Title is pretty self-explanatory. I don't work in IBD, but wanted to get perspective from other finance disciplines. When you are managing an intern, what specific results and traits are you looking for that makes you want to recommend them for FT hire?
Any and all input welcome, thanks.
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Look at both personality and intelligence traits - broken down further: Personality (fit and attitude) - do you enjoy working with the intern?, does the intern get along / fit with the other team members? does (s)he want to be there (e.g., pleasant disposition at 1:30am getting crushed)? can (s)he work under pressure (same example as before)? can (s)he handle himself in drinking / social situations? Integrity? Strong work ethic? does (s)he have a strong interest / passion for finance?
IQ - does (s)he get finance / math a bit? Is his / her work somewhat organized and structured without too many mistakes and not too sloppy? is (s)he asking the right questions? is (s)he able to work independently a bit (and if (s)he doesn't understand something (s)he does some research, works through it a bit, and then comes with a list of organized questions? intellectual curiosity?
and for the WSO jokesters here: are they in the right frat? does daddy have the right connections? can they pound a handle of fireball the night before work and be in the office the next day? H / P / Y?
Almost got it right except for the HPY part. Have to be from an Old Row Frat at an SEC school or no bid.
thank God u were so politically correct with gender neutral terms..almost got offended for a second
Seeing the gender neutrality reminded me of the ongoing war against the evil patriarchy, which both offended and scared me.
Obedience, ability to learn new commands
What do firms look for when selecting summer analysts? (Originally Posted: 01/02/2013)
I'm a sophomore at a non-target applying for some IB Summer analyst internships at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (both of these are catered to sophs/juniors). I'm a double Econ/Chem major, 3.98 GPA, VP of my school's Economics and Business society and I've got tons of scientific research behind my back.
Question is, what do these big firms look for when selecting summer analysts? Do they look closely at rec letters?
One more thing: each and every one of them has this "Must have demonstrated a strong interest in financial markets" and I'm not sure how to convey that.
On a totally unrelated note, have a great new year :)
Underrated.
As a sophomore, and more importantly being from a nontarget, it will be very difficult to get an internship in IB. GS and MS will be next to impossible for most everyone as a sophomore (even in these specific programs). However, you seem to be taking care of business in the classroom which will help you a lot next year. If you haven't already, start to reach out to alumni who work in banking. They will be able to give you more specific advice with regard to your schools recruiting environment than most posters here. Best of luck. You seem like a good candidate, especially next year.
I'm in a similar situation as you. It's tough to sum up in one post so I will say this:
It's all about contacts when you come from the non-target. If you don't have someone who will vouch for you, 99.99% chance you won't get it, and don't be optimistic and assume you'll be the .01% lol. You can dream, but post on here to confirm the reality of any situation haha.
Steps that help people in our position that I was told by a banker at GS
1) Get the WSO Networking Guide and know it all. Most importantly your story and your elevator pitch. 2) Network like shit. Get contacts at all bank and cover them for months. 3) Get the BIWS Interview Guide and know it all. 4) Leverage your contacts to get the Interview.
5) Kill the interview with your BIWS knowledge. Many targets won't know half as much as you if you go through all the Advanced sections of BIWS 6) Repeat 2-5 for all banks and make sure you know "why bank x" for each application.
It will be tough to make it in this late from a non-target as a sophomore if you do not have contacts, but I am not going to deter you from trying. At the end of the day, you just have to do it and it is a crapshoot, so try your best.
Also getting backups from local boutiques is not a bad idea for a summer gig. Or maybe a small PE/HF shop that will take you which you can then leverage.
Good luck!
noone is on the other side reading rec letters, cover letters, etc at these large banks, especially not at GS/MS. you need a connection (preferably a senior one) within the company to refer your resume to HR, and you might be selected. that's the literally the only way in from a nontarget. of course how you go about getting/making/developing your connections is up to you (networking events, ask family friends, etc)
If you have connection with a GS/MS senior vp in let's say Chicago/Boston how can that person help you out for a program that's in NY?
have them refer your resume to HR in NY.
1) How many cups of coffee can you hold? - Make sure you hit on this early in the interview to catch the interviewers attention - Show your hands a lot in the meeting so that they can see whether or not you have real mans hands that could carry a solid amount of mocha chives
2) Will this person be able to pull Logos - Most of what you will do is pull logos for analysts making profiles (especially if you are in an industry group) - Make sure you know how to search for high quality ones on the internet if your group does not already have them pulled down - Make sure you know the shortcut in powerpoint to align vertically and horizontally
3) How fast can you learn how to make a PIB? - PDF create and converter are your friends - Question is very correlated with how easy can you fake a smile
Food delivery skillz
I'd look for do they hustle, and are they eager to be there?
Maybe I'm a softie but any intern that is a hard worker and excited to learn is a-ok in my book. The rest is just details that can be smoothed over with experience.
I'd rather err on the side of giving the offer than not. People can often surprise you, and from my perspective (glaring any huge defects) who am I to dash someone's dreams.
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