Best Practices for a Virtual IB SA?

I am an incoming IB intern and given that everything will (most likely) be virtual this summer, wanted to start a thread on the best practices as a virtual intern. I, and surely the other incoming interns, will appreciate all the insights from those currently in the industry!

Thanks in advance.

22 Comments
 

Be responsive. This is so easy and people still miss on it.

Don't sit at your desk 9am-2am with no work staring at your email (huge no no) but if something comes in, respond to it quickly from your phone or desktop. If it takes less than 5 minutes respond immediately, if it takes longer and you have to stop what you're doing respond within 20 minutes (or just say you're looking into it).

There will be times when you're making food, out of the house, or just unresponsive for some reason, but people will then assume you're tied up. Building the image early on that you're typically very response (85% of the time) is huge for a virtual intern.

 

Don’t stop networking with your team. They’re the ones who are going to be making the decisions on who gets a return or not. I reached out to mostly associates because they’re the ones who were making the decisions in my group during my internship. 

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Most Helpful

Off the top of my head;

  • If your firm isn't going to give you a laptop, make sure you're running windows and that you have one to two monitors. It makes the work so much easier to do quickly.
  • If you need to ask questions, get as far as you can with the task and compile the questions into a list. Then you can ask the analyst or associate all of the questions in one go, making everything much more efficient. 
  • Don't be afraid to reach out to your team; you need to network relentlessly and often make the first step. You should aim to have at least one call with all of the juniors below VP level. 
  • You'll probably find the lack of guidance stressful, I know many interns did last year. Be aware of this and then try to deal with it as best as you can, for example by setting up a meeting to go through a task you have (so at least you know you'll get help by xyz).
  • Don't underestimate the importance of the training / HR events you need to attend, it's one of the many ways they'll probably try to assess you. 
  • Be responsive, try to reply to emails within 10-15 minutes and make sure to be completely clear with what you need to convey.

Overall, try to embrace the experience. It's probably the easiest internship you'll ever do if you don't get any live work to do!

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I would wait until the internship starts, but if there's already someone you know in the team you've been placed in, it can't hurt to reach out. However, I would wait until training has ended and you've joined your team for the summer before reaching out to A&A's.

Yes, you definitely should try to get a bit of time with some of the MD's, D's & VP's. Funnily enough, it may be easier to get time from MD's than VP's, so just play it by ear. During the summer you'll probably have presentations from MD's / D's in the group about transactions. If they offer any kind of follow up call or a chance to chat, always take up the offer.

Also, when you're on calls remember that this is how they're assessing you, so take care to be engaged, have great questions and have pre-prepared 'interview' answers. For example, they may ask you why you chose the bank or why you want to do IBD; you want to leave them with a good impression.

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Does anyone know of any of any threads from last summer where people talked about what equipment different firms sent out to interns? Thanks!

 

Currently doing off-cycle at an EB, and got positive reviews from senior analysts and associates, so I guess I'm doing something right. Here are the tips.

  • Like people said above, respond in 10 minutes ideally, max 30 minutes. Senior people want the feedback right away, even if it is just an email that acknowledges the request.
  • If someone asks if you are free and you are busy, say "I would love to help but unfortunately I'm tied up for few hours, but I can get back to it after that if it is possible"
  • Try to stay online as much as the analyst; probably you will have something that shows you are online like Skype. Just make sure you are not going offline at 11 or 12 at midnight
  • Little to no mistakes on PPT/Excel. Always double check. More importantly, never repeat a mistake. Shows you don't care enough.
  • Always ask questions if you don't understand or not sure about the task. You might be doing something completely wrong and it's better to have guidance.
  • Don't have a shitty attitude even if you get feedback at 2am in the morning from an anaylst or an associate.

That's all about it. Just work hard and have a good attitude, and it will show to people that you are at least a competent intern.

 

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