The Investment Banking Summer Intern Success Guide: Yes, You Better Get My Coffee
“Always carry shoe polish, in case said analyst’s shoes need a shine. Forget your blackberry holster – what you need is a coffee cup holder for more than four cups – this way, you’ll need only make a single trip to Starbucks each morning when you bring your team coffee.”
-..and Some More Investment Banking Summer Internship Donts, The All-Nighter
Despite explaining what you’ll actually do as a summer intern and even how to dominate your investment banking summer internship, summer internship questions have continued to roll in.
Sure, you want to do as much deal-related work and modeling as possible, but how do you get there? How do you avoid just going to Starbucks and the dry cleaner for me all summer? (Not that I would make a summer intern do that, of course)
How Work Is Assigned To You
Senior bankers and staffers are more hands-off with Summer Analysts than they are with full-time Analysts and Associates. Sometimes interns are “assigned” to an Analyst over the summer; in other banks and groups Analysts will “claim” interns to help out on certain projects.
In any case, though, the full-time Analysts give you work and decide what you do. So you need to keep us happy.
I always have a list of unfinished tasks, but only a few of them are high priority at any given moment. And as I’ve mentioned before, there are basically 3 types of work in investment banking: deals, pitches and random stuff.
When a summer intern starts working, I will most likely give him or her whatever is at the bottom of my priority list: the random stuff.
Sometimes this means profiles (compiling information on companies and making it look nice in PowerPoint), sometimes it means comps (reviewing financial statements and inputting numbers into Excel) and sometimes it means finding the projected rate of oil production increase in the Alberta oil sands over the next decade.
What To Expect At First
Don’t expect to build an LBO model or draft an IPO S-1 registration statement right away. You have no technical training, no one knows how competent you are, and who knows, you could have gotten the internship just because your dad is the CEO.
I would laugh if an intern asked about learning an LBO model his first day on the job. I don’t care how many accounting or finance classes you’ve had or how many $3,000 “learn investment banking” seminars you’ve taken, you’re not going to know how we build models right away, and you will therefore not get that type of work at first.
Take the work you’re given, put a smile on your face, and do it without complaining. When you’ve proven that you can do the basics well, you will be given more interesting tasks, and when you have proven yourself with those, you will get even more responsibility.
Don’t Screw Up
Screwing up repeatedly will kill your progression toward doing more interesting/useful work.
You might think, “If I’m just starting how can I possibly NOT make mistakes? I don’t know anything yet.”
The short answer is “ask a lot of questions.” No one will fault you for asking questions – as long as you ask the right people.
Never ask anyone above the Analyst level a question. Bothering your MD with a question on comps will invariably make him think you’re an idiot. Restrict your questions to other summer interns and Analysts.
If you ask questions on anything and everything you’re not sure of, you dramatically reduce the chances of screwing up.
Also, always print out and check your work before submitting it to anyone. Mistakes are much easier to see when you print out your work, so you should always do this.
A Tale Of Two Summer Interns
Here’s a brief story of 2 interns in my group last summer:
The Worst Of Times
One intern arrived and, due to my workload at the time, he actually got a client-related project to work on. It consisted of around 20 comps, and although I consider anything with the word “comp” in it to be grunt work, it was at least going to a client for an actual deal.
His task was straightforward: look at financial projections from equity research and enter in a few numbers on a spreadsheet for each company.
He finished and sent me the file – and the numbers were completely wrong. I don’t mean “off by 0.1″ wrong or “forgot to add back one-time charges” wrong, I mean “revenue jumped around from $4 million to $400 million to $40 million in the span of 3 years” wrong.
Unless it’s a biotech company (and it wasn’t), you could tell something’s off by looking at that for 2 seconds.
After that incident, I rarely gave him much substantial work. If he couldn’t even copy numbers correctly, there’s no way I could trust him to draft 50 page documents or build multi-property models for casino companies.
The Best Of Times
Another intern, by contrast, had a lot of grunt work at the beginning. One time I had him do about 20 profiles because I didn’t have time and it was already well past midnight.
Although he had a lot of boring work at first, he rarely made mistakes and when he did, he always fixed them and never repeated the same mistake twice.
By the end of the summer, I had taught him so much about modeling that he knew more than some of the full-time Analysts.
I knew that he was reliable and that if he had more advanced skills he would save me days of time; as a result he learned a lot and performed the best out of all our interns.
The Consequences
Screwing up repeatedly has a chain reaction – no one at an investment bank gossips more than the junior guys, so if the work I give you is completely wrong, every other Analyst will know about it.
Usually the Analysts order dinner and go to a conference room to gossip and discuss the events of the day (you don’t just get fired in conference rooms).
Intern performance is a common discussion topic during the summer. And don’t worry: even if we don’t discuss interns during dinner, we’ll do it over instant messenger or forward emails to each other all day.
But the real consequence of not doing well in your summer internship is not getting a full-time offer. In a bear market this can be the kiss of death, though you can sometimes find a way to spin it favorably.
The Good News
The good news is that no matter how poorly you perform in a summer internship, it’s rarely the end of the world. You can usually still find another internship the next year or a full-time job in the fall when you go back to school.
