Revisiting Your Summer -- Ack!

Just because you've done a summer internship, don't assume that you're golden at the extremely prestigious and currently IPO-ing investment bank. Insiders say that Goldman often requests that summer interns reinterview at the end of the summer to be considered for a full-time offer. Why does this happen? Mostly, say Goldman insiders, because "you didn't meet the right people -- that is, senior people." Part of the problem is the hierarchical structure of most investment banks. "What happens," explains a former intern, "is that a partner will get a call from a client saying that they want to issue stock, or whatever. It goes to a vice president, who gives out the assignments to associates. Then, as an intern, the associate gives you your assignments." The optimum scenario, say contacts, "is that you meet or work with two or three partners, and maybe seven or eight vice presidents." The sometimes humiliating end of summer "reinterview" is prevalent at several other top firms, from investment banks to consulting firms and Fortune 500 companies.

As a lowly intern, how are you to schmooze these supervisors so you can avoid the "reinterview?" "You have to be clever," says one insider. "When you have to write a memo, instead of giving it to the senior associate on the deal, give it to the partners, and make some kind of comment." Interns who fail to meet and greet appropriately are sometimes asked to return to the firm and interview for a permanent job a few weeks after the end of the summer, whereas most interns receive a job offer at the end of the summer. "You can get a job offer when re-interviewing," reports one contact, "but some don't. And if you plan your summer right, it shouldn't be necessary to interview at all."