SA Intern Advice

Firstly, huge congratulations on landing the SA role, especially as a non-target who networked hard – that speaks volumes about your drive already. What you're feeling is completely normal; many interns feel that way, regardless of their school.

Regarding your concern about starting slower on technicals:

1. Banks Expect a Learning Curve: Remember, the summer internship is a "ten-week audition", but it's also an "all-expenses-paid immersion into the world of investment banking." Banks provide initial training programs for a reason, often "steeped in the fundamentals: rigorous training in financial modeling, crafting comps and precedent transaction analyses, and mastering the bank's internal processes and systems." They don't expect you to be an expert on day one.
2. Focus on Fundamentals, Not Speed Records: Those peers talking about building LBOs in an hour might be exaggerating, or they might have had very specific prior training. For an intern, accuracy, understanding, and a willingness to learn are far more critical than raw speed initially. Most of your early tasks might be more focused on supporting analysts—tasks like printing and binding pitchbooks, conducting research and data dives, incorporating text edits into presentations, creating simple slides, or updating capitalization tables —rather than building highly complex models from scratch independently. For context, many first-year analysts might not get to build a financial model from scratch until well into their first year, or even their second.

How to Excel, Even if You Feel You're Catching Up: Your willingness to "work super hard" is your biggest asset. Here’s how to leverage it, based on the principles in "Crack the Street":

• Unbeatable Attitude: "Maintain a Consistently Positive Attitude... a can-do, positive demeanor goes a long way." "Show genuine passion for the work, even the mundane tasks."
• Meticulous Execution: This is non-negotiable. "Complete every task assigned to you with the highest quality and most rigorous attention to detail you can muster." Always "Triple-check your work."
• Be a Learning Machine: "Whenever you're assigned a task, have a notepad ready." "Take thorough notes, and critically, ensure you are crystal clear on the objective, the expected output, the methodology (if specified), and the deadline." "Don't hesitate to ask clarifying questions upfront—it’s far better than making incorrect assumptions."
• Resourcefulness & Knowing When to Ask: While you're new, "Apply logical reasoning and critical thinking before immediately asking for help." But also, "the absolute worst thing you can do is get stuck on a task for hours... If you're genuinely stuck after a reasonable attempt, ask for guidance." "Your first call should generally be a fellow intern" or then a first-year analyst.
• Proactive Engagement: "Don't wait to be spoon-fed work. When you have capacity, proactively (but not annoyingly) inquire if you can assist with anything further."

How does starting slower affect you? It means you'll need to be incredibly dedicated during your training and your initial tasks. Focus on understanding the "why" behind tasks, not just the "how." A steep learning curve combined with a fantastic attitude and meticulous work will be noticed and highly valued—often more than someone who comes in with more technical knowledge but is sloppy or has a poor attitude. The bank hired you knowing your background; they saw your potential. The determination that got you this "scrappy" offer is exactly what will help you succeed.

You're not expected to know everything immediately. You're expected to learn fast, work hard, and be a valuable team player. You got this.