Still, it’s to your advantage to do as well as possible so that you have more options down the road.
And so that you can avoid being the Starbucks/dry cleaning delivery service.
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Tags: attention to detail, investment banking, investment banking summer analyst, investment banking summer internship, understanding investment banking
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Firstly, I’d like to thank you for this great resource. It has been incredibly informative and entertaining.
I am a rising Systems Engineer at Penn and have recently taken interest in investment banking. My goal at this point is to work as an intern for an investment bank – bulge bracket or boutique – in the summer of 09 – to gain a better understanding of the investment banker experience. One of the issues that troubles me the most however is how little I know about the industry. i.e. valuing a company, DCF modeling, LBO modeling, and other uses of excel.
Are there any readings that you have found particularly useful to explain these types tasks?
I apologize for sounding naive, but truly just piqued an interest a week or so ago.
Again thank you for your help and this great resource.
Michael
Hi Michael,
I don’t know of any books offhand that really explain the nuts and bolts of the “investment banker” experience but I have some upcoming products which will do exactly this and a lot more so stay tuned.
Probably won’t be ready until the summer, but if you’re looking for something now I might investigate Wall Street Prep (some free downloads available, full version is kind of expensive) or message boards like Wall Street Oasis.
Hi,
I think you have a great site and tons useful information. However, I have a quick question – I am starting to look for an internship for this summer and have noticed many companies like Lehman Brothers-Credit Risk Division and Bank of America (for example) have positions posted under the titile “Research Analyst” and was wondering how these positions differed from the more common ” Investment Banking Analyst”.
Thanks
Adam
Research Analyst in Credit Risk = more Middle Office work than dealing with clients. So less about advising companies and more about figuring out what risk a certain bank has. It’s less prestigious / less well-paying.
First and foremost amazing blog, I am on break right now for another week and every morning I tend to just sit here reading the posts. Anyway, I am going to start applying for summer internships soon and was wondering considering the market environment and the fact that I don’t go to a target school I have a lot going against me right now. So is it worth it to endlessly apply to every investment bank I can find in the northeast or should I limit myself to an amount. I want this so I really willing apply to everyone and to do anything to get in.
Thank,
Scott
I would definitely apply to a lot of banks, but focus on smaller and regional ones rather than bulge brackets, it’s just too tough currently.
Hi,
This is the first time I’ve been on the site and I have to applaud you on the information you provide.
I’ve recently got onto a Goldman Sachs 1-week intern program. Its MO/BO and I have no background in finance.
Is there anything you could recommend so that I could impress in this short time span?
Try to get to know a few people really well, and get to know at least everyone somewhat – be likable and personable and make sure you’re on everyone’s good side. With 1 week, it’s really hard for them to judge your work or anything, but it’s easy for them to form an impression of you personally.
For a 2nd or 3rd year university student who is about to apply for his/her first investment banking summer internship, what kind of experience is expected? I mean, any job a 2nd or 3rd year university student has is not going to be glamorous (e.g. fast food job). Will this be looked down upon? How are you supposed to “bankify” a fast food job? And how is a 2nd or 3rd year university student’s resume supposed to look (compared to that of someone who is applying full Time)?
Thanks for any responses!
Do the best you can with what you have, focus on projects and other activities that look finance-related and can be portrayed as “Work Experience.”
There are actually a lot of 2nd/3rd year students who already have solid internships, even without connections and/or other advantages.
I wouldn’t even bother writing that much about a fast food-type job, minimize it and try to focus on writing about classes/projects that look more finance-related.
Hey,
You have put together a great site. Incredibly helpful and extremely resourseful, it is quickly becoming my personal academic advisor. Thanks for everything. I am going to be a junior this fall at a top 50 University in NYC. I have a summer internship at a small hedgefund where I work very closely with a former analyst at JPMorganChase. I am gunning for an investment banking internship at Goldman next summer. Any advice? Should I have my co-worker teach me financial modeling? What can I do to set me apart and give me a better chance? Thanks, again.
Pick up the phone and start calling people and networking.
Finance is 99% about social skills, networking, and making people like you and only 1% about technical knowledge.
I am an aspiring banker/trader and was raised outside the US though was born here. I go to college here. I have heard bankers talk about baseball, basketball, football and other stuff that’s unique to American culture. What kind of things would you suggest I should pick up to come off as an interesting guy/not the guy they would hate working with?
Talk about travel, your experience growing up outside the US, or something else you have in common… not everyone is a sports fan, so think about your activities and interests and what you might have in common with other people.
Hi Brian,
I’m finishing up a master’s degree in econ and international relations and trying to break into i-banking as an analyst without any prior finance experience.
Do banks offer summer analyst positions to students who have just graduated? Do they offer internships during the school year?
Thanks.
Generally no – best option would be to delay graduation. Internships during school year do happen, but mostly at smaller places or in Europe.
Hi Brian,
Thanks a lot for the great job you do! This web site is awesome, very helpful.
