7 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I don't work in IB but I think it's general consensus that as an intern you should be putting yourself out there... so instead of sitting back and kicking your legs up, you should be proactive and approach your colleagues or manager/senior whatever and ask if there's any task you can help with, anything you can work on to learn something that'll help you do a task, etc.  Not everything needs to be handheld for you.  Work socialization will be a challenge, especially if it's in a different language... but similar principle applies... go put yourself out there with your colleagues, ask them questions, ask them how their day was... make small talk, hope it continues into a good conversation, etc.

I think in the real world you need to learn to not give up after 1 week... to decide that IB isn't for you 1 week into a 6mo internship, particularly when you haven't done any work or socialized with anyone at all, is a bit ridiculous... 

 

Investment Analyst in HF - Event:

I don't work in IB but I think it's general consensus that as an intern you should be putting yourself out there... so instead of sitting back and kicking your legs up, you should be proactive and approach your colleagues or manager/senior whatever and ask if there's any task you can help with, anything you can work on to learn something that'll help you do a task, etc.  Not everything needs to be handheld for you.  Work socialization will be a challenge, especially if it's in a different language... but similar principle applies... go put yourself out there with your colleagues, ask them questions, ask them how their day was... make small talk, hope it continues into a good conversation, etc.



I think in the real world you need to learn to not give up after 1 week... to decide that IB isn't for you 1 week into a 6mo internship, particularly when you haven't done any work or socialized with anyone at all, is a bit ridiculous... 


Definitely not giving up, but I have reached out a LOT and i’m conscious that I don’t want to burden my analysts with my eagerness. There hasn’t been a formal training program, so maybe that has affected it.

 

I’ve been in a similar boat, just do the best you can and give it a couple more weeks before you make any decisions.

For my first week as an off cycle I was forgotten about and given nothing to do, I just had to keep asking to be put on things. You should find a place there within the next couple weeks, and if not I’d have some conversations and consider leaving. It got better for me a little bit.

But if IB isn’t for you, hard to say, I felt the same and just stuck it out, the time is going to pass anyway so unless you have a better opportunity I’d give it a couple more weeks and reevaluate.

 

A80A90:

I’ve been in a similar boat, just do the best you can and give it a couple more weeks before you make any decisions.



For my first week as an off cycle I was forgotten about and given nothing to do, I just had to keep asking to be put on things. You should find a place there within the next couple weeks, and if not I’d have some conversations and consider leaving. It got better for me a little bit.



But if IB isn’t for you, hard to say, I felt the same and just stuck it out, the time is going to pass anyway so unless you have a better opportunity I’d give it a couple more weeks and reevaluate.


I’m definitely not going to quit the internship–I took a leave of absence from university to come and it’s an insanely good opportunity usually reserved for Master’s. I’m just hoping sticking through will provide dividends other than moral consistency.

 

Repudiandae earum a sed pariatur corporis voluptates ipsa porro. Ut nam id laboriosam officiis. Deserunt et est qui nihil et ipsa numquam quos.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”