How to turn a summer analyst role into full time offer
I just got a offer for ML as a summer analyst within wholesale credit and I want to turn it into a full time offer. What are some advice and things I can do to impress my time? And, if I want to transition into DCM or ECM what should I do?
From day 1, you're going to want to show a few things that would make people want to work with you in the future:
Be eager and always willing to do whatever work they throw your way. Doesn't matter if it's spreading comps, printing out a dozen bound pitchbooks, or running a case of diet coke up to the board room; you do it and you do it with a smile.
Ask questions if you don't know something, but not dumb ones. Rule of thumb is, if you can't find the answer in the first two pages of google, then you're free to ask your associate. Otherwise, try to solve your problems yourself or by looking at past examples (if you can, spend some time familiarizing yourself with past files your desk has worked on so you can hit the ground running when they ask you to take care of something).
Don't make the same mistakes over and over again. If you fuck up once, own up to it and ask for advice on how you can improve. After that, don't make the same mistake again. No one is going to expect you to be perfect when you start, but if you're making the same mistake after 10 weeks, that's not a good sign.
That about sums it up. You're in a really fortunate position and, in my opinion, the worst part is over. Just be enthusiastic and try a little bit and you should be set for the near future.
Echoing what everyone has said, the prudent approach would be to treat this as a 10 week interview process: not just as an interview process the firm will have to evaluate you, but also a 10 week interview to see if you would like to work there for the next 1-2 years+. The boards have a few sterling threads on best practices, but you should be set as long as you abide by the following:
1) Show good attitude and just generally be someone that everyone enjoys working with. Many folks I've seen who are truly outstanding were good with their technical skills and modelling, but complemented this with a fantastic attitude and were great to work with. Displaying positive sentiments and just being willing to help the rest of the team when needed goes a long way in others' perception of you as a prospective employee, and this initial first impression helps to mask errors if/when you inevitably make mistakes, because folks are more willing to give you the benefit of the doubt
2) Take ownership of your work and ensure that it is presentable before handing it in to an associate/VP. Set the tone early that you aren't someone that tolerates making mistakes, and that your work in kind will be of the same quality if they invite you back to be a full time analyst. Some things that helped me tremendously when I first got started were to i) print out everything I worked on, ii) taking a highlighter and marking changes and looking out for spelling/grammar/formatting mistakes and iii) if possible, see if you can get your fellow interns/analysts (if FT) to spot check with a fresh set of eyes to see if you missed anything.
3) Be open to learning new things and absorb as much as you can. This is applicable really to any industry. It may seem a bit overwhelming going from 0-60 and then around in a quick 10 week timeline, but there's an immeasurable amount that can be learned by going through the work and asking meaningful questions. Get to know the rest of the team on a more personal level as well, as they can be valuable resources to you whether you end up getting a return offer or leverage it into something else.
You can go quite a long way in this industry or others by being courteous, hard working, and not taking yourself too seriously. Applying these fundamentals will ensure you get the return offer at the firm, and will also ensure that you are in a great spot should you want to go somewhere afterwards. All the best in all cases :)