How much did you know before your first SA stint?

How much did you know about the capital/debt markets, financial modelling, comparables, etc.

Just curious how much you went into your first internship knowing.

Last, how much knowledge did you acquire from it?

Thanks.

11 Comments
 

Elaborate? How did you learn, what did you do?

The difference between successful people and others is largely a habit - a controlled habit of doing every task better, faster and more efficiently.
 
Best Response

I know enough to answer the technicals correctly, let's put it that way.

TBH I probably know a little more than the average target kid who isn't a finance major, but definitely not a lot. I'm familiar with DCF modeling, comps analyses, etc. because we do them in class but it's not like I know a ton about an industry or anything.

I'm planning on reading WSJ, Economist, and FT when I have free time, keeping current with DealBook, and when I'm assigned a group trying to become familiar with terminology and trends on a macro level.

Don't worry - there's training for a reason.

MM IB -> Corporate Development -> Strategic Finance
 

Feeling relieved.

The difference between successful people and others is largely a habit - a controlled habit of doing every task better, faster and more efficiently.
 
mhurricaneFeeling relieved.

Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels.

Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round. I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theatre of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world.

Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment.

When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to:

M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc. Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U.S.A.

along with a 3x5 card reading, "Please use this M&M for breeding purposes."

This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this "grant money." I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion.

There can be only one.

I banana back
 
Hoogerman
mhurricaneFeeling relieved.

Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels.

Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round. I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theatre of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world.

Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment.

When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to:

M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc. Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U.S.A.

along with a 3x5 card reading, "Please use this M&M for breeding purposes."

This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this "grant money." I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion.

There can be only one.

hahahahahaha i love you.

 

Bump.

The difference between successful people and others is largely a habit - a controlled habit of doing every task better, faster and more efficiently.
 

I'm in the middle of interviewing/superdays.

And I still don't know anything. I always ask my interviewers, "If I do indeed get this position, what do you recommend I do between now and the summer (besides keep my GPA up)?"

Most interviewers chuckled/smiled. Try it out.

 

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