How To Dominate Your Investment Banking Internship
Nye: Learn everything you can, then get the hell out of there before it’s too late.
Ellen: How exactly will I know when that is?
Nye: Ah. That’s for another walk.”
You get an investment banking internship for 2 reasons:
- To learn the job and absorb everything you can.
- To land a full-time offer.
Keep these 2 points in mind, and you’ll pass with flying colors.
Fail to remember them, and your internship will resemble the Hindenburg.
Attitude – Make It Good
Always be eager to learn and do as much as possible.
You’d be surprised how many summer analysts try to leave “early” every day – 6 to 7 PM – when the full-time analysts are there until 2 AM.
If there’s an opportunity to take on a new project, take it.
If there’s a chance to help someone with something, do it.
You do have to strike a balance between being proactive and being annoying, but it’s definitely better to be too enthusiastic than not enthusiastic enough.
You’re only in this for 10-12 weeks – you can sleep when you go back to school.
No, You Don’t Know Everything
Some interns – especially at the MBA-level – come in and pretend they know everything about accounting, finance, and investment banking already.
News flash: if you haven’t done this job before, you don’t know anything about it.
One time an intern said he was an Excel whiz and then didn’t know the Alt + E + S + T shortcut (used for copying styles in a spreadsheet, one of the most common shortcuts in banking).
And I’ve seen summer associates argue over merger models, pitch books, and even wardrobes.
Under-promise, over-deliver.
That statement is key to your career in investment banking – you never want to brag about yourself.
Set expectations low, and then blow them away.
Don’t Screw Up
Or if you do, make sure it doesn’t happen again.
When I’ve already pulled 3 all-nighters in the same week and have been scolded by multiple senior bankers in the span of 10 minutes, the last thing I want to do is fix a company’s revenue projections going from $4 million to $400 million to $40 million in 3 consecutive years.
Always print out and check your work before submitting it – and in your first few weeks, always give it to another summer intern or to a full-time analyst to look at briefly.
It’s better to take too long and get it right vs. finishing quickly with all the wrong numbers.
Service With A Smile
I strongly disliked a summer analyst once.
He was flaky, he kept screwing up his work, and it took him forever to do anything.
But he did one thing right: he was always smiling.
No matter how many all-nighters I made him pull, how much menial work I made him do, or how sleep-deprived he was, he was always smiling.
Analysts are are skeptical of the Smiling Summer Analyst, but senior bankers love such performances.
Eagerness to learn is important, but constantly showing your appreciation is even more important.
So learn to act.
Party With Us, But Don’t Come In With A Hangover
When someone asks you to go to lunch, go.
When someone invites you out, go out – tops down, models and bottles.
Hang out with and get to know everyone you can – but don’t go overboard and come into work with a hangover.
You need to be sober to get a full-time offer.
More on Summer Internships
For even more on investment banking summer internships, check out these articles, tips, and day-in-the-life stories:
- 10 Investment Banking Internship “Don’t”‘s: How Not To Screw Up
- How Summer Interns Get Full-Time Offers
- So, What Will I Do As An Investment Banking Summer Analyst (Besides Get Abused)?
- The Investment Banking Summer Intern Success Guide: Yes, You Better Get My Coffee
- Tips From A Former Summer Analyst And Soon-To-Be Full-Time Analyst
How Do You Get an Investment Banking Internship?
Read the rest of this site, of course – especially all those articles filed under recruiting.
Resume templates, interview questions and answers, networking, and more – you just have to look.
And if you’re looking for even more detailed strategies, check out The Networking Ninja Toolkit for tips on landing interviews at all types of banks.
You’ll get cold-calling templates, email templates, sample informational interviews, and more.
Then, once you’ve got interviews lined up, sign up for The Investment Banking Interview Guide to get hundreds of questions and answers, sample interviews, and everything you need to land offers.
Break Into Investment Banking
Free Access to Exclusive Content for Members Only!
Sign up for The Banker Blueprint today and enjoy:
- Free Report: 37-page guide with the action plan you need to break into investment banking - how to tell your story, network, craft a winning resume, and dominate your interviews.
- Exclusive emailed bonus material.
- Free Banker Blueprint newsletter with more in-depth advice.
- Unlimited access to all articles, videos, and advice - and free updates whenever new content is added to the site.
How much sleep do you actually get on an investment banking internship?!!
