Advice for SA WFH Experience?

Now that we are only 2 months away from the 1 year anniversary of COVID-19 lockdowns/social distancing mandates, I'm pretty convinced that my 2021 SA experience will be virtual or hybrid (note: haven't gotten official word from bank). 

Given this, I'm curious about what the experience was like for 2020 SAs; alternatively, I would be open to opinions from those currently WFH. I've read a few threads where initially it seemed to have been preferable to in office as well as a few which claim it to be worse. 

What's some advice you'd give to someone in reflection of your own experiences?

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Set up a 15-30 minute zoom (or call but I found zoom better because then they know your face) with every member on your team. Reach out and make sure to send the calendar invite with the link yourself. Then ask a couple of questions about how they got to their position, anything they think you should know, and then shoot the shit. If everyone on the team knows who you are, (in a good way, not for sleeping in your car) you’ll probably get an offer. Do this early, no one will turn you down.

 

Know last summer all the interns tried to setup calls with me (7 interns), which is fine. But, try to make it a normal conversation and not like a networking/informational call. You’re already part of the group and the last thing I want to talk about is ‘why banking’ and repeating that 7x+ times.

For senior bankers (D/MD) of course make it a bit more formal than analyst/associate

 

Did it last summer, probably doing it again this summer. It sucked major ass. I was constantly worried about missing an email or phone call every second of the day, felt completely isolated doing work in my bedroom the whole summer as well. 

 

Nah no weekend work, this was a sophomore internship at a HF/PE firm, so it was a little less structured than it will be for junior SA i'm guessing. I worked from home, luckily in the same time zone as the firm. I just prefer to have face to face interactions, which is why I think it was challenging for me. 

 

Few things that helped me. 

1. As was already mentioned, set up calls with everyone. Doesn't have to be long, but they should know who you are when it comes to the round table. 

2. Speak with your mentors often. Get feedback. Don't be afraid to reach out. 

3. Get your workspace set up. I had dual monitors + laptop, wireless keyboard, mouse, headphones, proper chair, etc. It's worth spending the money on and will increase your productivity. My BB still gave us our relocation bonus so you could use that to help pay for those things. 

 

How did you go about asking for your relocation bonus when the internship was virtual? This seems like the move

 

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