Escaping the Intern Rat-Race

Hi everybody. I am starting my career in IB and I'm currently doing an M&A off-cycle at a second-tier bank. During the time here, I realised how repetitive interns' tasks are and how hard is to actually remember financials or operating characteristics of the companies I do profiles for.

We all know that one of the main advantages of working in M&A is to have a broader picture on different industries and companies, but the more I work on pitchbooks and profiles, the more I realise that I'm far more focused on getting the job done as quick and precise as possible rather than actually absorb the numbers that I see.

Does anybody have advice/suggestions to escape this intern rat-race? Thx.

 
Best Response

That's the challenge a lot of M&A guys face. I keep reminding myself to always step back and look at the broader picture rather than getting lost in the details of the deal. What you're experiencing is pretty normal so don't sweat it. Talk to your associates and VP's if you've built a good rapport and discuss deal rationale or listen carefully to management strategy on calls etc. Simple stuff like that makes what you're looking for much easier.

 

I second Bueller's advice. As an intern, your main task is to add as much (limited) value as possible, which means that you're often just rushing to get profiles, pitches and comps done and don't have the time to sit back and actually absorb and understand what you're doing. That's fine. It happens during your first year as well. The important thing is to find time to talk to the senior guys on your deal team/guys that you have established a rapport with and ask them about what is actually going on.

 

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