I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but it has to do with internships, so it’s not going to be completely off-topic
Isn’t it supposed to be a mutual agreement? I demonstrate my skills, they think them over, then present their conditions, and I wouldn’t mind thinking them over, too!
I was wondering if it was ok to ask for a couple days to think an internship offer over. I mean I interviewed at a local IB and they seemed really happy with my qualifications after the frist interview. At the second meeting they offered me the position and said a few words about the conditions (i.e. working hours, compensation etc) which, quite frankly, left a lot to be desired even for a small company. I asked (in a most polite way, I assure you) to give me the time to consider their offer, got back to them in 2 days as had been agreed and said I’d be happy to take the opportunity. And tah-dah, they said they would contact me later in the day… One week later I got an email, stating that at the second interview they felt I was less motivated (I was just as motivated as during the first interview, I promise) and decided not to proceed with my application. Is this normal for IBs?
I am sorry for this extremly long question
In a word, is it ok to ask for some time to think an offer over, or do you have to admit or reject it right away “not to look undermotivated”? 
Thanks so much in advance.
That sounds very strange, but I’ve heard of stories like that happening before. If they really think you’re unmotivated / not that interested in the offer, then they’ll have no problems rescinding it. I would always try to make a decision quickly rather than taking a few days to decide – maybe ask for 24 hours at the most.
For me to break into an IB BB internship in the future, which is the best option?
1. IB internship at a boutique firm
2. PE internship at a small firm
3. Corporate Finance Advisory at one of the Big 4s
Please advice me as I am currently confused in sourcing between the 3.
Also, my plan is to directly email the MD or the partners. Would it be a good idea to attach my resume?
I feel like I have a pretty good shot as I am in one of the leading unis in my region (studying finance and accounting), have a 3.7 GPA, and have had an ER internship in a big bank, as well as corporate finance consulting internship at a small firm.
Which of the 3 option do you think would be best to suit my circumstances?
Thanks!
Definitely #1. For emailing MD/Partners only attach resume if you’re asking for a job directly in the email.
Thanks for the reply!
Which second option if the IB boutique internship does not work out? Big 4 corp. finance or PE at a small firm?
And yes, I will directly email the MDs for a possible internship stint, so I guess I will attach my resume with the email.
PE at small firm would be #2… the closer to deals/clients, the better off you are.
Hi Brian,
For the coming summer, I have applied for several positions in several IBs.
I has just received an interview invitation for a role in UBS’ equity research division.
My goal is to get an IB internship actually. I have applied for IB summer analysts position to Citi and Macquarie (about 2 weeks ago), but haven’t heard from them. My status in their career website is still pending. Is it okay to email them and ask about my application?
What would you do if you were in my shoe?
I would just email them or better yet call and ask your status
Hey Brian!
Just got an invitation for a phone interview for Macquarie’s IB summer internship position. Do you think that they could ask more technical questions? Or do you think it will be more of a “fit” questions?
I am thinking that I should focus on “my story” in this kind of interview. I have read almost every interview article in this site, any last advice?
Point me to the most important thing that I should remember.
It will probably be both, but your story is the most important part so I’d review the related articles and make sure you have that down.
If I am asked about the technical questions, I think my weakness would be coming from the modelling questions. I mean, I have had previous financial modelling experience from my equity research internship before, but it was more of a forecast model (IS, BS, CF), valuation model (DCF, multiples).
I have never made a merger or LBO model before. What is the quickest way to learn about these models so at least I know what to talk about during the interview?
Read the interview guide, get a few sample models from friends, or look at some of the free tutorials on the BIWS site.
Hi, your site had provided a great deal of information written in a manner that is interesting and at the same time simple enough for anybody to understand!! By the way, I would like to know that if someone without a finance background..or in other words..from a completely science background would be able to get into investment banking? After all, there are bound to be situations during the interviews where you are required to discuss about certain industry-relevant situations and case studies right?
Yes, you can do it but you need to show some evidence of interest in finance and learn the basics on your own.
Hi! By evidence of interest, do you mean having a great story as a backup on why choose investment banking as a career. No doubt my interest in investment banking is strong, however admittedly as an undergraduate in food science, my knowledge is relatively limited, hence, do you have any advice on how to deal with the interviews when applying for an analyst position in an investment banking firm?
You need to come up with a story – a specific person, event, or experience that made you interested. It doesn’t need to be real or accurate, it just needs to sound convincing.
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-tell-your-story-investment-banking-interviews/
Hi M&I,
Thank you for the plethora of insightful information in investment banking. I am currently seeking to get an internship and I wanted to ask for your advice.
I don’t go to a target school (undergrad for finance), I don’t have a 4.0 gpa however I have modeled a CDO Cubed and found the correlation of the default of the underlying assets and I have solid understanding of business and finance. I applied to a summer internship at Suntrust in Atlanta. I got through the first round of interviews and next is lunch and 2 hours of interview afterwards. What should I expect to be interviewed on next? and What are my chances?
Thank you so much for your thoughts!
I would expect mostly “fit” questions – they will assess whether or not they like you, want you to be part of the team, etc. You have a good chance if you’ve made it to this point.