Convert Your Summer Internship Into a Full-Time Offer
As a former summer/fulltime investment banking analyst, I’ve seen a few waves of Ivy League migrant workers come through New York.
A few tips for success for the upcoming crop of summer analysts who will be sweating it out on Wall Street:
- Don’t be afraid to say no
Summer analyst staffings are largely opportunistic. Nobody expects you to know much or do more than the very basics (and even then, your work will be checked). So don’t try to be a hero and accept every request that comes your way – always keep in mind that the quality of your work is far more important than the perceived quantity.
- Take your time
In a similar vein, nobody expects you to be very fast either. You will be expected to get up to speed on simple tasks, such as printing books, assembling PIBs/data room books, but for most other tasks, you’ll get tons of time. Again, focus on quality – make sure your work is as error-free as possible. Always print and check the hard copy – there’s something magic about HP printers that somehow makes mistakes pop out on paper. The quality of work given to you will increase with the quality of work you have proven you are capable of producing, so slow down and get it right. - Don’t ask smart questions
The idiot who started telling summers that they should read the WSJ and “be informed” needs to be taken out back and shot. Hey, I’m sure your upper-div finance classes are cool and all, but most bankers aren’t that interested in talking Operation Twist every day. In fact, most of the bankers you’ll interact with most (junior and mid-level guys) are totally fucking clueless when it comes to the latest news or the outside world in general. So don’t lean over someone’s cubicle wall and lob in a Q about the steepness of the rate curve. You sound like a douchebag. Be informed to the point where you don’t sound as if you live under a rock (although it’s quite possible that you’ve been living under your desk, which is the same thing), but there’s no need to ask these types of questions to show your intellectual curiosity.
- Do ask dumb questions
This, in a single phrase, is the piece of advice that will allow you to capture the triple crown of summer analyst stardom. Asking dumb questions is great because:
a. You will save time by avoiding the dreadful (and all too common) summer analyst wheel-spinning. Your improved knowledge base will allow you to take on more high quality responsibilities with greater confidence.
b. You will develop a rapport with fulltime analysts/associates. They will know who you are, and they will know that you are engaged and (at least relatively) busy and hardworking. They will likely enjoy passing on bits of wisdom and knowledge, and you will make them feel like the teachers they wish they had become instead of the banking slaves they are. Just don’t ask the same question too many times – this means if the answer is reasonably available (google, training manual or otherwise) or you’ve actually asked the question already, you can probably keep your mouth shut. But don’t let the fear of “being annoying” paralyze you.
c. You will show that you care about learning and improving. Nothing worse than a know-it-all summer analyst. If you happen to have a deep bench of finance knowledge, ask the work-specific questions that will help you leverage your existing skillset. - Take notes
You’re here to learn and you’re not given a ton of responsibility, so take notes and try to internalize the bits and pieces you pick up along the way. Don’t try to transcribe everything like the overachieving type-A you actually are, just try not to let everything fly over your head. Taking notes will help you get more out of the dumb questions you ask, will help you eat your shit sandwiches faster, and will generally help you get faster at everything.
- Eat your shit sandwich with a smile
This one’s simple, but you’d be surprised at how many sociopaths make it into the summer analyst program. You’re going to be expected to take on even the most menial tasks (provided you have the time – don’t break rule #1) and do them well and without complaint. The difference may be subtle but it is critical. There is a huge difference between informing someone of your current project priorities and complaining. Complaining about work in any capacity tells people you’re either hopelessly arrogant or weak-willed. Unfortunately, for a ten-week stint, you may get little sleep between the work and the socializing, but nobody feels sorry for you because you get to go back to college life after it’s all over. So sack up.
- Be cool
You got hired primarily because you seem personable. There were simply too many overqualified candidates to choose from in the recruiting cycle, so you were selected because the people who interviewed you thought you had the basic hard skills to succeed in banking (fifth grade reading ability, third grade math ability) and the basic soft skills to succeed in banking (college junior drinking ability). One of the most important factors in converting your SA gig into a fulltime role is to show that you can be part of a group. So don’t be an overcompetitive jerkoff – be part of the group. Go out for drinks when people are rallying. Go out to long lunches with the group. Make friends. Just don’t black out at the summer party and throw the group head into the pool.
