Hey everyone,
Started my internship at a BB LevFin group that is currently doing very well in continental Europe. It is a relatively small team with no analysts, but several associates, VP's and an MD. As I said before, dealflow is great. They are currently in the process of hiring analysts - but untill that time I am effectively the "analyst".
I am in a position where I can approach them for assignments when I complete my current assignment; if my goal is to secure a FT offer/long term career prospects, how would you evaluate who to approach for work?
Work from the bottom up. When you ask one person, do it when others are around, so they can see you hustling for work.
When you say "work from the bottom up", do you mean that it'd be better to ask associates than VP's for work? Everyone is rather friendly and seemingly willing to take me under their wing at least for the first weeks.
Yes. Unless there is someone responsible for work allocation (eg VP has been assigned as your manager), start with associates, then VPs if associates don't have anything, then MDs.
Can I ask for your rationale behind this? Is it because you think associates are going to be more inclined to help with assignments? And should I continue trying to work as much with the associates as possible, or should I start asking VP's for work when I've had a month or two under my belt? I have a 6 month internship if that changes things. Thanks for your input so far.
Your directors fly at around 10,000 feet above the detail and grunt work on a deal, your VPs at about 1,000 feet. The associates are at about 10 feet. The work you are doing is trudging on the ground, among the detail and grunt work. The associates are more likely to identify work for you to do because they are closer to the level of detail and grunt work that needs to be done.
You can hustle a bit with the VPs and directors and they may have work for you. However, they may prefer that you exhaust opportunities with the associates first.
Things can be different and depend on personalities, workflow, politics (eg will the associates appreciate you taking work opportunities from directors that should have gone to them?) etc. I've had interns where I (SVP) have preferred to give them work than have that done by the associates.
However, on the level of information you've given, my pro forma advice is to work from the bottom up.
Hiring decisions can vary from team to team as well. In the teams I've worked in, having the associates back you (ie the people best positioned to judge your work) is very valuable.
this probably is one of the most valuable advice posted on here for incoming interns.
interns - take note
I'm glad I asked for your rationale - this is an incredibly valuable post. Thanks a lot; when I'm in a position to really start giving back to the WSO community in a few years I will make sure to do so.
It's a good habit to make sure, when you're asking for work from an associate, that there is a VP or director nearby who can hear you doing that.
Benefits: 1. They may butt in with work they have for you 2. They can see that you are keen and hustling for work
I have a grad in my team who always walks around the team around ~6pm asking "Is there anything I can help you with?". 95% of the time, the answer is "no" or "I've got some stuff you can do tomorrow morning". However, her perceived value as keen, hustling for work etc is very high.
Should I ask for more work or (Originally Posted: 10/14/2010)
Keep my mouth shut? This is for an internship at a MM firm. I am currently involved with three MD's on different parts of deals. A couple of them are pitch books, but I am waiting and waiting for revisions and other shit to add on but not getting anywhere.
I want to be proactive but then again I think one of the guys is getting slightly annoyed when I go into his office and ask for more work (Only been here for a month).
Is sitting and waiting part of the deal in general?
if ya gotta ask
Listen champ calm down, don't let your fingers get too excited to use that phrase for a response when it makes no sense. Please contribute something worthwhile, I am sure another intern someday will search and seek the same info.
You can ask if they need help with anything, but don't ask like once an hour. Ask once, if they have something for you, they will give it to you.
I think it's worth asking but be mindful that interns can actually be a lot of work for the supervisors. Often times walking you through something and explaining it is time consuming so approach the topic with caution. If you approach them, just let them know that you seem to have some downtime and want to know if there is anything else you can take off their plate. Because you aren't always given the proverbial "ball to run with" it is reasonable to expect downtime in between tasks. Also, angle for something that might be a little more long term that can help fill that time void, that doesn't necessarily need to be done immediately but will always keep you busy, that way you aren't in their face every couple hours saying, "Done!".
NOTE: If you are asking for more work...you have got to make sure the stuff you've been assigned is 100% accurate...no mistakes at all.
Regards
at what point should i ask for more work sa at bb (Originally Posted: 06/26/2013)
.
Buddy if ur in a top group ur set. Put in the 5 hours of doing nothing and show your group that u dont mind being the firstt guy in last one out for the next 2 months.
Stop feeling so entitled as a summer analyst.
The point isn't that I mind being there early/late, I really don't. I just want to be doing more/not getting assigned like 3 slides to fix and then be surfing the web for 5 hours
I understand. Well no harm in asking your staffer but alot of what ur gonna be doing this summer will suck.
Its quite surprising how a top group isnt staffing you on multiple deals tho
I am on multiple deals, they're just not all pertinent or the analyst on the deal does most of the work and doesn't assign me much. Either way I'm usually done with everything by dinner time, and at that point it feels useless to ask for more to do
What are the other summers in your group doing?
most are not very busy either, there are 2 guys that I feel like have an inequitable amount of work - although it could just be the deals they are on are picking up faster
Who cares. Later when youre doing your full time you get to be on as many deals till ur sick of it. U shud only worry if u dont like your group and maybe want some transaction experience so u can lateral easier. But sounds like ur set
First, the most important thing is to always be doing SOMETHING. Don't give the appearance that you are bored or lazy. Even if they don't assign you a project, read through old presentations and look through old valuations done by your fellow analysts. If you cover a specific industry, read as many primers and 10Ks as possible. Don't work crazy hours during this period - you can leave by 7-8 if they really haven't given you anything to do.
I would be hesitant to ask for work since it's not uncommon for interns to be unassigned for the first week or two after training. Chances are you'll be slammed within a week or two. Just keep a very positive attitude and learn as much as possible until they assign you something. If you don't have any work after July 4th you might send a quick email to your staffer saying you have availability.
5 hours of nothing? Print out Warren Buffet's client letters starting from the 60s and highlight as you go along. You're giving the appearance you're doing something and you'll learn a lot.
Buffet letters are always a good read.
However, I suggest what another user recommended: reading through old presentations/reports, going through previous valuations, etc. Check out how the pitchbooks are done, etc. You'll be much busier soon enough.
lots of down times in banking, but when things heat up you'll wish you had not opened your foolish mouth and demanded more work
I think there's usually two reasons for this, at least from what I've seen from my internship this summer.
In this situation, you can't do much other than make sure you do what little work they give you flawlessly and quickly.
it's been picking up. maybe i just need to be patient. it's not always busy but when it rains it storms
Asking work from other groups (Originally Posted: 09/04/2014)
Hi guys,
It's been 2 weeks and I still have not got much proper work to do as an intern from my boss. And I already reach out to another associate in another group to ask for more work since I really really want to put something on my resume!!
And now I once again finished my and got bored. I looked around and there are still plenty of people from other groups in the same office that I don't know. Should go to them, introduce myself and ask for even more work? (Last time was different, since the group I'm in now work with them a lot. But now I may be talking to someone who does not even know my boss) Is there any bad consequence of this?
Thx guys.
Come on guys, any tips or advice would be great!
Depends on how far away the other group is from your group, but generally the answer is no. Unless you know one of the other guys in the other group.
The guys in the other group probably have no work too and are just sitting on WSO.
You honestly should not be pestering people for work. When they give you work, you need to knock it out of the park so they see that you're competent enough and in return will give you more work. If you're not getting work it is because they don't have anything that you can do or they are unhappy with your previous work and don't want to spend time correcting your mistakes.
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