3-4 hours a night
Do you actually get on an investment banking internship…?!!
Useful article. Even if sort of exaggerated. And even if the writer really believes in appearances like “I work too much = I’ve got a good job” or that most students go for the internships for his gratitude
hey
I know this sounds a bit awkward. But I just recently graduated from my college and I was thinking whether I can take internship for IB just to get a good clean start again ..
Unlikely, internships are mostly given to current undergraduates/MBA students.
M&I,
What would you do in this scenario?: A college student who was planning to graduate early (3 yrs total) took a back office internship at a BB after his 2nd year of college as a junior. He decided he doesnt want to do back office, and wants to try to get a summer internship in the IBD. In essence, he wants to stay a fourth year in school, already having had a BO internship his “sophomore” year, and try to get a IBD internship his junior year. How should he go about doing this with the same firm? If not possible, how can he leverage this well at a different BB? Oh, any he doesnt go to a target school. Thanks!
You have to get to know people in the front office… might almost be easier to move to a different bank as well since it can be harder to move around within the same firm.
how big of a help is getting a BO internship soph yr to getting a IB summer analyst position jr year? And can you explain more in detail why it’s harder to move around in the same firm?
It helps, better than nothing related to finance. It can be harder to move around because they have the preconception that you “belong” in a certain group.
I would like to sincerely thank you for all your help. I am a junior from a non-target and I do not have a 4.0, yet I got summer internship interviews from 4 BBs. I got into the superday for one and I have the first round interviews for the rest in the coming weeks. Thank you so much once again. It would be great if you could tell me how to proceed from here.
Cool glad to hear it, good luck! If you look at under Recruiting and go to Case Studies there are a number of interviews with readers from similar backgrounds so you may want to look at those for more tips.
Brian,
I have read pretty much all posts you had on this website, and your interview guide from BIWS has been immensely helpful for me to get my summer internship.
So now, I made my decision to join a buldge bracket firm in one of their strongest group. However, I come from a non-finance background, and the past internships have been rewarding but far from understanding the real modelling and finance knowledge (at least thats how I feel). However, I do want to impress my group when I start.
So I am wondering if you can give some more detailed lists of internship prep for us. I know you had a post re:all about summer internship, but I am expecting a more detailed lists of readings/courses, etc. to finish. (maybe a month equal workload?)
Thanks a lot for everything from M&I and BIWS
I would look at the book recently reviewed here (search for Josh Pearl) and maybe look at the modeling courses offered on BIWS. Those are the best sources to learn modeling, I would not kill yourself because attitude is 100x more important than finance knowledge for internships.
Useful information, I was just wondering how can I get summer intern-ship. and which ones will you recommend. Thanks:)
If you do a search for “summer internship” above you will learn all about it
Hi,
I am currently a sophomore, majoring in Finance, at a non-target university in Texas (with an undergrad business school ranked in top 25 nationally), and I wondered if you could offer some advice as I move forward or comments on my progress.
My GPA is a 3.85 (4.0 in business) with participation in both Liberal Arts and Business honors programs. This summer I will be interning with a boutique regional firm in China that focuses on M&A advisory and equity offerings in addition to merchant banking activities. It is a smaller firm, but hopefully it will be a good experience. Do you think this will give me a boost going into summer analyst recruiting with the bb/mm firms next year?
Also, I am interested in perhaps staying in Texas and working in the Energy Investment Banking practice of one of the large investment banks. Could you offer any comments as to which banks have larger practices/internship programs in Texas? Also, are there any sections on your site that detail how to navigate the recruiting process when coming from a non-target school?
Yes it will help. Not sure about energy banks but most BBs have decent Houston offices and there are some dedicated boutiques as well. If you look under Recruiting and then go to Case Studies you’ll see a lot of interviews with non-target students there.
You will be happy to know that I signed the boutique IBD offer in NY. I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind.
The boutique doesn’t offer training and expects me to know ‘everything’ already because I have previous boutique bank experience. The thing is – I have never done a valuation/Excel model in my life but need to work on at least one this summer otherwise my CV will look so crap and it will be a waste of an internship IMO. My CV doesn’t state I have done valuations but with a small boutique people tend to make you try and then you bug people – but the more you do yourself the better. I would cram but I don’t know where to look – I cannot afford he good resources out there… And I start interning on the day of my last exam! :( (Btw I can’t say ‘I don’t know’ because there are 5 other interns who they will gladly pass the work too.) What do I do?
