So You Start Your Summer Internship On Monday? Here's What You Need To Know...

Monday 26th June 2017 marks the beginning of the eagerly anticipated summer internship programmes' for thousands of undergrads from across universities, countries, degree disciplines and organisations within (but not limited to) the world of investment banking. Having a number of connections/followers who are currently in university, have applied for roles on investment banking summer internships, will be interning over the summer and/or are interested in getting into the world of banking, consulting, accounting, etc. I thought I'd write a post on the subject having been in your shoes a few years ago.

I've tried to include the obvious advice that everyone's already told you, the not so obvious advice/hints/tips/golden nuggets, and some more general pointers on the internship and navigating your time to get the most out of the experience whilst increasing your chances of securing that all important full-time offer.

As ever, I hope this article proves an easy to follow and informal read for you and your network. Please like, comment or share so the broader population can benefit from any of the insights or advice below.

Why It's Important To Secure An Offer (Even If You Didn't Love The Internship).

If you're lucky enough to have secured an internship this summer your main goal will be to convert the internship (some internships are 6 weeks, others 8, most 10) into a full time offer for when you graduate. Regardless to whether you like the role/organisation/its people or not, if you secure an offer it means you can stroll into your final year of your studies with a 'safety net'. Whilst many of your peers will spend their final year at university struggling to prioritise their studies with their scattergun approach to applying for graduate schemes and jobs, securing an offer gives you peace of mind and allows you to have a more structured approach in your final year.

Your Background Doesn't Matter - It's A Level Playing Field.

Remember when applying to university? You needed X amount of A*'s and A's to get into the top tier universities, X amount of A's and B's to get into the next best universities, etc. so on and so forth. Then, when you got to university some of your peers had 5 A*'s whilst others had 2 A's and a B. Yet, you were all in the same university, on the same course, studying the same material. The playing field was level and irrespective of your background, the school you went to and your grades you were all starting fresh right from the same place.

This couldn't be any more similar to what you will experience on your first day and throughout your internship. You won't receive an offer solely on the fact that you went to an Ivy League university/Oxbridge/LSE, nor will you not receive an offer solely based on the fact that you're currently at a non-target university. Your Analyst class will have a mix of both. What's important is that you've earned your right to be in that room, on that desk and within that organisation for the next 10 or so weeks. You've all proved yourselves already through the rigorous interviews and assessments in order to get to where you are and all that's left is to ace this 10 week 'interview' that lies ahead of you to show that you're capable enough to hold down a position as a full-time Analyst.

Make Sure You Have The Basics Under Your Belt.

Attention to detail, strong analytical skills, enthusiastic, eye for detail, hard working, culture carrier, curious, humble, easy to communicate with, good listener, willing to get 'stuck in'.

These, together with all the other standard selling points that you might have highlighted about yourself on your CV should be easy wins on your internship. See them as prerequisites to any analysts role ahead of receiving a full-time offer. These are the building blocks that provide the foundation to any successful analysts career. They're all very important so be sure not to underestimate them.

It's easier for people to spot something negative (the absence of these traits) in an individual, especially when the sample pool/your peer group are of such a high standard and quality. Thus, don't forget the importance of the basics!

This is all just a "Don't try to run before you can walk" type of thing.

Stay Up To Date With What's Going On In The World.

The FT, The Economist, The Gateway, The Wall Street Journal and even Google Finance are all great ways to stay abreast of what's going on in both the financial markets and the world in general. Use them frequently, read a few articles a day and make sure you read things that interest you! We live in a world where geopolitics, politics and technology tend to dominate the news on a daily basis, and so it's important, now more than ever to branch out of the financial markets when consuming news.

Expand your mind to expand your horizon.

I have a rule of thumb - if an article doesn't capture my interest within the first few sentences of reading it, I skip it and move on. Do the same and make sure the content you consume isn't limited to finance. A well-rounded individual who can have an opinion on multiple topics brings more to the table than an expert in one very niche area or subject.

If you're ever bored and want some cool info-graphics to kill some time make sure you bookmark Visual Capitalist. At present, it's one of my favourite websites simply because I haven't come across many websites like it before. Other great sites include Mergers and Inquisitions and Wall Street Oasis.

Expectations - What Do Analysts, Associates, Vice Presidents And Managing Directors Expect From Summer Interns?

