EB RX Internship (UK) — Barely Getting Any Work. What Should I Do?
I’m currently interning in an RX seat at an EB, and I’m struggling with how little actual work I’ve been assigned.
There are three interns, including me, who report to the same associate. She rarely seems to have enough work for any of us, and when work does come up, it is usually pretty limited and gets completed within a day. My sense is that she may be skeptical about the quality of our work or hesitant to give us anything meaningful? Not sure what to think. All of us are from super-targets, and generally high achievers so I doubt it's our submission quality. At the same time, we are the first group of interns she has ever been responsible for managing, so I’m not sure whether this is a trust issue, an allocation issue, or simply inexperience with delegating.
I have tried to be proactive. I messaged one of the directors on our team directly and asked whether there was anything I could help with, but he never responded (looked at my message and never responded). After being ghosted, I’m honestly not sure how aggressively I should continue reaching out without becoming annoying or going around my associate.
The bank also paid for us to complete Wall Street Prep training and CFA-related courses. I appreciate the investment, but sitting through courses for most of the summer is not particularly stimulating and does not feel like a substitute for actual deal exposure. At this point, it feels like the summer is being wasted, especially since I came in expecting to learn through live work. Funny to think I chose an EB over a MM offer I had, and it seems the EB was the wrong decision....
We all had a DCF test last week, and we all passed, so genuinely not sure what to think. Still have 3 weeks left to the internship.
Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? How would you approach this without seeming impatient, or as though you are bypassing the person you report to? Should I have a direct conversation with the associate, continue reaching out to other team members, or just accept that deal flow and staffing are slow?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s how you can navigate your situation effectively:
1. Direct Conversation with the Associate
2. Proactively Seek Out Work
3. Leverage Downtime Wisely
4. Understand the Context
5. Maintain Professionalism
6. Reflect and Adapt
Remember, internships are as much about assessing the firm as they are about being assessed. If this experience has highlighted what you value in a role or firm, use it to guide your next steps.
Sources: Advice on how to perform well during a virtual summer internship, Non-Target to MM IB: My Advice, Advice I give to my incoming analysts, Advice for summer and return offer rate?, Q&A: Investment Banking Intern Season
Sounds like PJT
Sounds pretty chill tbh. Stop being such a hardo
God forbid someone actually wants stuff to work on I guess or exposure
The lad is there to learn not clip pay check
as someone managing interns, it often just gets too busy and the work is too high stakes / urgent to risk giving it to an intern and iterating from there. don't take it personally - the quality of your work is only good to the extent that you're not given something super complex and with little background context required.
wouldn't deep it, not in your control, just keep yourself busy and offer to help when appropriate (ie not annoying)
To be FRANK. If it’s not PJT, HL or Evercore you’re wasting your time in Rx.
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