To All the IB Analysts - Think About How You Treat Your Interns
Recently I was reflecting on some of my IB internship stints. I was fortunate enough to work at a few different shops and to actually gain some perspective on how a good vs. bad Analyst treats their interns. My biggest takeaway was that Analyst treatment of interns is one of the most important drivers in determining the quality of an internship experience. Had I generally not gotten along with the Analysts I worked with, I doubt I would have pursued banking.
90% of My Analysts Made a Serious Effort to Help Me Develop
Having worked with probably about 10 different Analysts closely for multiple months each, 9/10 were stand up guys / gals who made a serious effort to help me develop. They took the time to teach best practices, walked me through how they approached different asks, and genuinely tried to introduce me to the work they did while still protecting me from some of the stress (e.g., if I made a mistake they didn't catch they never threw me under the bus). They did all of this while regularly working 80+ hours per week.
As an intern I was highly impressionable and always looking to make friends with the Analysts I worked for. Again, the majority of the Analysts that I worked for were amazing, and we went out together, shot the shit, and created some level of friendship. We watched TV at the office in between turning comments, worked out together, grabbed beers together, etc.
I did anything for the analysts I liked, from getting them breakfast / lunch to driving their cars home if they had too much to drink. In return, they always had my back and it led to an extremely rewarding relationship. I also let them vent about all the Associates and VPs they hated, which in hindsight was probably essential for them and borderline therapeutic. I never told a soul what they confided in me, not even to the other Analysts, and this level of trust only benefited me. As a note to any incoming intern reading this, never break the trust of the people you work with day in and out, nothing is worth losing that trust.
The Feedback Can Make or Break Your Day
Even though I wasn't nearly as busy as the Analysts and Associates I supported, I was working enough where I had few other meaningful relationships at the time (e.g., barely any dates, only saw friends once a week on Saturdays maybe Friday night too, chatted with family for 15-30 min a few times a week). This meant that when an Analyst gave me a complement or chewed me out for a stupid fuck up, that action alone made or ruined my day. When you have almost no interaction with other people and all you are doing is working, what else could make or break your day but that feedback?
With so many virtual experiences, and with analysts being worked to death, it is likely that interns will not receive the same quality experience, but I would mention that to every Analyst working with an intern, they care about all of your feedback and your treatment of them more than you could possibly imagine.
One Analyst Made My Life Hell
I worked with one analyst who made my life hell and I will never forget it. Despite working FT for multiple years now, I still shutter when I think about working with this particular individual. He would always rush me on tasks (even stuff I was proficient in and didnt even stop working on to go to the bathroom, so it wasnt like I was slow), commenting that he would be done by now, criticize the quality of my work, and just generally make me feel terrible day in and out. It resulted in extremely poor work quality (because he rushed every task I worked on, I was never able to edit thoroughly), and almost made me decide not to pursue IB FT despite so many other positive experiences. Despite working alongside three other Analysts during that same summer who were all extremely supportive, encouraging, and people who I stayed in touch with years later, one person can really ruin your IB internship experience.
As an intern I had an abusive full time. It made me consider leaving the industry entirely and completely defeated my confidence that summer. I remember one night thinking about jumping out the window because I hadn’t slept the entire week and felt so miserable after being told I was worthless and a waste everyday. Fortunately, I got a return offer because I was able to work with other people in the org, even though I was told in my feedback one person consistently gave me underperformance reviews. I returned for full time expecting to just tough it out for a year and leave, while preparing for the most miserable year of my life, but interestingly enough that person had been fired for poor performance. I also ended up being a top performer during my stint. From my perspective, the full time role was nothing like that summer from hell. Not even close, in almost every way.
Once I became full-time and even after in PE, I noticed a theme and general lesson for interns/ prospects: there is an enormous correlation between assholes in the industry and people that are shit at their jobs. Like 95% of the people who are abusive are bottom performers who are unbelievably stressed about their position in the firm and don’t like their jobs because they suck at it. As a result, every mistake you make reflects on them and they view mistakes as the straw that will finally get them canned/ continue to make them appear as a poor performer. The reality is, a normal person doing well in the industry won’t take an intern screw up personally, it’s a teaching moment where you say, “yo, don’t mess this up again”. Or, if it happens continuously, you don’t yell at the person, you just stop trusting them and don’t give them work.
The 5% who are the few assholes actually good at their jobs, usually behave differently. If they are shitty, It’s not a personal attack at you, usually they just demand a level of excellence in the work product and if you mess up they will chew you out, then move on, even if they call you a fucking idiot etc. The whole tone and pattern of behavior is different.
If you ever had a truly abusive person you worked with, try doing some sniffing around to determine whether they suck or not. Willing to bet most likely they are terrible and if you check LinkedIn 3 years later they will no longer be in the industry.
Wow, this post mimics my exact SA experience -- thought my experience was unique/a one-off.
I'm returning full time to the same group I interned with in the next few weeks, and said full time analyst that I had a bad experience with is still in the group, now as an associate.
The group is very small so will likely be working with them quite closely. Would say I'm typically a mid-bucket performer, but when I was under the pump from said analyst I would completely lose my composure and make more stupid mistakes.
Any advice/tips on how to deal with this situation and navigate the initial period while i'm still finding my feet?
A few things:
After this, see what their response is, if it’s “you can’t do that or blah blah blah” respond at 9am the next day.
Sadly, this job is so time consuming and immersive, if you work with an asshole they just run your life for that time. Count the days down and work internally in the org to not work with that person again even threatening to quit if it gets that bad.
I think this is an important post.
It has been quite a few years since I was an intern myself, but I think all people who regularly interact with interns need to recognize their role; The company's face. You are what they will remember, most likely for the rest of their career, because you'll be the first interaction they have with the professional world. If you can't be nice for the sake of being friendly, then think about how small the world of finance is and do it for your self-interest. Some may choose other paths, but I find it fascinating how many interns stay in banking and finance. You will likely meet a large portion of these people again, and it can be valuable to have rapport even with people who are junior to you now.
Most of our interns that we have had are having their first experience with banking and the professional world. I don't believe in teaching them all the best practices over one summer, as this takes much more time. When they leave, they should become reasonably proficient in Powerpoint and know a thing or two about pulling comps and what to look for when making buyer's lists. Give them honest feedback in a nice way, so that it feels genuine and considerate, instead of generic pointers on "work on attention to detail", etc. which all interns need to work on. However, I think it is far more vital that they learn how to operate in a professional environment, how to act in meetings, and how to carry themselves. I'll try to bring them into meetings with clients I am close with, and although they are not expected to talk much, I'll let them present one or two slides that they have made if they are comfortable doing so. It doesn't take much, but it gives them a sense of meaning.
Couldn't agree with this post more. Having done my summer internship virtually, the second-year analyst in my group was instrumental in making my experience a positive one. He was stretched very thin, but always made the time to message me / hop on the phone / video chat whenever I had a question for him. Now that I'm FT, I'm shocked at how available he made himself given how fast-paced and hectic our days are. While his are tough shoes to fill, he's my role model for when I have to take interns under my wing next summer.