I include the below—with redaction to protect the innocent—for nostalgia value and also by way of reference. This email went around most of the IBD team at a leading European investment bank in 2010.

From: [redacted]
Sent: 06 July 2010 16:52
To: [redacted]
Cc: [redacted]
Subject: RE: Interns - how to get a job…

Thanks all for your responses.

I’ve tried to collate into 3 brackets of ‘Etiquette’, ‘General’ and ‘Practical’. Any further comments let me know, otherwise I’ll turn this into a slide.

(‘Washing’ was removed from the list as I think we are all hopeful that basic hygiene, the use of knives & forks vs hands and refraining from licking plates @ restaurants w/colleagues is a given…)

Etiquette

• Be on your desk at 8am - this is best practise and will be noted by senior bankers
• Chaps wear a tie

General

• Deadline management
  • With every project ask for a deadline
  • Any conflict in delivery, talk to the principals to work out whose work has to take priority; Person A’s “urgent” might be less important than Person B’s
  • Let the team know in a timely manner if you do not think you will hit your deadline
  • If you do finish your work ahead of the deadline let your team know and send to them for review - don’t just sit on the work
• Be prepared to juggle several pieces of work / tasks at once. This is usual.
• If you have urgent work to do don’t go AWOL (or at least let your associate / analyst know you’ll be gone)
• Ask around the team before leaving for the evening if anyone would like any help
• Learn the names of everyone around you quickly - especially the seniors - it will help!
• Be team-players - ability to work with each other as interns will be noted
• No matter how menial or time-consuming the task is, remember that everyone in the office around you had to do those tasks too when they started

Practical work

• Takes notes in meetings
• Bring calculator / WGL / other materials relevant to the project to meetings
• Be first to offer to handle simple tasks like getting books printed / organizing courier etc
• If you have sensible reason to disagree with the path a piece of work is taking (commercial / intellectual / practical disagreements), be grown up in fashion in which you voice any concern. Challenging the ways things are done is not taboo
• If in doubt, ask potentially silly questions up front i.e. whilst being briefed at the beginning of a task/project - far better than making up your own potentially silly answers
• There are no silly questions, except ones you have asked already
• Offer to print documents ahead of internal meetings
• Offer to set up meeting invites / dial ins
• Print out work, proof read it and check your numbers before you hand it back
• Always save ALL your back up in the client files / other companies folder. Keep the folders tidy!

The only way to be seen as trustworthy, competent, hard-working and responsible is to be those things throughout your time here - there are no shortcuts