GUEST COMMENT: The horror of having a needy intern

Like a baby pig inside a boa constrictor, the global financial crisis is slowly working its way through the financial sector. It won’t be hurried by the hopes and dreams of a few keen and spotty 22 year-olds.

On one hand, it has never been more difficult to convert an internship into a full time graduate role. Headcount is lower across the board, senior bankers are getting fired and the last thing investment banking management teams are trying to do is to increase ranks. On the other hand, organisations need to take on a minimum of one or two new recruits every year no matter how bad things get, and there’s a recognition that keen juniors can be a cheap solution.

Despite all the pretence of busyness, work is slow right now because of the summer lull. Shell-shocked clients are sitting on the beach, recovering from the stress of the first six months of the year. People in banks are trying to look  busy to keep their jobs, but frankly? Frankly, there’s not much going on.

If you’re an intern in this difficult environment, the very worst thing you can do is to appear needy.

If you’re an intern, you may feel the temptation to ask for work (when there is none), to garner feedback (when no one is in the mood to give it to you), to buddy up to the people in your team (when nobody needs any new friends). Don’t. Listen to the little voice in the back of your head which is trying, correctly, to tell you that you are testing the patience of your colleagues and in the process shooting yourself in the foot.

I have been there. There is nothing worse than an intern who hangs on your every word.

If you’re an intern, here are some rules to live by.

1.There will be quiet periods. There always are. This year there will just be even more of them.  It’s not a reflection of your poor performance as an intern. Don’t take it personally.

2. Recognise that these quiet periods mean that other people will be sitting on their hands too. For them, it is a real reason to be scared. Bankers would, by their very nature, rather be busy fools than do nothing. In the City, activity is often wrongly equated with revenues and revenues mean job security.  A lack of projects will make your colleagues worried for their own jobs. This means they will be more stressed than normal. Any sign of annoying, clingy behaviour from interns, who are at the bottom of the food chain, can lead to a huge backlash. Be warned. Walk on eggshells at all times.

3. Nevertheless, if you can think of a project you can volunteer to complete yourself, you should definitely do that. If it’s a good idea, your sense of initiative will be noted. Part of the advantage to coming into an organisation from scratch is that you see things others don’t notice.

Try to follow those rules and you’ll have a far higher chance of converting an internship into a full time offer than by sucking up and hanging on your line manager’s coat tails.

The author has worked across a number of roles in investment banking and got her first job after interning at a bulge bracket bank