When it comes to your Wall Street internship, revert to the mean

Welcome back! Dan DeFrancesco in NYC, and I’m fascinated by this first-person perspective from Insider’s Lydia Warren on being in Hawaii when an an alert warning about an incoming missile was mistakenly issued five years ago.

Today we’ve got stories on the biggest lessons KKR learned from building on the public cloud, a rising star at Goldman Sachs, and what you need to do to stop feeling tired all the time.

But first, we’ve got some newcomers. 


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The Internship


The Internship movie



1. Let’s get you settled in.

Wall Street’s summer internship is officially here as investment banks open up their doors to eager college students.

The 10-week internship program represents a critical juncture for aspiring Wall Streeters. Success means leaving with a full-time job offer for the following summer. 

This year’s class has additional pressure, as a dealmaking drought means banks might be a bit more selective in who they ask back.

Lucky for you, Insider’s Emmalyse Brownstein has a foolproof guide for how to navigate your Wall Street internship, mapping out the key dos and don’ts.

From my perspective, ensuring you nab a full-time offer is a lot about being average. I realize that might sound sacrilegious to a bunch of type A, ultra-competitive wannabe Wall Streeters, but standing out poses risk

Obviously, you don’t want to be viewed as someone at the bottom of the barrel.

But shooting for the stars comes with its own challenges too. Banks were built on red-tape and corporate politics. Trying to “wow” everyone could end up backfiring. (Don’t believe me? Read up on the tall poppy syndrome.)

Take some advice from Brad Pitt’s character in “Ocean’s 11”:

“Don’t use seven words when four will do. Don’t shift your weight. Look always at your mark but don’t stare. Be specific but not memorable. Be funny but don’t make him laugh. He’s got to like you then forget you the moment you’ve left his sight.”

And whatever you do, for God’s sake, don’t make a TikTok about your first day.

Read more about everything you should, and shouldn’t, do during your Wall Street internship.


In other news:


GuilhermeMesquita/Shutterstock



2. Everyone wants an internship at Citadel. The hedge fund, which has had an incredible run of late, saw a 65% spike in applicants this year. More on this year’s class of interns, who start today.

3. Everything you ever wanted to know about moving to the public cloud but were too afraid to ask. Leo Bogdanov, KKR’s head of engineering for digital client experiences, details the things he wish he knew before building out a new client portal on AWS. Check out the three biggest lessons learned.

4. One to watch at Goldman Sachs. Nishi Somaiya, the global head of private banking, lending, and deposits at Goldman Sachs, got a shoutout from John Waldron, the bank’s COO, during a recent speech. The exec described her as “one of our young, talented next-generation leaders.” Here’s how Somaiya fits into Goldman’s wider strategy.

5. Inside the fintech effect at JPMorgan. Daniel Pinto, the bank’s COO, said the threat that digitally focused startups pose to big banks pushed JPMorgan to look into expanding its consumer-banking footprint outside the US. More on that strategy.

6. Hedge funds are now rolling out comp packages reportedly worth more than $100 million. The war for talent among multi-strategy firms like Millennium, Citadel, and Balyasny has reached a fever pitch, with eye-watering salaries being offered up. Why the buy side might be the best side.

7. Citi’s CEO says its tech investments have helped it avoid “fat finger” mistakes. The bank, which has a history of committing costly human trading errors, has leaned on new tech to sort out the issue, per Jane Fraser. Here’s what the bank’s done to cut its error rate by 86%.

8. Private credit made easy. Percent is a startup looking to streamline the red-hot world of private credit via its three-sided marketplace. Check out the pitch deck it used to raise a $30 million Series B.

9. Most family offices don’t seem to be very good at the most important part of their job. The majority of family offices said they don’t have a wealth succession plan in place, per a UBS survey, despite acknowledging that is kind of the whole reason they exist. Why no one wants to tell the ultra-rich how to pass their fortunes to their heirs.

10. Why you’re always tired, and how to fix it. We’ve got six things that might be causing you to feel a bit out of it, and how to get back on track. Read more here.


Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Feedback or tips? Email ddefrancesco@insider.com, tweet @dandefrancesco, or connect on LinkedIn. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.