Current/former IB summer analysts, what was the day to day like?
Hey guys,
I'm a rising junior and I am currently interning in Advisory at one of the Big 4. To make a long story short, I am incredibly fed up with my internship.
I've been working for nearly 6 weeks and half my time has been literally spent doing nothing — I've done a lot of reading and even enrolled in a couple online programming classes to pass time. When I do get work handed to me, 80% of the time I get assigned things that any monkey with half a brain could do like annotating PDF's, transcribing client notes, even scanning documents... I haven't learned much, and I feel that I haven't gotten much (if anything) out of work.
I am studying finance and I have hopes for a banking internship next summer, so I'm curious to know what the day to day of an IBD intern is like. Doesn't matter what firm, industry, group, etc., I just want to know what the daily and weekly assignments are like, and any other details you may want to share about your experiences as an intern.
I know that banking interns have a reputation of working ridiculous hours all summer, but I would honestly come close to blowing my brains out if I had to spend a whole night at the office doing something of no substance like copying PDF notes. I don't mind doing less challenging work from time to time because I understand that they're all things that need to get done, but I don't want to feel like I'm wasting my time in a constant basis.
Thanks!
I suggest you see the coffee guy's thread...
link? can't find it
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/boss-asked-me-to-get-coffee
I read it when it came out a month ago (it was linked on that Friday's 'Best of the Week' email).
I don't mind that, and I honestly think that OP blew it way out of proportion – it was an MD and it's not like he was asked to do it every day...
However, I think the underlying point of the post is valid. It becomes a problem when that kind of brainless "bitch task" becomes your daily work, which seems to be my case thus far at B4. Sure, I may not have the necessary experience to be signing off on client proposals or approving budgets, but on the flip side, do I need ANY technical experience to be copying PDF annotations or scanning audit notes?
On average, 9 to 1 five days a week and 9 to 9 on Fridays. About 95 hours a week.
Do most firms expect you to be at the office every weekend too? Because that's the only way I can see someone fitting 95 hours on a weekly basis
Yes you have to work Sunday at my office
Roughly 85-90 hours a week on average, with one or two weeks over 110. The work you get really depends on: a) your bank and group b) your quality of work
I am in a relatively "entrepreneurial" group so I was able to assist on live modeling (specifically, my contribution was building out a short-form LBO for a sponsor bid based on entry / exit assumptions they provided us, and doing a asset portfolio split-up for another sponsor backed deal). I know people at other firms who are still updating graphs for 80-90 hours a week and it has little to do with their work quality. By the last few weeks, summers who are getting return offers start getting treated more like first years and less like SAs.
That being said work quality is also very important. In the first few weeks, you can usually cement yourself with a stereotype, and people will think you are the "smart summer" or "the loud one", or whatever, even if they have not worked with you. Try to use this to your advantage, because you can influence what you are staffed on and what work you get in this way. In my midsummer review, I was told that several of my technically-intensive staffings were performance based and it's not like they had much performance to go off of before that. Make sure everything you turn in has as few mistakes as possible and for the love of God, don't make the same mistake twice. Or three times. Please. There's a shit ton of busy work but make sure you put the same effort into this as you would put into the Vodafone / Verizon merger model
According to the infographic I received from MS, the July 31st deadline is for accelerated recruiting.
ah crap posted this in the wrong place
Awesome, thank you so much for your response! Are you in a smaller firm, or can interns be expected to do some of the heavy lifting (like your LBO live model) at larger firms like Goldman, Citi, etc?
Top sponsors group at BB. It is very, very group dependent, however... I think most groups at MS, for instance, will not typically trust interns with live work.
I have a follow-up question for you IBD-interns! How much did you know before the intership and how much do you learn there?
This is huge for me as well. Even though I go to a Top 3 UG Business School, I will only have taken 2-3 finance classes by next summer (Basic, Corporate and maybe Investments) and I'm worried that I'm going to not know how to do something and it will paint me in a bad light for the rest of the internship period because it's something simple.
There is nothing stopping you from self-learning. Download Rosenbaum & Pearl Investment Banking. Learn how to run comps / do a DCF & LBO. If you can do those cold before you start while staying up to dates on the markets / current affairs you'll be well ahead of your class
Converting your SA is predominantly attitude and less aptitude (from what I observed of my SA class). More senior members can obviously provide better colour or correct me on this.
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