Monkey to Millions | Grace (Session 18) - Citi Internship Over and Junior Year has Started - Oct 18, 2021
About
In this short session, Grace and I discuss her Citi internship this summer and I give her some advice on how to make sure she doesn't burn out with the long weeks.
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WSO Podcast (Episode 18) Transcript:
Patrick (CEO of WSO): Hello and welcome. I'm Patrick Curtis, chief monkey of Wall Street Oasis, and this is monkey to millions. A show where you get a front-row seat as I mentor young students and professionals to try and help them break into their dream jobs in the first cohort. You'll meet four students, all preparing for intense job interviews while trying to also balance personal life and schoolwork. The goal of this show is to shine a light on the struggles of trying to break into competitive positions with a non-traditional background and to give you a roadmap for your own success. My hope is that as you get to know these four impressive students, you're inspired to dream big. Remember, these are real people, and this is their true story. Let's get to it. In this session, Grace shares her experience working at City as a summer analyst across two groups. Listen to some important lessons and what her plans are for junior year, since she already has her Blackstone internship lined up for next summer. Enjoy. Ok, Grace, it's been a while. It is now. The summer is over and I think last time we spoke, it was right before you were starting City.
Grace: [00:01:32] I think so, yes. And so what's going on? How was the summer? Did you survive? What? It was really good. It was a completely virtual internship, unfortunately, but I think it was four. Given that fact, it was still
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:01:49] Really good and I think
Grace [00:01:51] I was expecting it to. I was expecting to miss out on more because of it being virtual, but I still got to get really involved in some things.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:02:00] So that was really nice.
Grace: [00:02:02] And of course, I was part of the sophomore program at City, so the way that they structure that is as a sort of rotational program. So I spent half of the summer in
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:02:13] One coverage group, the tech
Grace: [00:02:14] Coverage group, and then I switched for the second half of the summer to be in the real estate coverage group, both within banking. So that was nice as well because
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:02:24] Especially since the hours over the hours like from virtual.
Grace: [00:02:28] Well, the interesting thing is with the tech coverage group, in particular, I would say about 60 percent of the entire group and
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:02:36] Especially the sub-verticals
Grace [00:02:38] That I was working
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:02:39] In, were all based
Grace [00:02:40] Out of San Francisco. So my schedule kind of shifted later where I was starting really late in the mornings. But then I was just working later because I was working with especially analysts who were all on the West Coast. So that was an adjustment. But in a way, it was nice because then I could have my mornings to myself. I wanted to get up early to work out. I knew I wouldn't be bothered during that time.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:03:03] So yeah, that was good.
Grace: [00:03:07] I would say it was really ebbed and flowed, especially because as a sophomore intern, there were some people who we would work with who didn't really take that into consideration and they didn't care. So they treated us the same as they would any other summer analysts. But then there were some
Patrick (CEO of WSO):: [00:03:23] Others who
Grace: [00:03:24] I think took that as a sign to not give us as much work or maybe just to bring someone else on as well. So in that sense, I didn't have as rigorous of an experience as most of the junior summer analysts. And that was also affected by the fact that I didn't have as large a chunk of time in each group, so I couldn't get
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:03:45] That's good as heavily, especially good. You didn't have to be tortured. I mean, it sounds like you were starting out like 10 or 11 a.m. and then going to like 1:00 in the morning or something like that a lot of times.
Grace: [00:03:54] Yeah. And that was on the worst days. There were some days where it really wasn't bad at all. So especially because I was just working from my apartment or going, I've got a wee work that I was going into certain days. So especially with that, I could have chunks of time during the day, sometimes even where I need to do laundry or whatever
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:14] It may be, I can
Grace: [00:04:16] Still do that.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:17] Yeah. So how was the transition from one team to the other? It sounds like it was very depending on like what group or what team you were working on and stuff like that, that
Grace: [00:04:27] It was a good transition.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:29] It was, I guess, a
Grace: [00:04:30] Little difficult when I first started in the real estate group, just because being the only sophomore intern there, all the other summer
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:37] Analysts had were juniors
Grace: [00:04:39] Who had been there the entire time. They were already fully staffed on a lot of things, so they were pretty busy. And then so just me coming in in the middle, there wasn't quite as much for me to get staffed on right away. And so I would say I was overall busier in the tech group. And probably part of that is just a function of how many deals they had going on at the time and the nature of the deals. Yes, but then in the real secret, they were still very busy. But again, I think it was just because I came in in the middle. So they had already gotten all the junior summer analysts up to speed on what was going on. And then so for me, coming in
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:05:16] Especially, I would
Grace: [00:05:17] Say the majority of
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:05:18] The time in the real estate
Grace: [00:05:20] Group was a lot of smaller, ad hoc things, which I didn't mind because I still had exposure to some larger deals that I got more involved within the tech group. So it was a nice mix. And in addition to that kind of halfway through the summer, Citi decided that they were going to fly out all the junior summer analysts to New York for four days at the end of July. And so they got a hotel and they were just going into the office for. It was like a Monday through a Thursday. Unfortunately, as a sophomore, even though I was already
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:05:52] In New York, I was still
Grace: [00:05:53] Not allowed access to the office
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:05:55] Because our protocol.
