not match top industry standards, it's per hour pay is probably the highest.
- Diplomatic status: The Bank Group employees (including IFC, certain grade+) are eligible for a semi-diplomatic passport called UNLP. Basically, it means preferential treatment at airports and visa-free arrival in most of the countries. You even get to go through diplomat queues at airports and fly to Switzerland without any visa. Cool, eh!
- Exotic trainings: IFC conducts trainings and retreats at some of the coolest destinations such as Rio de Janerio, Jo'berg, etc. However, IFC's coolest training takes place at a University of Maryland, College Park. 36 people from all across the world come together to stay at the Marriott Inn for 7 weeks and party like no tomorrow all over DC. Trust me people, you make friends here for a life time. The founders of this site met at that training. The highlight of this training is a visit to the World Bank board room which has an eerie feeling of the seat of power. Clicking a snap next to your country flag in this room is clichéd but will stick to you for the rest of your life.
- UN number plates: World Bank Group official cars bear UN number plates. They pay no tolls and cannot be stopped by any cop (at least in India). Some of these vehicles are truly awesome. Though these premium vehicles (Pajeros +), they are not as high-end as the rides of some of our clients (US$1 billion+ company promoters, a couple of my clients drove a Bentley). But what kicks ass is the UN number plate. No money can buy that and driving into a meeting in one changes the tone significantly. Unfortunately, they mostly reserved for senior management and you may hitch a ride at best when you travel with them.
- Security: I once traveled in a Land Cruiser in Nepal which had a mini Motorola radio station assembly attached to the front. In case cell phone communications failed, the car was equipped radio comm. back to World Bank security office at base for back-up. The car ruled the streets.
- Hidden salary perks: This is probably the only organization which understates its package. Besides the direct salary credited to you, they forget to mention that the Bank contributes (more than what you contribute) to your pension account. Part of this gets deposited in dollars with an option to invest in limited global asset classes.
- Tax free income: Yes my friends. I saved the best for the last. All income for the World Bank Group and its employees is absolutely tax-free. Generally, the Bank takes away the benefit by offering you packages which when adjusted to tax will be somewhat comparable (though usually on the lower end) of top financial institutions, including PE funds. But the simple joy of not paying taxes is orgasmic.
IFC quirks:
- No bonuses: Ohh c'mon now, you are here to do world development and poverty alleviation, remember. World Bank Group has a nil to very minimal bonus policy.
- Passive investor: If you are looking to get active in a company and to learn operations, remember we are business class people man. We don't get our hands dirty. The World Bank Group has a 30,000 feet view of the world. Within the Group, IFC probably has a 25,000 feet view but the action is at 100-600 feet.
- Deal size: Probably 1-2 very small departments in IFC do early stage and small deal sizes. IFC's preferred deal size is US$7 mil+ (applicable for IS, of course). Further, given that IFC cannot do more than 20% of equity in a company and more than 25% of post-project capitalization (i.e. company's debt and equity on books pre-project + project costs), the company size would be atleast US$30 mil+. On the other hand, IFC does not want to deal in big blue chips well because they can get money from anywhere, so why should IFC give them money (read: they won't tolerate IFC ke nakhre. Check this section out – IFC's development impact & additionality).
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