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Career Resources
Control what you can, remain positive no matter how boring the staffing may be, ask questions, speak with confidence and identify the good and bad apples early.
Can you elaborate more on identifying the good and bad apples?
Check for bruises around the skin/peel. Bruising makes the fruit more susceptible to infection.
There are analyst/associates that appreciate summers and help them learn the different facets of the job. Then there are the analyst/associates that insist on making your life miserable and pride themselves on insulting you in front of others. I witnessed a SA at my bank get yelled at everyday by a 3rd year who wanted a different intern in his group. Just be aware of the various actors.
Thank you.
Do you have any tips for the training week?
Find the kids in your group and befriend them. If you don't come from a finance background pay close attention - if you do come from a finance background - be prepared to be bored.
Top 3 suggestions:
1) Don't fuck up the same thing more than once 2) Be likeable / positive (don't complain) 3) Go to all the social events you are invited to
Your experience will vary depending on the bank, group, and your team so hard to give categorical advice on what to expect there. I would just mentally prepare to be in the office 9am to midnight four days a week (I was able to leave between 7 and 8 a few of my Fridays) and coming in the on weekends.
also...don't be a "bro"....be friendly, be likable....be eagar to do work....don't think anything is above you...its not a frat house....be a professional....and friendly to everybody.
Do your supervisors expect you to come in without them saying anything? Or is there like a dialogue that usually takes place before the weekend?
You'll know if/when you have to come in on the weekends based on the analysts/associates you are working with.
Good advice on planning to be there relatively early and staying late - If you aren't busy try and find something to help with / be proactive. I always respected (and ultimately vouched for) the interns who appeared positive, friendly and down to earth.
You are trying to secure a job so do all you can to put yourself in a good position.
Any other tips on trying to become a good team member who adds or brings value to the team?
How do you know what needs doing / your working hours? Contract says 9-5 (and i know this to be BS in practice when in the role) but how does this get confirmed eg time in the office and time to leave etc Does the manager tell you or HR staffer or do you need to instigate it? I dont want to be the one to bring up the conversation of my working hours; in fear of looking like a pussy and also uncommitted to the role.
9-5? Are you in the wrong forum?
It's actually pretty easy to figure out timing as a summer intern - you get there earlier than everyone and you leave the latest.
Currently interning in PE. Wouldn’t say leaving the latest makes sense if it’s not required. No point in staying for facetime in my group, but I guess it may be different in IB.
It is very unlikely that you know something that the analyst does not. Do not try to prove them wrong
How often would the senior people try to raddle new SA/interns? How would one handle the situation given their abuse have no effect on the intern, even boring at times? Do you give them their satisfaction or just keep ignoring them?
No matter what, the most important part of the job is undoubtedly satisfying the whimsical emotional impulses that drive the sadism of your bosses.
Don't make comments like this either.
If a keyboard flies towards your head from an enraged MD, just suck it up and take the hit. Not worth dodging it and making him/her angrier.
Disagree. You need to pretend that you tried to dodge it, but take the hit nonetheless. This makes it more satisfying for your boss.
When Russel Crowe was an MD at my bank, SAs knew how to do their job...
Should an intern seek out a 'mentor' from another group? Should one also go for coffee chats with other group(s) he may have an interest in or will that look bad on me?
Go easy Thursday nights. Above all, DO NOT ARRIVE LATE. Ever. They won't really remember the work you do because your tasks will be pretty basic and easy. They will, however, remember the time you showed up late looking hungover af
I did three BB and EB banking internships because I was just that asshole so here are some tips. None are particularly new or different than what's on here a gazillion times, but they're still not easy and I can't even begin to count the number of kids who fuck these up every summer.
Put in the hours, even just for the facetime. Don't be the guy trying to weasel their way out on Thursday night when the full-times are getting stuffed. They will resent you and see you as nothing more than an entitled intern. That being said, don't let people know you're there for that reason or you'll come across as a brownnose. Find some useful shit to do, even if it's taking on extra boring work.
Offer to help out, but within reason. Know your capacity and never offer if you can't follow through. Quickest thing to get you dinged is if you commit to getting something done for a busy junior banker and don't get it done and leave them swinging in the wind.
Be a culture guy. I don't care where you are, every group prioritizes culture above almost everything else. Unless you're top 5 in your class at Wharton and are gonna model better than any full-time, whether you'd be a good guy to work with is the most important piece of information bankers use to figure out if you're worth a full-time. So go to the events, make jokes (gauge the group / bank tolerance for these though), and generally have a friendly disposition. Don't just be a yes man, because we all bitch in banking, but keep your complaining low key and in line with the full-times. Spend a week watching and then make your moves to integrate with the guys.
Don't try and big dick people. I don't care if your dad is fucking Jamie Dimon, don't act like. Don't show up day one with your Gucci loafers and Jaeger watch thinking you're a dealmaker talking about all the guys your daddy knows. Don't try and name-drop your senior MD mentor at the firm or anything like that. Keep your connections back pocket. Trust me, everyone knows who you are and where you come from. Hell, half of them are probably from similar backgrounds. But they respect you if you don't act like it. Banking internships are a lot like pledging. The little shit who thinks his older brother entitles him to get it easy is the one who reveals themselves most needing of some "education."
