The Stanford Business Reporter

The Reporter caught up with some of the less lucky 2nd years whose summer experiences weren’t what you’d call "as expected." Read on:

Q: Where did you work for the summer? What did you do for the firm?

A: An investment bank in San Francisco. My role was essentially that of an analyst - lots of comps, cut and paste, and general odd jobs.

Q: What was your prior experience?

A: Mining engineering - a far cry from the politics of an investment bank.

Q: Was your experience "as expected?"

A: My experience was mixed. The majority of the work was as I expected - long hours of preparing pitch books punctuated by moments of excitement. The day to day work looks like it gets interesting as you become more senior - V.P. and above. What I hadn’t expected was the scale of organizational change that was occurring and the resulting organizational strain and infighting.

Q: What happened?

A: There were plenty of good times - golf, landing a new client, and the people in the team I was placed in were great. However, the war stories are more entertaining and perhaps more telling. The highlight was a dinner with the co-heads of the bank followed by the theatre.

The dinner was heralded as a "special" event where we would be wooed and get an opportunity to talk candidly with senior bankers. I had signed on to see something of the excesses of investment banking lifestyle (good and bad) and was eager for a night of caviar and Bollinger. I wanted to see how banks caressed the egos of the young and naive (like myself) to get us to work 100 hour weeks.

Dinner, which was served in the boardroom, was self-serve tacos. Not quite the lobster I expected, but no problem. I’m a fan of tacos, although it is rare that they are heralded as being a "special" dinner. Perhaps the company would compensate... The first person I talked with had coordinated the dinner. Five minutes into our conversation she confided in me how concerned she was that she’d spent too much on the meal.

Later in the evening one of the co-heads of the bank asked me if I thought it necessary to have flowers on every floor and did I realize how much it would save the bank to stop providing them. From a banker earning millions of dollars a year I had to wonder if she was missing the big picture. After dinner, San Francisco’s finest yellow cabs whisked us to the theatre. We were instructed to fill the cabs so that we didn’t have to take more than was necessary - a theme was developing.

It turned out that some people had been caught in the office, a professional hazard in banking, so there were extra theatre tickets. Instead of just giving us a little extra elbow room, my friendly event coordinator cornered me and another summer associate to try and get us to scalp the tickets in front of the theatre. As she insisted that it was perfectly legal I wondered how it would affect my prospects of a full time position with the bank if I ran screaming down the street away from her.

The moral to the story is that banks are ruthless and mercurial. The labor market had changed and they weren’t going to put any more effort and money into us than was necessary. A cynic might also argue that some people in the bank wanted revenge for the difficult labor market of the past few years.

Q: How much, in your opinion, of the experience was due to the economy?

A: The economy was certainly a major contributor to the lack of real work and the penny-pinching mood, but the bank can take credit for it’s interesting methods of cost reduction. My friendly event coordinator worked very closely with senior management and I’m confident that it was their cost cutting mantra that drove her to the ridiculous.

Q: What does this say about the firm?

A: The bank was going through major structural changes. While the politics were interesting, they dominated the banking and hindered any real work being done. Most of the time the bankers were watching their backs to prevent themselves becoming a part of the next round of layoffs. Unfortunately, the week after my internship finished my team was fired.

Q: What advice can you pull from the experience to pass along to first years?

A: There are two takeaways from my summer internship. First, be proactive in your placement by seeking out a stable group with sufficient influence within the organization to protect its own people. Second, bring your own hot sauce to "special " dinners. Plain tacos can be very dull.

Q: Where did you work for the summer? What did you do for the firm?

A: Worked for a mobile Internet start-up. Analyzed the competitive landscape and participated in new product development.

Q: What was your prior experience?

A: None. The first week I just couldn't understand what people were talking about. All acronyms, and in English!!

Q: Was your experience "as expected?"

A: The first three weeks, yes. After that, I got so bored...

Q: Did you feel the firm exploited your talents and skills to their fullest potential?

A: Not at all. I kept looking at the PC screen for 6 weeks waiting for the paycheck. But I used the time to develop some start-up ideas!!!!

Q: What were some of the drawbacks?

A: It was extremely boring.

Q: What advice can you pull from the experience to pass along to first years?

A: It's really difficult to get ten exciting weeks during the summer. They hire you in February and, in July, the situation is completely different. Also, how can you make somebody involved with the company in a ten-week job?!

Q: What should first years look out for during the interview process?

A: Try to get an idea of the project you're going to be involved in beforehand. I knew I was going to work in Marketing but didn't ask the details and the job actually never existed.

Q: If first years are "fooled" during the interview process and all of a sudden find themselves in a bad situation come summer, what advice do you have for them on how to make the most of a less-than-great situation?

A: Talk to your boss and tell them what's going on. They may be very receptive of your feedback. They sometimes don't know how capable you are.

And a rather cryptic response from Peter Brimm, MBA2: "My advice to first years is never ever ever engage in any form of exotic dance that involves soy sauce, latex, sea salt and a mountain lion. I was told it was part of the normal summer training regimen... They are laughing at you, not with you. Trust me." You know, I think I’m going to leave that one alone.