Everyone wants to offer a full-time position to a summer intern who they believe has the following attributes:

• Fit - One of the most important attributes for hiring is if the individual is potentially a good 'fit' for the team. When spending 10+ hours a day with someone, it's important that you can get along with them and have a laugh here and there. We're all human, not robots!
• Likeability - Similar to fit, people need to actually enjoy working with you. If someone isn't a pleasure to work with, nobody care's if they're a genius. Negative people force everyone away from them. Don't pretend to be something you're not; make sure you are your true, genuine self, and understand that likeability can play a major role in your success both on your internship and in terms of your future career.
• Time Saver - The most valuable asset on this planet is time. Therefore, it should be of no surprise to you that time is also valued highly in the world of investment banking. If you can save your colleagues (at every level) time, whilst not sacrificing on quality you'll be viewed in a very positive light. Every time you do a piece of work to a high standard, people will appreciate it. Every time you do a piece of work to a high standard and way ahead of time, people will take notice. Do this frequently and consistently, and people will associate efficiency, productivity and a solid work ethic with your name.
• Fast learner, hard worker, enthusiastic, doesn't make silly mistakes (once is okay) and intellectually curious. Strive to be all of these.
• A sponge! I bet you've heard that before. Make sure you go into your internship with an open mind and try to absorb as much information as you can. People generally like inquisitive individuals, especially those that are junior among us. It displays a real thirst for the work and hunger for knowledge that is required to do well in any role.
• Potential - People will discuss your potential. We don't want individuals with a fixed mind-set who are happy to just tread along. We like people with a growth mind-set. Those who are ambitious, hungry and eager to grow and develop, but at the same time are mature and self-aware enough to know where they stand in most situations. Make sure you carry yourself in the right way and display your strengths within a team and that you can also get things done alone if need be.

Questions Employees Might Ask Themselves Before Hiring You.

• Can this summer intern grow to be a very successful Analyst, Associate, VP and so on?
• What are the chances they're here to secure 2 years of quality experience and then jump ship and leave the firm?
• If they do leave after two years, will we have got our worth from their time with us?
• Why should we not hire this candidate?

Make sure your performance on your internship does a good job of answering these questions for your team.

Make Or Break! Your Mid-Internship Review.

Half way through your internship your manager will sit down with you to discuss your progress and performance over the first half of your internship. She/he will have gathered feedback from your team members and people whom you might have worked closely with during your time thus far (your manager should ask you to suggest a list of names to provide your feedback).

This next bit is important. It's all great and good to hear what you've been doing right and the areas of strength specific to you, but this shouldn't be the prime focus of the meeting. Make sure you note these down and then ask for the 'areas of development' i.e. the areas that you need to improve on from the day following your feedback until the end of your internship (whilst continuing to do the positive things to a high standard).

This is one of the most important factors that will determine whether you receive an offer or not. You need to display the ability to be able to take on board feedback, not whinge, and action what needs to be done. If you can go from 0 to 100 in all the areas of development over the remaining half of your internship everyone will be hugely impressed. It displays a level of maturity to be able to take on constructive criticism and come out on top. It's also important to have areas that need working on in order to exhibit growth potential rather than have nothing to work on or develop and thus show no growth trajectory.

Your Internship Project - Ace It!

Most internships require you to complete a project throughout your time on the desk which you'll then need to present to everyone you met during the 10 weeks toward the end of the summer.

You'll be assessed on the quality of the work produced, your presentation skills and how resourceful you've been. Being resourceful means leveraging the various teams, employees and tools that the firm has to offer. Your colleagues will be able to point you in the right direction if you ask the right questions. Don't be afraid to ask questions but always try to take the initiative and be proactive first. We like proactive people. Once your project starts nicely coming together, rehearse it in front of your buddy, mentor, colleagues and peers as many times as you can. Make sure you prepare for tough questions as the audience will try to test you and are free to challenge you.

Practice lots! Perfect it. Ace it. Throw in a joke or two (get the crowd laughing; ease your nerves) and most of all enjoy it!

Use (But Don't Abuse) Your 'Intern' Status.

10 weeks is a very short time. 10 weeks is also a very long time. Depends how you look at it.

Glass half full or half empty?

As a summer intern, you can expect a close to 100% success rate when reaching out to employees for a catch up. A 'catch up' is a 30 minute Q&A where you kindly request someone's time, they very generously agree a time that works for you both, and you get to know them over a coffee.

