- Take advantage of learning from young people (analysts/associates) who have the time to teach you and can relate more to you
- Be social, don’t beg them to come out with you for drinks or dinner (they’re busy enough and sacrifice enough social life), but if they ask you it should be priority number 1
- Obviously: don’t ever get drunk at a work function or if you are out with fellow interns or employees
- Find the desk that fits you best – you only have the summer to do it!
- Impress the people who matter (MDs, etc.)
- Good questions to ask when you sit down with people:
o Their career path (where they went to school, why they chose the firm, etc.)
o Specifics about the desk
o What advice they have for you
o Anyone else they recommend sitting with or any other areas they recommend?
- Whenever I e-mail people to sit down, I always attach my resume (I was given this advice by a VP)
o Also e-mail people in the morning – it gets to the top of their inbox and if you e-mail at night they might be sleeping and their BlackBerry will go off
- Remember that firm culture varies extraordinarily from desk to desk within a firm
o Some desks make you get coffee and other desks will get coffee for you
- Know your product as well as possible
- Sit with people without being annoying, remember that knowing when to be away from the desk is just as important as knowing when to be there (an ED at MS told me that!)
- FILO – “First In, Last Out” but not to the point where you’re getting so little sleep that you’re not functioning and people can tell you’re tired
- Mock trade if you can, or at the very least throw some investment ideas at your boss even if they’re not in the product of your desk (though that is preferable)
- Do whatever your superiors tell you to
- See what other interns are doing and out do them
- Talk to interns at other firms and see what their experiences are like
- Be aggressive!
- Know EVERYBODY’s name – use the directory, they usually have pictures along with names
- Network with professionals and other interns
- Sit with people at other desks, it will give you a better view of the different businesses the firm is involved in and it goes along with finding the best fit desk
- Make your team’s lives easier!! (even if they don’t ask) for example, putting together a summary of the day’s market movements
- Sit with people – don’t be scared of asking (especially over e-mail) to sit with somebody for a bit, when you do sit with them – be attentive and take NOTES. Even though you might never use the notes it makes it seem like you are being more attentive. After sitting with them send a thank you e-mail to them and explain what you got out of sitting with them
- Especially if they’re not giving you work try to think of something that you can do for the team
- When they teach you things they expect you to know it, if you have problems learning it while they’re teaching you then be sure to learn it afterwards whether by going online or asking other people
- Know the hierarchy at your firm so that for example if somebody tells you they are a Sr. VP you know what that means
- Take advantage of the internet to learn things! If you think a question might be stupid then first check the internet to see if you can look it up there
- Stay in touch with the people who interviewed you at the firm (they have a stake in your success! Because they gave the ok on hiring you). Young people are great to get to know because they have the time to teach you and can relate to your position. Also, the summer associates (MBAs) can also be a helpful resource because they typically have work experience and more contacts within the firm.
o Stay in touch means: send articles, ask intelligent questions or for advice, bounce investment ideas off them, keep them updated on major progress you have
- If you want a job hang around the desks that are hiring. They’re very likely hiring if they have an intern on the desk
- Make friends with the other interns, especially if you’re at a good firm. You’d be surprised how many of them will turn out to be very successful
Getting an offer is much more an art form than an exact science – you want to be social but not neglect your desk, you want to ask a lot of questions but not be annoying. The real challenge is figuring out what your boss expects. Use whatever resources you can to figure this out as soon as possible. Good luck.