Don't be a cuck though. Bankers who make it have that secret killer instinct. They act humble as per above, but they know they're a fucking shark. You need to have that boost and that little bit of sicko there. Act humble, but don't be meek and submissive. Stand up for yourself, be confident, be direct, and act like you belong. Finding the balance between being both humble and confident is the hardest part so don't take it lightly.
Going off that point, act like everything you do is being watched. It is. Banking is like gossip girl and people spend too much time in close proximity not to talk. People say shit and people will notice how you act, what you do, where are you are. Don't let that freak you out but be cognizant of it all the time. Especially at the social events / when you drink with colleagues. I can't tell you the number of kids I've seen fuck themselves a few beers in. Don't be those kids. You're better than that. You're a fucking investment banker so act like it.
"You're a fucking investment banker so act like it" - awesome dude. Agreed, you are the top tier of society so be a man and scoff at the peasants who order the cheaper beer at happy hour.
I never would have thought to work hard and not be cocky at an internship, this was excellent advice. I'll pass this on to kids looking for banking internships.
That's a pretty pathetic attempt to roast me. Take a lap and give it another go.
Lots of things come to mind but top would be: - Always look for the big picture. When given any task, ask what the context is and what it will be used for. This switches your mindset from pure processing to actually thinking about what the end goal is. It will also help you learn faster and enjoy the work more. Wish I figured that out my first day on the job - Have a good attitude. Don’t complain, don’t be on your phone - Ask if you can help out before you leave for the day - Print your work and come up with a checklist of signing off on it before you pass it on (i.e check numbers first, then text, then footnotes, then consistency with other pages, etc etc.)
Best of luck. You all are in for a ride
Work smart, not hard. Don't procrastinate. Keep your head low. Always ask if you can do extra work.
Be hyper cautious about starting - or even participating in - bullpen conversations about analyst exit options, your friend who is interning at a more prestigious firm, or anything else along those lines. Most of the people you'll be working with (associate on up) are or aspire to be career bankers, and while they understand that's not the path for everyone, they do expect you to give your all to the job for the two years you have it.
-FILO - (First in, Last out) - it's a respect thing. Get in before your team and leave once all the analysts make their way out. It seems pointless but you have to put the time in and it certainly does not go unnoticed. -Ask questions. I was under the impression that I was supposed to know a ton when I started as a SA, but its the exact opposite. Majority of the people you work with want to teach you about the business and are more than happy to walk you through different concepts. -Network: Odds are you wont end up on the same desk you interned on for the next 10 years so you want to build your network at your firm and learn about the other teams/divisions. Same thing goes for the rest of your SA class. Get to know your class because ~75% of them will end up in the FT class and you want to have a network. -Fit: In my opinion, 3/4 of the SA evaluations are for fit. If you can land the gig, odds are you're competent enough to figure out the finance concepts and the rest of the question is do they want to hang out with you. As mentioned above, you don't have to be a "bro" just be normal and have social skills, really not that hard. The more your desk/team likes you, the more they will pull for you when offers are going out.
These are the main things that stand out to me when I think back to being a SA last summer and ultimately got me an offer.
Don’t become a fu##ing Managing Intern - I met interns who were trying to manage their peers, interns trying to pitch companies to MDs to originate deals (!!!!!!), interns setting up training sessions to ”train” their peers, interns dressing as VPs, interns offering always “great pieces of advice” when not needed.. this is the greatest mistake - be humble, rise your hand when you don’t know something or when there are things to do or they are looking for a volunteer
.
1) Attitude - I’ll always take the kid who needs a few more Excel/PPT reps but doesn’t complain once during the summer over the rock-star Excel guru who rolls his eyes whenever he gets 1 hr of busy work.
2) Make a good first impression - unfortunately they matter and can’t be changed.
3) Attention to detail - print out your work before sending, double-check your emails, etc. Mistakes will happen and are expected, but multiple careless mistakes will hurt your reputation.
4) Best piece of advice I can give - make the life of the people above you / on your team easier. Manage the call log, send out meeting invites, offer to open that 6am call the day after Independence Day...etc. These small tasks always exist and someone has to do them. If the analyst/associate don’t have to deal with them and trust you to handle them as the summer progresses, you’re in a good spot.
If your existence makes my life easier, I’m going to bat for you when offers are being decided.
Definitely all solid advice. I remember a couple weeks before my summer stint started, past bankers from our school sent out an emails of ~50 or so best practices/things to do as a Summer.
To be upfront, it's exactly like getting pledged. There's going to be up and downs, but suck it up for the 10 weeks - don't forget, this is for a FT offer. Even if you decided you didn't like/want to do the job afterwards, when it's all said and done, it's always better to have an offer in hand than to say you didn't receive one.
A few other points I'll share that kept me focused and in the game during my summer: - Use your first week to get organized! Figure out the phones, know where to print/bind, get your outlook calendar in check, set your excel hot keys, etc. - Print everything and go over it in highlighter/pen - You're a summer analyst, you're going to make mistakes. It's okay to fuck up, just don't fuck up twice - that just shows a lack of focus. Take your time and check your work! - Get coffee/lunch with individual team members when there's a down period - helps you get noticed and important to know who you work with on a more personal level
All in all, enjoy your summer. You're one step closer to the big leagues
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