<p>I begin my internship at a very large bank in the fixed income division next week, I got the job from a relative. I am a freshman in college and have relatively little knowledge of the financial industry, what will probably be expected of me? I turned down a seemingly more interesting internship with an established law firm basically because the bank was paying me nearly 30% more.</p>
<p>Am I just setting myself up to be embarrassed or should I probably get by smoothly, I mean, they can't possibly expected to do that much because I am only a freshman out of college, no? I am worried that the other interns who went through the real application, interview process will understand a lot more than me and I will be ridiculed.</p>
<p>What do any of you think will be expected of me?</p>
<p>Not much. Keep your mouth shut. Ask smart questions (yes there is something called a stupid question, and stupid people ask stupid questions). Don't be cocky or anything along the lines of that either. If someone offers you lunch, take it. Try to interact as if you were at school. They had full knowledge of what your capabilities were. You are expected to learn, and learn quick.</p>
<p>So</a>, What Will I Do As An Investment Banking Summer Analyst (Besides Get Abused)? | Mergers & Inquisitions</p>
<p>The only knowledge I have of banking is retail, so don't take my words completely to heart. What I've told you is what I've read over the course of the last months in regards to what to expect. You'll also be on the same page as those other interns as well. They don't know jack unless 1) they've read up the same way or 2) they know someone who has helped them.</p>
<p>Ask your relative for advice as well. Good luck!</p>
<p>Godsend is completely wrong about asking stupid questions. It is much better for you to ask and learn than to never ask. This is particularly true if you have an assignment and have no idea of what you are doing.</p>
<p>The fact is that your just a freshman intern. Interns are supposed to be clueless. The more stupid questions you have answered, the less clueless you will be. If you were working for me, I could give a crap less if you are "stupid" or not. All I would care about is whether or not you are getting your work done and how fast are you doing it. If you are asking a lot of questions, that shows you have a genuine interest and I'd see that as a positive.</p>
<p>Obviously, if you hear a buzz word or term that you don't recognize, you can probably just write down the term and research it yourself. Also, you shouldn't speak up in meetings if you have nothing to contribute. However, on a day to day basis I would hope that you would be trying to suck as much information from as many people as possible (without being too annoying).</p>
<p>Ask as many questions as possible without being naggy. The entire point of the first internship is to get the 2nd internship (either with that company or a different company).</p>
<p>Not to be rude, but perhaps you should have considered your responsibilities before accepting the internship position. I digress, however. I think the bank will not expect too much from you as you are just a freshman.</p>
<p>just wondering
what school do you go to and what major are you
how did you get the internship? and where?</p>
<p>Top 20 university, economics, from a relative who's a VP, Boston
I applied to tons of other places and aside from the law firm (where my brother's ex-girlfriend's Dad is a partner) nobody seemed the least bit interested in hiring me (and I'm a URM with a 3.7), i suppose because I'm just a freshman.
The bank I'm working at really has nothing for me to do, I do really boring research for the traders half the day (downloading OS's from Bloomberg and value added research) and then shadow a trader for the rest of the day (which is incredible, I have never in my life heard such offensive things said over the phone in a professional environment).</p>
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The bank I'm working at really has nothing for me to do, I do really boring research for the traders half the day (downloading OS's from Bloomberg and value added research) and then shadow a trader for the rest of the day (which is incredible, I have never in my life heard such offensive things said over the phone in a professional environment).
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<p>Honestly, I think a really good documentary could be made shadowing traders for a month.</p>
<p>Trading floor is not a professional environment. Interns used to get some very difficult tasks - like getting TX barbecue ribs to NYC by lunch time, or get a car for a long weekend for the boss last minute because he has a date (solution - buy the car, and put it on the boss' credit card).</p>
<p>This seriously sounds like so much fun! :D</p>