- Be smart about what matters
Not every classwide summer analyst event is important, and not every flyby staffing is important. This ties into rule #1, rule #6, and rule #7. You don’t want to miss the big social event because you stayed in the office all night tweaking industry profiles for a pitch that won’t happen for three weeks. You don’t want to blow off the VP asking for industry profiles for tomorrow’s pitch because you went to social events three nights in a row. There’s a middle ground in terms of setting priorities, being a good soldier, and being a likeable guy – and the better you are at feeling it out, the better off you’ll be. Don’t be afraid to seek out advice in finding that middle ground.
- Find a mentor
Unless you’re a drooling leper, you’ll be able to find an analyst or associate who will gladly take you under his/her wing for the summer. This may be your “official” mentor, someone who graduated from the same college, or just someone you had a good conversation with. Don’t be creepy, but don’t be afraid to follow up. A friend who knows the ins and outs of working as a fulltime junior banker will be a valuable sounding board and source of good advice. They will give you off the record information. They will be more willing to stretch their time to help you with your questions. In a pinch, they might even help you with your work. If you find yourself able to establish a “go-to” relationship with someone in your summer group, you have probably done well with rule #7.
- Be yourself
There are a million guides of summer analyst do’s and don’ts. However, it’s very important to avoid mimicking the textbook and inject a bit of your own style into the role. Take attire for example. If you read the WSO forums, you may find some people who say you should always dress ultra-sharp and get a few nice suits. You may find some people who say pricey suits make you look arrogant and therefore you should buy cheaper suits. You will probably find a lot of people who say you should buy something in-between. There is no right answer. You should choose what you feel comfortable with. And if you have no opinion regarding your own comfort zone, you need to go back to school and develop a spine before carving out your spot on Wall Street. Following advice blindly is a recipe for disaster, because not everyone is as adept at executing on each piece of advice. Know yourself, don’t try too hard to fake it. People have a funny way of sniffing out a phony, and most people don’t like the smell. So don’t spend time and effort stressing about whether you’re following all the guidelines perfectly – just be yourself and rules 1-9 should fall right into place.
The last word: remember that in any competition, a significant proportion of the pool will self-eliminate. In other words, they will shoot themselves in the foot. Given that investment banking summer analyst gigs typically convert to fulltime offers >70% of the time (as they say, it’s your job to lose), all you have to do is not royally fuck up to win the summer. And further down the road, if you’re lucky, someone will give you a blog so you too can give questionable advice to future generations of summer analysts.
Comments
3 is especially true, 99% of
3 is especially true, 99% of bankers have the intellectual curiosity (and often ability) of a hamster, they have no idea and no interest in the markets / the economy, so don't waste your time
wow. good stuff
wow. good stuff
leveredarb: 3 is especially
3 is especially true, 99% of bankers have the intellectual curiosity (and often ability) of a hamster, they have no idea and no interest in the markets / the economy, so don't waste your time
Has it always been like this or is this a new trend? and where do those who DO have a strong intellectual curiosity in markets/economy usually end up?
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Made the mistake of breaking
Made the mistake of breaking rule #3 early on, quickly learned from that.
AndyLouis: where do those who
where do those who DO have a strong intellectual curiosity in markets/economy usually end up?
Probably on buy side - portfolio managers, investment strategists, research analysts
In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away
And Time will have his fancy
Tomorrow or today.
Going
where do those who DO have a strong intellectual curiosity in markets/economy usually end up?
Probably on buy side - portfolio managers, investment strategists, research analysts
Yup, my portfolio manager actually encourages me to ask and find out what's going on in the markets.
I messed up early on with number 2, i rushed through my work, and made some foolish errors. But i learned from that.
Just a sophomore looking for an opportunity to start up this dream of mine.
Id give you an sb if I had
Id give you an sb if I had some
well, I guess I am not
well, I guess I am not getting a FT offer
I messed up which led to people avoiding me and not liking me which led to me to not getting invited to any social events which led me to be outcasted and not fit in with the group which led me to stop asking questions because they don't want to talk to me which led to me not learning the material
Born in hell, forged from suffering, hardened by pain.
