Felt like I got nothing out of this summer. Was told I would not be returning last week. Unsure what to do and if anyone has been in this position any advice would be great.

A couple of interns were told there would not be a return for them this summer. I was one of them. Don’t want to give more detail as it’s probably obvious to those here if they see this but it’s a good firm so I at least have that in my resume… that’s about it.

I know many people who have already secured 2024 FT offers but I’ve had no time to network and I feel pretty hopeless.

For some reason it all just hit me tonight as I was working in the office late how fucked I may be. Still doing bs tasks that are delegated to me which maybe nobody will ever read. The worst part is that most of my time was spent doing the shit nobody wanted to do for hours and hours with no end in sight.

So now I:

-haven’t applied to anything or had time to network
-have very very little to talk about in terms of what I this summer (of course I can try to bullshit saying I did things)
-felt like I learned almost nothing valuable (most of the info I know now is from reading articles or researching for slides… nothing crazy)
-no technical skills enhanced (not much modeling was done)
-tough job market even tougher when u didn’t get a return
-made no real connection w the team (really bad culture) and am doubting if this is even what I want to do but I feel it’s too late to switch majors or find another “legit”/respectable profession…

 

Apply to jobs. Who cares about being in a respected profession. If you're here for that you're here for all the wrong reasons. Maybe that's why you didn't get a return and you didn’t learn anything. Sounds like you just don’t care enough.

 

Hmmm unsure where the last assumption came from. A majority of the past 2-3 years of my life has been thinking, living, dreaming finance. If anything I probably cared too much. I was in the office over weekends and constantly going above and beyond before the bad news.

I will say I have thought about just saying fuck it and taking a break. If I do that the “prestigious” roles will probably be gone and I’ll just see where life takes me. Tough to leave this life behind but it’s probably what’s healthier.

 

Didn't want to get to specific as I mentioned but at this point I don't have the offer so I'll shed some light:

Last year less than half of the interns got returns (team im on) so I knew it would be tough. Culture is super toxic and some asks would be so laughable I couldn't tell if it was a joke or not. I came into this super super hungry and have worked 15-18 hours every single day. I come in on most Saturdays and Sundays (they do wfh but my dorm sucks so I come in). Team is super understaffed so I was thinking I should get a return. I had a great first couple of check ins + mid summer evaluation then the week after I get hit with how I talk too much/am not focusing on work enough.

I was in shock when I heard this. I'm pretty extroverted and I realized this whole team is a ton of introverts so I should've probably been more aware. I saw what I was doing as "being proactive" but I guess my associates/vps saw it as being an annoying ass intern. Honestly no idea where I went wrong. Not sure if this reply even makes sense but kinda just at a very very low point.

Edit: just to clarify I would say 70% of the team loved me but seams like there were a couple of people who really wanted me out. No idea wtf i did and i got no real reason from the people I am close to at work.

 
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Still doing bs tasks that are delegated to me which maybe nobody will ever read. The worst part is that most of my time was spent doing the shit nobody wanted to do for hours and hours with no end in sight.

Why are you doing it? No return offer, I'd just not do it and land it back in the analysts lap. They didn't support you obviously for a return offer (rightly or not), so just ditch the task and focus on what's next. Don't waste time on their BS tasks now. 

Focus for you has to be networking. There will be drop outs from other banks from people who accepted offers or already had offers from elsewhere and the banks are scrabbling to find people via their FT grad programs.

Focus on the MM shops and boutiques. Have a story as to why you didn't get a return off (I'd always say something like "headcount freezes" or "toxic culture"). 

Don't expect to learn much on an internship, people get caught up on "i didn't do a deal or didn't do a LBO model" when the reality is most interns did not. You guys simply are too green to be trusted with that stuff.

London Sponsors M&A - EB
 

Thanks. Sums up to toxic culture (hazing type shit).

Issues are:

-People may not believe me during the interview

-People may just view me as being a crybaby

-The bank I interview with knows they are just as bad and rejects because they don't think I can handle it(?)

Either way I’m applying now. What’s weird is I’m still getting work. Less work, but still getting it lmao

 

To you last point I totally get it. Of course I probably have spent 50ish hours on modeling… but that’s out of the ~750 hours put in so far.

Now my issue is hearing how much harder FT is. I know it will be more technical and I hear there are modeling tests for many firms. My plan is to get back on WSP/TTS but can only take me so far… would love your thoughts

 

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