Advice for Summer Analysts Hitting the Desks

The Prince did three summers as a summer analyst at an investment bank. Two of those summers were spent in prime brokerage sales and the last one was spent in the investment banking division. The advice here predominately applies to investment banking division summer analysts but some of it is applicable to those who were lucky enough to get a summer offer in a capital markets group. Some of it is even culled from suggestions taken from friends who did summer jobs and now work full-time on capital markets desks. Blog posts offering advice to summer analysts are a dime a dozen but hopefully The Prince will give some unique practical advice that some soon to be bankers will find useful. That said here are a few of my favorite posts on advice for summer analysts from Mergers and Inquisitions.

Here are a few words of advice from The Prince for summers training this week or next.

When you get into your group go find the best analyst. The Prince’s group worked without cubicles in an open bullpen so it was not difficult to see who got the best assignments, did the most complicated work, and worked the fastest. If that star analyst is willing to teach learn as much as you can from them. If they are not willing to teach just watch how they do things and seek their advice when you do not know how to do something. The Prince had two analysts who were probably at the top of their class who were happy to teach and it made all the difference in the quality of his work. The analysts you work with will have the most input about whether you get a job so learning from them will improve your chances.

Stop spending time worrying about the slowdown and less hiring and focus on what you can control. This means achieving perfect performance. The senior people in the Prince’s group allowed us a lot of leeway in the environment of the office so long as the work we sent to them and clients was always perfect. Print out everything that is done before you show it to anyone senior. On the performance side you should lean heavily on the other analysts in your group. Ask them questions but remember what they teach you. Don’t ask the same questions over and over again. The Prince used to carry a notebook where he would write down summaries of things he had learned like how to treat different kinds of goodwill in an LBO. Every night he would study this notebook to make sure he internalized what he had learned. The best way to learn, obviously, is to do something hundreds of times. The Prince spent so much time working with the LBO and M&A models that his group used that using and modifying the models became second nature. In The Prince’s group the summers were expected to do the same work as the first year analysts. We were not expected to do it as quickly but all our assignments came from the staffers and we were rarely staffed with another analyst on our assignments. Use the other analysts to check your work and get tips about how to deal with the associates and VPs. Each group has a specific way that senior people want to see work. Get this info from the other analysts and you will be on your way towards perfect performance. Finally, getting work done correctly is always more important than doing it quickly. If you don’t know how to do something or you question if you have done something right, spend the time with the analyst or your associate to get it done right.

Outside of performing at a high level with accuracy as close to perfection as possible you have to have the right attitude. The Prince has written about the idea of “getting it” as one component of having the right attitude in interviews. As a summer analyst this basically means never complaining and never saying no. If you have a meeting the next morning and a flight leaving at 7:00 AM and the associate calls you after the MD told him to make a change to the book at 3:00 AM all you say is, “I am on my way to the office,” and then get the details of the change in the cab (this happened to The Prince). Don’t ever complain about the job or talk down about anyone you work with. The analysts do not want to hear that kind of stuff especially from a summer analyst. If you have a lot of work don’t go around displaying the attitude of being buried. This goes beyond just what you say but how you say it and your body language. You only have 10 weeks to kill yourself and your attitude should be that you will do anything and be happy to do it during those 10 weeks.

Make friends with your support staff and the associate/VP who is in charge of staffing. Hopefully your group will not have analysts staffing you. The support staff can be lifesavers. The Prince got on great with his admin. She arranged things for me even when she was not in the office and took care of things for me that even senior people could not get her to work on. Most admins are so used to being treated poorly that it does not take much to make friends with them. I think I was really in when I gave her an orchid which she still has. The support staff you have production is also really important to your life as a summer analyst. Really genuinely get to know these people. Take them out for drinks with the group and play to their interest in conversations and activities. The Prince had one production support friend who came in on Sunday, when he normally would not be working, to bind 40 books The Prince needed printed and bound while the Prince worked on another project for the same meeting.

You have to develop relationship with the people you work with. Do not ever pass up a chance to go out at night, grab breakfast, or go to events like baseball games with your group. You have to make them feel like you are already a part of the team and someone they want to spend time with. Do not get drunk unless your co-workers are getting drunk and always come into the office the day after early and looking impeccable. Do not talk about work outside of the office unless it is to make fun of something work related or impersonate someone you work with. At the end of the internship everyone you work with has to feel like there is no way they could not keep you on with a full-time offer. The people you work should ideally be your friends over the next two years so you have to get this piece of advice right.

Let’s end on a practical note. You need to workout everyday and eat/drink well. The Prince was in a very athletic group with tri-athletes, former olympic rowers, long-distance bikers, and former service academy graduates. Almost every person in his group worked out everyday before hitting the desk at 7:30 or 8:00 AM. On the weekends everyone worked out Saturday and Sunday. The Prince is not exaggerating. You also have to eat a very healthy diet. Do not just order lots of food because it is one the company for dinner. Eat salads, soups, and lean meats with small portions. Drink tons of water throughout the day. Keep eyedrops, chapstick, and some sort of eye fatigue cream (like the one from Khiel’s, in your desk. After looking at a screen for over 18 hours you are going to need these things especially if you are so jammed you have not been able to go outside and had your meals including lunch delivered. The Prince cannot stress the importance of drinking tons of water each day and eating very healthy all the time. Most staffers will say that everyone of their summers and 1st year analysts gains wait. Aim to be the exception to the rule. Your work performance will be higher if you follow the exercise and diet suggestion. Furthermore, given the reduced sleep you will be getting you will need to workout everyday just to not go psychotic.