OP can you let us know a
OP can you let us know a little about your background?
A lot of your advice makes sense to me, but I have doubts about #1 for instance. I know in careers you have to know when to say know, but the summer internship is just ten weeks - aren't you expected to just suck it up for such a short period of time?
There is already a book on you. That book is already being written. And if I talked to your friends, your teachers, your professionals, your family, I would know so much about you I wouldn't even have to meet you. You write the book the way you want to be
One thing i've learned during
One thing i've learned during my internship, is that there's a group of FT'ers who always have valuable work for me and another group who never has any work for me or if they do, it's very tedious. So whenever I'm looking for work, I go to the guys who give me meaningful work, and if there isn't anything, I'll chill for a bit before going to the ones with the tedious work, they always have something.
Just a sophomore looking for an opportunity to start up this dream of mine.
I think what matters the most
I think what matters the most is being yourself.
enough said.
Love the picture
Love the picture
Lotin: One thing i've learned
One thing i've learned during my internship, is that there's a group of FT'ers who always have valuable work for me and another group who never has any work for me or if they do, it's very tedious. So whenever I'm looking for work, I go to the guys who give me meaningful work, and if there isn't anything, I'll chill for a bit before going to the ones with the tedious work, they always have something.
This is spot-on.
Another point- in my SA stint, I noticed a strong correlation between being a good/great FT analyst and that analyst giving out meaningful work. Quickly find out who a few of the top analysts are, make friends with them, then go to them (almost exclusively) when you have some bandwidth.
If you do it right, these guys will give you better quality work (You're still an SA, so don't expect a merger model), teach you how to do it correctly/efficiently and eventually go to bat for you when it comes time to decide who is getting FT offers.
As a bonus, rockstar analysts are usually more fun to hang out with than the guys who suck...
"Utter commitment to the task at hand."
Does rule #3 apply for S&T
Does rule #3 apply for S&T internships? Seems like not asking about the markets would be fatal there.
Aaron Burr: A Don’t ask smart
A
The idiot who started telling summers that they should read the WSJ and “be informed” needs to be taken out back and shot. Hey, I’m sure your upper-div finance classes are cool and all, but most bankers aren’t that interested in talking Operation Twist every day. In fact, most of the bankers you’ll interact with most (junior and mid-level guys) are totally fucking clueless when it comes to the latest news or the outside world in general. So don’t lean over someone’s cubicle wall and lob in a Q about the steepness of the rate curve. You sound like a douchebag. Be informed to the point where you don’t sound as if you live under a rock (although it’s quite possible that you’ve been living under your desk, which is the same thing), but there’s no need to ask these types of questions to show your intellectual curiosity.
I can understand the thought process behind not acting like a douche and trying to start a debate about government monetary policy, but it seems like very few bankers would look down on asking intelligent questions that show you understand the current overall macroeconomic conditions and industry trends.
I received some very positive feedback mentioning that I was "engaged in the process" because I asked smart questions. (Asked an MD after a small strategy meeting what his thought process was in selecting X company instead of Y company as a possible acquisition target when both had very similar profiles)
I also had another MD explicitly tell me that it is very important to him that I understand how my work fits into "the bigger picture". He actually wrote up a sample resumé bullet describing my contribution to one of his deals to prove his point. Some senior bankers do care about you being more than an information processing robot.
Long story short- don't be a tool who starts academic debates about QE3, but just because you're a monkey for the summer doesn't mean you should completely shut down any critical thinking.
"Utter commitment to the task at hand."
CalTex Analyst: Aaron
"Social cohesion and puritanical morality place roughly on my list of concerns between whether I'll pick up jock itch at the gym this week (not likely, since I don't go the gym) and whether it'll rain in Christchurch, New Zealand next Tuesday."
-Eddie
JDimon: OP can you let us
Don't know how this came to
A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.
duffmt6: CalTex
I would agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong.
interesting. thanks for the
Thanks for the update. This