On January 23, 1996, President Clinton made a famous declaration in his State of the Union address:

“The era of big government is over.”

The promise, of course, turned out to be untrue: although Clinton moved to the center on welfare reform, among other issues, he later proposed hundreds of billions in additional federal spending.

With the results of the 2008 US election, many in the finance community have been asking a similar question lately:

Is the era of big bonuses over?

Before hitting the “panic” button, we need to break this question down so we can analyze it rather than running around with our heads cut off.

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So, do summer interns still get recruited even in the midst of a financial crisis? Are internship programs being eliminated altogether? Which offices are actually hiring interns? Is anyone safe?

I’ve been getting a lot of these questions lately as we move into summer recruiting.

The short answer: most of your fears are overblown, though they are not without merit.

Why? Well, I hate to sound like a consultant but all comes down to a cost-benefit analysis.

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How do you avoid burning out when you work 80-100 hours per week and are constantly in the office, “on call” and sometimes even sleeping under your desk?

This question came up the other day with a reader who had recently completed a banking internship - and I realized that avoiding burnout might interest both prospective and current bankers.

Many of these tips apply to anyone who spends the majority of their time in an office - regardless of whether or not you’re staring at Excel/PowerPoint all day.

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What is Investment Banking?: Ari Gold: What Bankers Actually Do, Why NOT Do Investment Banking

Investment Banking Lifestyle: A Day in the Life - Worst Day and Best Day, How to Stay Fit, Investment Banking Wardrobe for Men, Investment Banking Lingo Part 1 and Part 2, A Week in the Life (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

Breaking into Finance: How to Get an Investment Banking Job, Networking into Investment Banking, Recruiting in a Tough Market, Breaking in from Engineering, Breaking in from Law, Breaking in from the Back Office

Investment Banking Resumes: How to Write an Investment Banking Resume, How Investment Bankers Read Resumes

Investment Banking Interviews: Investment Banking Interview Guide, The Interview Selection Process, How to Close Your Interviews

Summer Internships: Summer Intern Success Guide, How to Dominate Your Summer Internship, Tips from a Former Summer Analyst, What You Do as a Summer Analyst, 10 Summer Internship "Don't's", How Summer Interns Get Full-Time Offers

Investment Banking Salaries: Investment Banking Salaries vs. McDonald's, Why Investment Bankers Make So Much Money, 2008 Analyst Bonuses

Private Equity / Buyside Jobs: Private Equity Resumes, Private Equity Interviews, The Myth of the Buyside Job, Headhunters: Friend or Foe?

Specific Groups: UBS LA, Boutiques, Restructuring, The Back Office

Quitting Finance: The Conference Room: How You Get Fired, The Farewell Email, A Day in the Life of a Former Investment Banker