investment banking intern horror stories

One horror story could be being given an impossible task with a very short deadline. For example, an intern was asked to create a complex financial model for a major deal in just a day. The intern had to work all night, with little guidance, and still got scolded for minor mistakes. Another could be dealing with extremely long hours. An intern was expected to be in the office from 7 am until midnight every day, which led to burnout very quickly. And then there's the case of being bullied by senior colleagues. An intern was constantly criticized and made to feel small by a senior banker who took out their own stress on the newbie.

Sure. There was an intern who was given so many projects at once that it was physically impossible to complete them all on time. They had to skip meals and sleep just to try and keep up. Another intern was constantly given urgent tasks that piled up on top of their regular workload. They worked weekends and holidays but still couldn't get everything done to the satisfaction of their superiors.

The pressure to meet tight deadlines can also be a horror story. Analysts are often given very short time frames to complete complex tasks. For example, an analyst might be given just a day or two to put together a detailed financial model for a large merger. The stress of getting everything accurate and done on time can be overwhelming, and mistakes can have serious consequences for their career.

Overwork is a very common theme. Investment bankers often have to sacrifice their personal lives for the job. Another theme is the high - pressure environment. There's always the risk of making a costly mistake in deals.

There was a case where a deal went horribly wrong. The investment bank had misjudged the market conditions for a big IPO. They priced it too high. As a result, the shares tanked on the first day of trading. The bank faced huge losses and a damaged reputation. Their clients were furious, and the bankers involved were under intense scrutiny and pressure.

One horror story is when a candidate was asked extremely complex financial math questions on the spot without any warning. They froze and couldn't answer, feeling completely embarrassed. It was a high - pressure situation and they hadn't prepared for such in - depth math during the interview.

In investment banking success stories, risk management plays a vital role. Banks that can effectively assess and mitigate risks are more likely to succeed. For instance, in complex derivatives trading, proper risk management can prevent huge losses. Reputation also matters a great deal. A bank with a good reputation is more trusted by clients. Moreover, innovation is key. Banks that develop new financial products or new ways of doing deals often stand out, like those that introduced new types of structured finance products.

One common theme is high - risk, high - reward situations. Investment banks often take big risks on deals that could either make them a lot of money or cost them dearly.

Also, the hierarchical structure can be a pain. Junior analysts sometimes have to deal with overbearing senior colleagues. For instance, a junior analyst was constantly yelled at by a senior for making small mistakes. The senior would take out his own stress on the junior, which made the junior's work experience really unpleasant.

Sure. There was a candidate who showed up to the interview in what they thought was appropriate business attire, but the interviewers clearly had different expectations. They were judged from the start based on their appearance, and it set a negative tone for the whole interview. They didn't get the job, and they felt it was unfair as they were qualified but the first impression was ruined.