My other question is that at a small boutique you don’t tend to work the long hours BB analysts do – will that be a problem when applying for a graduate role? As I will have never truly ‘experienced’ the BB lifestyle.
The boutique experience is abroad and finishes in early August. would it be wise to intern at the previous M&A boutique bank (or another boutique in the UK) before applying for grad schemes? Or would it be more sensible to apply early for grad scheme recruitment?
My last question is – do I have a higher chance of securing a summer internship with a BB having worked at 2 IBD/M&A boutiques (in 2 locations – NY and London) vs a grad scheme? Is it worth applying for an internship and then taking a year out/doing a MSc?
Thanks in advance! :)
P.s. If you know a way to fight bad luck please tell me! lol
Well, there are courses offered through this site. So I would look into those, or get the book that was reviewed here (search for Josh Pearl).
No I don’t think hours will matter just exaggerate in interviews. I don’t think another internship would help much at this point. Not sure I understand your last question but I would just apply to FT programs if that is what you’re asking.
Are the hours for internships as terrible outside of IBD? At a bulge-bracket firm, would you still be sleeping 3-4 hours a night if you were working in, say, sales and trading or equity research?
How many summers is ideal as experience until you graduate with a BA?
the max would be three, freshman summer, sophomore summer, and junior summer, senior summer work lined up.
Um one is fine, two is better I guess, three probably wouldn’t give you much of an advantage
So what happens if you don’t get the full – time offer? What is the best way to spin it to land an offer at another firm?
Thanks!
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/no-return-offer-investment-banking-summer-internship/
Can you share some information on how to get an internship during your undergrad? How would i start applying for these internship positions?
Thanks,
ZB
If you are in a target school, banks usually have info sessions in the 1st semester. You should attend these sessions and network. You can start applying in the 1st/2nd semester (before 2nd) and banks will start interviewing you typically by 2nd semester, and you usually get an offer by 3rd semester. You should apply via your school or online at the banks’ websites. If you aren’t in a target school, check out http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-from-state-school-no-finance-background/
Hey, Brian and Nicole!
Currently I’m a year 1 student at a non-target university, in London, doing a finance degree. Most brand name banks such as GS and Barclays,internships require 300-320 UCAS points (about 3 Bs at A-level or above), but I’ve got 280 points.
That’s enough for smaller banks such as Nationwide or Santander.
Would it be wise to try to aim for a bigger bank or would it be more beneficial for me to take the internships (front office) at the smaller banks?
I do plan to study a Masters degree at a target university, however. So would these non-brand name internships along with a GPAs at university (undergrad and masters), help my chances at getting in a brand name IB?
Or would it be worth taking the job offer I may get from the internship.
Then work for a few and then apply for jobs at top banks?
I’m just wondering what routes would, realistically, be available to me with my situation. Personally, I’m not too fussed about which bank I end up in as pay would roughly be the same in each firm, to my knowledge. (Other than the interest in finance, the pay factor is making me think ‘which firm’.)
I’ve got a close relative in a brand name bank with lots of contacts. So I do know that the networking opportunity is there. However I want to know if the scenarios I mentioned are possible without the networking?
Brand name matters for MBA apps but it also depends on your role – what will you be doing on the job? If you are working on very interesting projects and are actually making a big impact in your organization, I think this will show on your app – bschools like that. I’d choose the role which you find the most interesting and a team you actually enjoying with. However, I think you’re thinking a bit too much now – when you actually land a few offers, you ask us again and we’ll let you know our thoughts
I’d still network w your close relative and see what’s out there. Networking will significantly increase your chances
hi, i live in the UK and was wondering, do any banks recruit interns when in college (age 17)?
if so what banks?
I’m sure you can try to obtain an off cycle internship through cold-calling/networking. I don’t think the banks have formal internships for people with your level of experience.
M&I,
How much sway do family members at banks get when it comes to submiting for summer interships.
I have an close relitave at a BB who would be hapy to help but would his help get me anywhere?
It can help if he/she has the hiring power. It also depends on the position of that person.
Hi,
I landed an offer at a MM IB boutique. It will be after my second semester at uni (off cycle) – how likely is it, that I’ll get a return offer for a summer internship or so? (Given that my work is good.)
Cheers.