Grace: [00:05:57] But even though I couldn't go in, I was still able to go to different lunches and dinners that were held throughout the week. So I got to meet all the other summer analysts. I saw them
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:06:09] Really every day
Grace: [00:06:10] That they were here that week and then went to some lunches with some of the press like, Wait, you're a sophomore or what? Yeah, I mean, it was funny, though, because me being the one from New York or living in New York, I was kind of telling them where to go, guiding everyone around like, Oh, we should go get dinner here or whatever. Hilarious. It was. It was nice because it was a really good group. And especially, I guess that was my other major takeaway from the summer. Was it being a demonstration of just what a difference culture makes? Because not that either of the groups had bad cultures, but just they were so different. And I think that especially the real estate group at City, it struck me right away how it differed from the tech group in that it didn't feel as buttoned up
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:06:57] And it felt a little
Grace: [00:06:59] Less like it just felt like forming part of its size, too. It's a little bit smaller,
Patrick (CEO of WSO): 00:07:04] But then because of that,
Grace: [00:07:06] It felt a little less stratified
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:08] As well. Yeah.
Grace: [00:07:09] And not that that's a bad thing about the tech group. That's just kind of how it works. They run more like a machine. Yeah, and I get it's a bigger operation.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:17] Yeah. Mm hmm. That makes sense. That's cool. So you got to see both sides. That's awesome. You at least got to meet some other fellow in terms of your how do you and then were there other sophomore interns that you got to meet or know? Yes, there is
Grace: [00:07:29] A couple of sophomores who were in New York over the summer as well, so I got to meet a few of them, including the other sophomore who had been in the real estate coverage group the first half of the summer. So it was nice
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:42] To see her in
Grace: [00:07:44] Person. And then kind of before that halfway switch, she was able to kind of just tell me what to expect in that group. So that was really nice. And then also just the fact that I got to meet a lot of the full time people in the real estate group was really good
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:59] Because Blackstone
Grace: [00:08:01] Real Estate is a client of that group. So the fact that I'm going there next summer, it's just some of the connections are already there, which is nice. So they try to sell cities, try to say, Hey, come back next summer or always they did. And they did that with some of the other sophomore interns as well, because of course, not everyone comes back.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:08:20] So they try to
Grace: [00:08:21] Incentivize you with different bonuses and such. So there's actually one other person.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:08:29] So there's 30
Grace: [00:08:30] Sophomore interns in all of Citi North America, and that's across sales and trading, banking, the other divisions. But there's one other who was in my sophomore cohort who's also going to Blackstone next summer. Action script that's not in real estate, but still Blackstone. So it'll also be nice to have her in already knowing her. Very cool. That's awesome. That's exciting. So you're you had to kindly turn them down or how did you deal with that? Was it at the end where they like, Hey, we're sending you an offer for junior summer, but they already knew you kind of have the other one. How did it work? Yeah. So I was pretty open with it, or I was open toward HR about it when they asked me in the middle of the summer. It was around the middle of the summer. There's two
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:09:16] Hr
Grace: [00:09:16] People who kind of run the sophomore internship program. So they were always our point people throughout. And when they asked me about halfway through the summer, I
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:09:24] Was upfront about it and I said, I
Grace: [00:09:27] Have an offer from Blackstone that I'm probably going to be taking. And then. And so I told them that, but I didn't really tell any full-time people in either of the groups I was working with until the end of the summer, just because I wasn't going to bring it up. If it didn't, It wasn't all right.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:09:45] Yeah, but it was. It was really good because even with
Grace: [00:09:50] People in the tech group as
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:09:51] Well, everyone was
Grace: [00:09:53] Extremely supportive of the decision.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:09:55] And I think too, especially
Grace: [00:09:57] In the real estate group then because of Blackstone being a client as well,
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:01] Especially
Grace: [00:10:01] The analyst, very understanding of it.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:04] And they kind of said, I understand
Grace: [00:10:06] That as much as I want you to say, I also understand that you want to go there as well. So it was good. And then even the
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:16] Group head at City of the real estate banking
Grace: [00:10:19] Practice there, I was able to talk with him about
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:23] It, so
Grace: [00:10:24] I left on. I want to know if they want to stay on your good side, you're going to be on the planet. Yeah, that's cool. So you're to the plan is still for next summer to be doing that. And so this is now your junior year. Yes. Oh my gosh, time has flown. Tell me what's going on. Class wise, do you feel
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:44] Like more stable now that you're not? Crazy recruiting and yes, and much easier.
