Summer internships: what to expect

You've landed a summer internship at an investment bank. But what do summer interns actually do? Here's what to expect ...

Induction

All good internships start with a spot of orientation. On your first day, expect to be learn how to get by over the next ten weeks. You'll learn about company procedures, where the fire exits and toilets are, where to find the in-house restaurants. On their first day, interns at Goldman Sachs, for example, are given access to the bank's swanky 'Wellness Centre', featuring the likes of a gym and climbing wall. Interns at Morgan Stanley are treated to a 'senior speaker' expounding upon the virtues of health, safety and diversity, and a team building scavenger hunt around Canary Wharf. Interns at Citigroup learn about the likes of health and safety, compliance, and information security.

Classroom training

With basic induction out of the way, classroom training is next. Most banks treat their interns to at least two days in a classroom at the start of the programme, and some repeat the experience intermittently throughout the whole ten weeks. "There's a big focus on learning through presentations and classroom training throughout the internship," says Ros Hillard, a graduate recruiter at Goldman Sachs.

Initially, classroom training focuses on how different divisions of the bank interact. Thereafter, expect to learn about the division you're going into: Eg. bond mathematics for fixed income interns, financial modelling for corporate financiers.

Rotations

If you go into a markets (fixed income or equities) or operations division, expect to move (rotate) around different desks. At Deutsche Bank, for example, interns on the trading floor can expect to work on two different desks during the 10 week programme. At Morgan Stanley, equities interns spend mornings of five of the 10 weeks moving between several different areas of the division. "On the equities rotational programme, you will work on a number of desks covering all product areas from derivatives sales, to cash sales or program trading," says Claire Attwell, a graduate recruiter at the bank.

However, there are exceptions to the rotations rule: BNP Paribas, for example, hires interns onto a specific desk. But head of graduate recruitment Alison Bridle says they make up for this in other ways: "We set aside a few hours every Wednesday afternoon for people to swap teams."

Interns in corporate finance divisions are also less likely to rotate. Most banks place corporate finance interns into a particular role, where they stay throughout the programme, moving once at the most.

Specialisation

After the dizzying rotational programme, markets interns can expect to become a little more immobile as the internship progresses. "By about half way through the internship, you need to start thinking where you want to drill down in the second half," says Hillard at Goldman Sachs. In the second five weeks, she says you will usually return to one or two of the desks you worked on during the initial rotation, one of which may offer you a job.

Work shadowing and trading games

What you actually do in a markets internship will be very different to what you do in, say, a corporate finance internship. Corporate finance interns can expect to help associates and analysts prepare research for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals. "You might be asked to do some research into small companies in a sector where a client is looking to make an acquisition," says SallyAnn Birchall, head of graduate recruitment at Deutsche Bank.

By comparison, markets interns will typically spend at least half the day shadowing a trader or salesperson, while the afternoon may be committed to projects (see below), or trading games. Trading floor interns at Goldman Sachs, for example, are split into teams and invited to trade real securities with a view to making as much money as they can before the internship is over. The bank limits their margin for error: teams that make a loss of more than $10,000 are eliminated from the game.

Projects

These typically run throughout the internship and are one of the ways in which banks will assess your performance. Interns in market divisions might be asked to simulate trading strategies and analyse their profitability. Interns in corporate finance could find themselves researching all the potential target companies in the UK fizzy drinks sector.

Daily tasks

Alongside longer term projects, you may be expected to undertake daily tasks. This is more likely in markets divisions, where time horizons tend to be shorter and work more geared to what's happening that day than events over weeks and months. A favourite job for markets interns is compiling a summary of the daily morning meeting.

Networking

Banks want their people to meet you, and want you to meet their people, so expect no small degree of schmoozing. There will be networking breakfasts, networking lunches, and after hours parties (to which other banks' interns are also invited). Not all the schmoozing will take place over canapés: last year, interns at Goldman Sachs bonded whilst helping to clear an area of the Thames.

Buddies and mentors

The more enlightened banks will assign you a special friend to help with any queries during the internship. JPMorgan and BNP Paribas are among those offering 'buddies' (usually a graduate trainee), for example. Morgan Stanley has a 'dean' of the internship class: "A senior person is always available to offer feedback and to give advice," says Attwell.

Mid-way assessment

Banks will typically assess you twice during the internship: once in the middle of the internship and again at the end. Both times, graduate recruiters will gather together feedback from all the people you've worked with during preceding period. "You'll be assessed on your drive and enthusiasm, your ability to learn, your teamworking and interpersonal skills," says Attwell. The mid-way assessment is a chance to learn what you've been doing wrong, and to improve upon it, so listen carefully.

Final assessment

The final assessment will again include feedback from all the people you've worked with. But it will usually require you to present the results of a project you've worked on, either alone or in groups. At some banks you may be required to attend an interview. SallyAnn Birchall says Deutsche Bank's corporate finance interns face a panel interview to round off their ten weeks with the bank: "We'll be asking what you learned during the internship."

Oh, and hard work

Whichever bank you complete an internships at, be prepared to work long and hard. "We aim to offer a real experience of what it's like to work in banking," says Ros Hillard at Goldman Sachs. "If you work in corporate finance you may have to work evenings and weekends. And if you're in a markets role, you'll get exposure to being in very early in the morning."