Virtual SA - how to fill in the downtime?

I started my SA at an MM last week in the M&A group, and it is an understatement to say things have been slow, especially for me as an intern. I fully realize that deal flow is almost non-existent at most banks, but I genuinely feel like I'm doing nothing. My deal team also realizes this, even the analysts are really slow right now. When I got the offer last year, I was so excited and couldn't wait to contribute, even if it was just putting together some PowerPoint slides or spreading comps in excel for 80 hours a week; at least then I would still be able to help out. But I'm not even doing that right now. The deals I'm staffed on are moving nowhere. One is almost closed, so there's not much for me to do there. The other is still in the marketing stage, but management is dragging out the process due to COVID. I reach out to the analysts in my deal team throughout the day asking for work, but there isn't any, and I don't want to be annoying and keep pushing. They know I want to work and they want me to work, but so far there hasn't been anything they can assign me. Any work that arises on the deals is handled by the analysts and associated since they can deal with it much more efficiently given that this is my first IB internship.

We've been told a lot of our performance review is going to be based on our communication skills and personality, as well as a simulation project we're being assigned. I'm not worried about these aspects, I feel like I've already made a good impression on my deal team and will be reaching out to other analysts and associates soon. But I am worried that if I don't get any work soon, the banks won't be able to make a fair decision on whether I should be given a FT offer or not, or if I even want to return to banking FT. I realize that if there is no work to assign, there is no work to assign. But what should I be doing in my downtime to prove myself, while also getting a better feel for IB? I already plan on expanding my networking efforts beyond my deal team and have been working on my modeling skills quite a bit. I've started reviewing our CIMs to get more familiar with PP and the bank's preferred structure. But is there anything else? Apart from the networking, the other things aren't visible to the group, and the networking itself is just a demonstration of my interest, not my capabilities. I didn't mean for this to turn into a rant or a vent session, but I worked so hard for this opportunity, I want to make sure I'm doing whatever I can to succeed and earn a FT offer. Thanks for the help.

15 Comments

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 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

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • 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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”