Grace: [00:10:51] Major relief this semester because you to enjoy summer or like college a little bit, I hope. It really works out well because this is the return of in-person classes again, too. So just being in person, having to actually go to a classroom for every class, I forgotten how much extra energy and time that takes.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:11:10] And then this is also
Grace: [00:11:12] My first semester in a year and a half not interning alongside school.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:11:16] So it feels like I have so
Grace: [00:11:17] Much extra time, and I've been using that time to get involved with some of the finance clubs on campus. I've been wearing a lot of underclassmen trying to give back a little bit, or at least however I can at this point. So it's been nice to spend my time on
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:11:33] Those things compared to working just because
Grace: [00:11:36] I was working alongside school for so long and working, getting ready for interviews and mock interviews. And yeah, well, you earned this time to enjoy it and spend
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:11:45] It anyway you like. So it's exciting. So I guess next steps is just kind of what don't bomb your classes do. Ok, and then, yes, kind of going to next summer and just try to take it all in and hopefully in person.
Grace: [00:12:00] Yes. And Blackstone was even in person this past summer. Ok, so
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:12:04] I know one
Grace: [00:12:05] Other person who interned there this past summer in really a different group within real estate than what I'm going to be in, but still real estate. So he told me a lot about his experience, and so I have some good things in mind now going into that and then I'll probably when it gets closer to the
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:12:22] Spring, start
Grace: [00:12:23] Connecting in person more with some of the other people in my group who I'll be working with, kind of starting with the people who interviewed me, but then branching out from there a little bit more as well. But I've been told to wait until the spring as it gets closer to do that. So yeah, yeah, I'll start focusing on that. Yeah, I think you're in a good seat either way, because, well, I'm happy you got to see some at least two groups at City, too, because it's kind of like open your eyes to how different things can be even in the same firm.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:12:49] Yes. So like, it'd be cool if even if it's not a rotation program is if you can kind of at least talk to other interns that are in other divisions in boxing because you may get the perspective of something else like, who knows, like maybe the real estate group, you know, you have this vision of like, it's going to be great. This is going to be the perfect bet. But maybe you'll like realize like, actually, I really liked, you know, through the same group at City or, hey, you know, I actually really like this other group at Blackstone for some reason or a bunch of individuals saying, This is amazing, we're doing x y z, and it might be something you can kind of keep your eyes open.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:13:23] And even if it's good just to have those connections so that even a year or two in on your full time, you can start thinking, Hey, you know, I remember back when x y z told me that this was the best group because of these reasons, maybe I should be looking into that transition, you know? Mm hmm. So just that's great that you're building up all these connections. It's going to serve you really well in your career, not just getting the job right, like your next job and the one after that.
Grace: [00:13:50] Right, exactly. So that's awesome. So any thoughts? So I
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:13:54] Guess in the real estate Blackstone Group, what type of work will you be doing? Like what type of work are they doing and just looking at assets, analyzing it or using a lot of modeling? What type of stuff do you feel like? You need to prep it all to get ready for that? Do you need our real estate modeling course to get me to get access to you or that?
Grace: [00:14:12] I was actually going to bring that up. So I've I know one Fordham alum who I'm going to be in the asset
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:14:18] Management group within
Grace: [00:14:20] Real estate, private equity of Blackstone.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:14:22] And I know so I
Grace: [00:14:24] Know one Fordham alum who has been doing real estate private equity at Carlyle and
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:14:30] Now he's now at
Grace: [00:14:31] Apollo. So also major firms, of course. So he told me that what he recommended I do is just focus on getting even if Sabry Foundation in real estate modeling because it is a little different, of course, from, I guess, your more traditional modeling. So that way, I'm just familiar with certain things going in. I'm not sure the extent to which I will be doing that over the summer, but it's of course, a good foundation to have just to know the lingo and just so you're not. So it's like it just really gets ingrained before you go in. Exactly. Yeah. So yeah, I'll get you access to it if you don't, did you? Ok, yeah, I'll get you access to that. Sure, I have access to that particular one.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:15:07] I can look. Yeah, you should definitely at least browse through it. It's a bunch. There's a bunch of cases in there with different types of assets. So it would be good because like there's multifamily, there's office, there's hospitality. So like, it's just very they're all kind of different in terms of how they're modeling and stuff like that. And so I think it'll be good to give you that little bit of exposure before you start. So you don't feel like, oh my gosh, I don't know what anyone is talking about. I think everyone's going like cap rates and you're like, Wait, what you already know, probably a decent amount, but just to brush up, maybe like the week before you just like spend, you know, three or four hours going through it. It's not that bad, right? Yes. We'll get you access there and then any other ways that can be helpful. I mean, you don't need to do interview prep, you don't need to do much networking. I mean, besides the other interns, I mean, maybe talk to other interns that were at other banks just to try and make your network a little bit more diverse across the firms, like every once in a while, like just going to have a Hey, I'm going to send out five, I won't try to do one call this week or two calls this week.