You can ask them questions around their background, their business, their role and their advice for you as a budding intern excited to be interning and who is extremely appreciative of their time.

Now, don't just be a 'taker'. 'Takers' get nowhere. We should all aim to be 'givers'. However, it isn't always easy for an intern to have much to offer, though, it never hurts to offer or ask if you can help in any way. A simple gesture can go a long way compared to someone who just asks, asks and asks rather than offers first.

Meet as many people as you can, don't go reaching out to the CEO and be mindful of the way you are approaching people. Networking is important and should be done whilst you are on top of all your work. Don't assume your team will think you're trying to jump ship to another team by networking - networking is encouraged and after all an internship is a two-way interview!

Don't Burn Any Bridges!

Do not intern in one division and go behind your teams back and try to get an offer within another division. I've known people in this situation - where they are in one team and realise it isn't for them and have their eyes on a different team or division within the firm but are concerned about losing any potential offers from their current team if they express their interests elsewhere. Some take the risk and try to network their way to an offer with other divisions/teams (not a recommended strategy) and others are too scared to talk to HR about it.

Though I'm no expert, my advice in this situation would be to do your best and secure an offer with the team you're interning with but to also talk to the graduate recruitment representatives about your dilemma (it won't be new to them, trust me) and see what they say. In the end, I do believe if you're good enough, there'll be headcount for you.

The last thing you want is to burn any bridges by going behind your teams back and trying to network your way to an offer with another team. It all goes through the recruitment teams who are very well connected to managers. In addition, people are well connected and they talk. Chances are, anything you're trying to do is already out there and people know about it without you even knowing it.

If you're interested in another area or team, put time in their calendars and catch up with them to find out more. Let your colleagues know your intentions. There's nothing wrong with that. Your firm will encourage internal mobility over losing talent altogether, especially to their competitors.

Dress Code - Err On The Side Of Caution.

You don't want to be the talk of the town (or internship in this case) for the wrong reasons. Ladies, that means don't wear heels if you cant walk in them and guys that means no extravagant shirts or suits that'll make you stand out in the wrong way. Always err on the side of caution. A bit of common sense can take you far. If unsure, leave it out.

At the same time, definitely make an effort to stand out in your own unique way if you have the confidence to do so, however, know the boundaries and the fine line that exists.

It's An Internship, Not A War!

Don't go around thinking it's 10 weeks of you against them (them being your fellow interns). If you're a strong enough candidate for a full-time offer, headcount will usually be available for you. Furthermore, teams don't usually take on interns unless they have headcount.

Get on with everyone you can. Stay away from toxic people. Yes, you will come across one or two in your summer intern class. Focus on you, your group projects, your work, your individual projects, your key stakeholders and your learning. Don't waste time on negative individuals.

If politics exist, understand them but don't get involved.

Last But Not Least...

• Don't brown-nose. People can see it from a mile away and nobody likes it.
• There is indeed a seniority or a hierarchical structure at all firms, however, everyone is human all the way from the top at the CEO level down to the most junior employees. Treat everyone with respect, be nice to people and get to know them.
• Naturally you'll click well with some colleagues and not so well with others. That's fine. It's part of life. Don't take it personally. Keep catching up with those whom you feel like you get on with but make an effort to step out of your comfort zone too.
• Make sure you know who your key stakeholders are (the people that hold the most weight in your career opportunities and progression discussions, usually your manager and people you report in to/work closely with) and keep them posted on your progress and work.
• Pay it forward. Chances are, you've got to where you are because someone (or many individuals) decided to help you along the way. Whether it was helping you draft a cover letter, CV or interview hints and tips, you are where you are because others decided to help you out. Therefore, when a friend, fellow student, stranger or peer reaches out to you for advice or help, if you can and if it isn't too much of a strain on your time, then make sure you give back and help them. It's important.

Finally, enter your internship with an open mind and exit it with zero regrets. Do this and you shouldn't have an issue with receiving an offer!

Congrats on getting this far, have fun, enjoy the journey and good luck with what lies ahead!

Thoughts or questions on this post? Let me know in the comments!

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Last Weeks Article:

20 Hours A Day Without Food And Water? It's What Your Colleagues Have Been Doing All Month!

Disclaimer:

The views and comments expressed in this post are solely those of Afzal Hussein and are not representative of any organisation, charity or third party.