Training Programs for Summers

actually now that I wrote that...does Rothschild even take summers?

bump

someone must work at one of those banks or have experience summering at one of the strong niche firms -- what's the summer experience like vs. large banks with well-developed training

this is weak, but I'm going to bump my own thread again -- I think this is a very relevant question to anyone looking at internships, and one which (unlike many other posts) isn't rehashing something that's already been discussed

At most BB's summers learn as they go. You get a total of like 5 days of training, which is not nearly enough. But within a week or two on the job, you will be up to speed.

Yeah I wouldn't place too much stock in the training programs at different firms. Rothschild takes summer analysts. Although I wouldn't consider Rothschild USA on the same level as the other boutiques you mentioned (Greenhill, Lazard, and Blackstone) and would go to pretty much any BB over it. Rothschild Europe is very good, but the US office lags way behind.

Lazard's not really a boutique, so they have a larger sized summer analyst class than Greenhill, etc. They're somewhere in between BB and boutique, although much closer to the boutique side. Lazard has a formal training program for summers.

Greenhill has a training program for its summers too. I'm not sure about Blackstone. I think at pretty much every top boutique like the ones you mentioned, you get some training before you start as a summer analyst (and as a full-time analyst). Training at a BB is like 5 days, so training at a boutique is comparable. The only difference I think is that if the boutique is really tiny, the training program will be taught by analysts and associates instead of some outside service (like Training the Street). I know Gleacher Partners works this way.

There might be slightly less formal training at a boutique, but I think boutiques' mindset is that they're hiring the absolute smartest and top candidates (no need to hire people from a myriad of schools, races, genders, etc. - they hire who they want), so the analysts will do fine with slightly less training.

Boutique analysts typically take on more responsibility than those at BBs (although the extent of this is usually grossly overstated), so they have to be very capable. Think about it - there's no reason why a boutique wouldn't want to ensure that all of their analysts are properly trained. I mean, the company can't function if they have incompetant analysts. I wouldn't worry about the extent of training you'll get at one of the top boutiques. Also, those positions are harder to get, so if you do decide that you'd prefer a BB atmosphere, it shouldn't be particularly difficult to get a BB offer come full-time recruiting.

If you get an offer at Lazard, Greenhill, Blackstone M&A, etc. I think you should take it over a BB. Only exception would be if you have a Goldman or Morgan offer, in which case it's a much harder decision (and you should consider things like the group you'll be in, whether you'd prefer a boutique versus BB environment, whether you'll want to work internationally anytime soon, etc.).

Thanks for the responses. Even if they aren’t as good an option, it is interesting to know Rothschild take summer analysts, just because they don't mention that on the webpage. My feeling is that anywhere will take a “summer intern" if your resume is truly outstanding enough and/or you effectively work some connections, but that if you are looking for real learning experience you only want to go somewhere that is set up to deal with summer analysts. I know of people who have interned the summer after even their freshman or sophomore year at ridiculously elite niche advisory practices, HFs, and pe firms, but got the impression that they didn't have much of a real job or gain a lot in the way of marketable skills because there wasn't a true summer analyst program and role. That might be great just as a resume thing to have done one summer, but by the time you’re talking summer after junior year, substance would seem more of a priority.

Rat – I understand that it is in the interest of the firm to train you so you can do the work, but when the firm is made up of mostly very senior career bankers who have jumped ship from the BB so they get a bigger cut of the fees they bring in and operate with more freedom, is anyone really going to spend time worrying about making sure you are given the tools, the help when necessary in the first week or so, etc.? In light of the Rothschild thing, anyone know what other banks that don’t mention summer analyst programs on their websites actually offer good ones (i.e. does Gleacher? Evercore? Would being a summer analyst at either of those even be worthwhile because they are so small?)

Well, Lazard for one isn't composed of MDs who've jumped ship from a BB. It's a sizeable bank with a very structured hiring and training progam. Greenhill also has a good amount of home-grown MDs.

I think your worries are unfounded, having known several people who interned at the banks you're speaking of. You are going to get trained no matter what. Of course it's not the MDs priority - it's the associates and VPs priority, since they're the ones who usually get your work. People who have interned at these banks have spoken of running a deal themselves or with one other analyst during their summers. I highly doubt they could do that if they weren't well trained (a lot of the training is on the job at any bank, though). At a firm like Greenhill or Lazard, you're going to get a solid summer experience. And trust me, if you decide to interview with a few other firms for full time after having done a banking internship, they still ask you extremely limited finance questions (how do you value a company, etc.) so even if you theoretically learned nothing for some odd reason, you'd be fine. The point is to get the best full-time job possible.

Gleacher and Evercore both take summer interns (maybe like 2 each?), although I'm pretty sure that they both only interview at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Penn. If you don't go to one of those schools, it is pretty much impossible to get in there for an internship.

I think you have a good point about interning at elite niche firms and doing nothing (I know a guy who interned at a top, top PE firm after his sophomore year and literally did nothing), but as long as the firm has an analyst class that the summer program is designed to test you out for, you don't have to worry. If they are using their summer program to evaluate a potential new hire, you can bet that they're going to get you involved to make sure you're capable. If the firm doesn't have a formal analyst program and you got an internship (at say, KKR) as a favor to your dad, then sure, you probably won't do much. They can't hire you full-time since they don't have an analyst program, so there is no motivation for them to test you out for the position. An internship like that is really for your benefit not the firms. But an internship at Gleacher or Evercore (a place that has a formal full time analyst program) is for the firm's benefit (and yours) - to test you out. They'd rather hire someone they spent 10 weeks with and confirmed to be competant than someone they meet in a few interviews who seems nice and smart.

We offer summer internship training in Delhi & NCR. We are a summer training institute that conducts training for IT and Cyber Security