Grace: [00:16:12] Right? New people. It's always just a good habit to be in that building mode, you know? Yes. Now, when the not when you need it, like when you don't need it right now, you don't you're not asking for anything. It's just like, Hey, I'm going to Blackson, I'm doing this. Where are you going? Let's meet.
Grace: [00:16:31] That's what's so nice now is being able and especially in the connections that I made early on freshman year, I've known the people long enough at this point where I feel like it's much stronger of a connection.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:16:42] And that's reinforced by
Grace: [00:16:44] The fact that now whenever I talk with them, I'm really not in a position of meeting anything. It really is just to be able to connect with them more as a person. So yeah, you have no idea what that's going to do for you later. I mean, you just have so much optionality like, let's say you want to go take a
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:17:00] Year to do something totally random. And off the beaten path, you're like, no, you know, I'm going to go travel for a year just because I want to do it. Having those strong connections means when you get back, it's not going to be like you dropping your resume to like into like a job application portal. Like you would never go do that like, you're just going to go, you know, we're up all the connections again and be like, Hey, here again, this is what I'm up to. I'm going to get back and blah. And so like, you have that optionality and that flexibility with those with that strong network. So it's just a lot of people. Are people just don't they don't understand the power of it, I think you'll realize in like five, 10, probably 10 years, you'll probably be like, Oh, wow. Like that led to this, that led to this. Oh my gosh, I can't believe this. You know, and all started from freshman year since you started so early. So right. I can
Grace: [00:17:52] Already see some of the dominoes
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:17:53] Falling now. Yeah. And in the funny part is, you know, people, I had an intern I just brought on for Wall Street since he already graduated. He doesn't have a job. He kind of has a non-traditional major for finding scheme to finance. And he's like, I've been trying to apply. I've been applying all the job and I look at his LinkedIn at sixty five connections and I'm just like, Dude, you're doing it all wrong. Stop applying and start talking to people, you know? And so I'm going to help try to get him going. But. It's interesting because I think there's always the aversion. Like people said, there's a lot of shy people out there who don't feel comfortable putting themselves out there and think you've done an amazing job from a young age like, you know, you were just out of high school, like when we started talking, it's like unbelievable that you're willing to get on the phone and do like the fact that you're willing to put yourself out there and be a little bit uncomfortable. This is the reason why I think you're so successful. So kudos to you.
Grace: [00:18:48] And I will say doing this really helped
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:18:50] Push me, like forced
Grace: [00:18:52] You out as well, because I was an extremely I don't know if she's right, but I was very reserved.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:18:58] Coming out of high school and really into
Grace: [00:19:00] Freshman year of
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:19:01] College. And I think
Grace: [00:19:03] Doing this, it pushed me to be even more aggressive with it
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:19:08] Than I would have already been and kept
Grace: [00:19:10] Me accountable too. So I'm very
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:19:12] Grateful for that. It's awesome. Yeah. So hopefully, I mean, this is already a success story, but hopefully you continue and always make sure to take care of your mental health, all that other stuff because it can get really stressed. These jobs can be really, like, really stressful. That's why I say if you decide to go off the beaten path, you have that flexibility and don't ever think that you don't have that so that you put in a couple of years, you know, try not to quit after a month. But if you get through the year, at least a year and it looks better a couple of years, even better. And then if you need a break, don't be afraid to take that right. Easier now and then. Later, I got three little ones, so I'm telling you do it now.
Grace: [00:19:50] Yes, I'm sure. So anything else on other ways, I can be helpful. I mean, maybe we can chat like more like once every quarter or something like that you need. Yeah, that sounds easier, right?
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:20:03] Yes.
Grace: [00:20:03] Definitely enjoying the extra freedom I have right now with some of my time. Okay, cool. All right. So we'll be in touch. I'll get you access to the real estate course and then we'll go, Okay, perfect. Okay, thank you. Thanks, Grace. Talk soon. Have a good weekend. You too.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:20:17] Bye. And thanks to you, my listeners at Wall Street Oasis. If you have any suggestions whatsoever, please don't hesitate to send them my way. Patrick at Wall Street Oasis dot com. And till next time.
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