What Am I Expected to Learn From My Boutique Investment Banking Internship

I have been working at a small boutique investment bank for about a month now. The team is extremely small, and the internship is something they haven't done before so it isn't extremely structured. I often times find myself working on a great deal of different things ranging from being relevant to banking to not. My plan is to pursue full-time opportunities at MM+ Banks in the Fall. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what interviewers will be expect me to know/ have learned from current experience.

 

I would go with the latter. Then if you don't want to go back full time you can spin it in other interviews - say something like the analysts and associates you got along with so well during the first year left (as long as it's at least partially true / they can't verify there wasn't any turnover), and you just didn't enjoy the second summer much because it felt like the culture had changed so much.

 

What I was saying I was trying to spin was the fact that I went thru SA recruiting (class of 2018) and didn't get anything. So when I'm asked for the few FT interviews I'll have whether I went thru recruiting last fall or why I didn't go to a bigger firm and stayed at the same place, that's what I wanted to know how to spin.

 
 

Eh, I wouldn't really prep too much. Maybe brush up on a few valuation technicals and finance theory, but other than that I believe all the EBs have a one-week or longer training program which should be sufficient. Most of the work you will be doing will be industry research, company profiles, comps / precents, and some modeling. Obviously culture varies by firm, but you'll get to know a lot of people at different levels due to the smaller size of EBs, but also work more on average than your BB peers.

 

I was at an EB this summer- here's my two cents:

There will be some sort of training program that's pretty comprehensive, but if you're not proficient in Excel / Powerpoint, it's in your best interest to brush up beforehand. You should definitely be familiar with formulas and Windows shortcuts to make sure you hit the ground running.

Culture is super firm dependent, but the biggest thing to remember is that everyone knows everyone, for better or for worse. Don't ever badmouth anyone to anyone because they likely know exactly who you're talking about, and you have no idea whether it's going to get back to them.

Work hard. Be humble. Be the kind of person you want to work with and you'll get an offer. The return rate is pretty high so it's usually much less cutthroat than at BBs

 

family circumstances....however I'll say I wasn't doing extraordinary at the Target school. Came out with a 3.3, interviews (1st and 2nd to BAML, HSBC, Deloitte), and case competition awards etc.

 

Try to get some sort of quantitative modeling experience and just talk mostly about that in further interviews. Typically, it takes a bit longer to build up credibility and get enough respect at the firm to be given "real" work. Even if you've only spent 10% of your time on modeling, you dont have to mention that in the interview. When they ask you about your experience, the fact is that you did do those things - it doesn't matter what % of your time was taken up doing them.

 

Keep doing what you're currently doing, and do it well. Eventually you will build up enough credibility so that in the latter half of your internship, you can ask if you can get more responsibility with the modeling or pitchbook process. That is what I did and eventually that's all I put on my resume and talked about during interviews (the 1~2 weeks where I had real responsibility) even though 90% of my "boutique IB" experience consisted of BS

 
Best Response

jss09 has it right - as an intern you will work a lot on putting together a list of potential buyers/other less-exciting jobs. Just speak about the "key experience" without missing a beat is the key to passing interviews.

To sound impressive about the work you mentioned, truly understand why and how you are selecting the potential buyers. Merely recalling information and facts will not allow you to survive interviews.

In the work place, as you gain "trust", you will usually be allowed on other parts of the process. Once you do, truly understand them again. Repeat this process to be impressive. Applies to any part of life, really.

Most people know as an intern, you won't have much modelling experience, so they'll pretty much ask the basics (FCFF/FCFE, WACC, Ke, their associated formulas, going through P/L and balance sheet etc.).

 

NosesontheGrindStone, when you say "key experience" do you mean modeling?

I completely agree with all of you (and thanks for responding) but the only thing is right now my firm is working on capital raising only...and currently have no M&A deals (it's a really small firm, so this is normal)

The one time I did do a model, it was more for practice (but it was for an existing client of ours who was trying to raise capital). Should I mention this and say that it was for a potential deal?

Is it stll okay to say I modeled in this scenario? I've also heard that if you say you've modeled, interviewers like to grill you on the model...what kind of questions would they typically ask you in addition to the typical technical questions (balance sheet, etc)

 

You've got to develop contacts at the banks. Think alumni connections, and email/call stating what your interest is. Don't be put off if you don't hear back. Just contact them again in a week or two. basically, at small banks there's no process for these sorts of things so it's really at the discretion of the senior bankers in the office what they'll do. And obviously, they've got a lot less time for it. So you just need to be persistent but not annoying in telling them that you're really interested in banking, in particular what they're doing at the shop you're talking to, and convince them that you're excited to work hard and add value to what they're doing in any way you can.

 

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