In light of that, a Barclays analyst sent around an email to incoming interns with "Ten Commandments" to "live and die by" for the next 9 weeks.
The reaction in the media has ranged from complete outrage to questioning whether it's just another Wall Street prank. Gawker took it pretty seriously. And The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story, is even tweeting out individual "commandments":
The "10 commandments" for Wall Street interns, according to a Barclays email making the rounds http://t.co/CCRNV3yDx4 pic.twitter.com/UBQEVgfP2i
- WSJ MoneyBeat (@WSJMoneyBeat) June 4, 2015
- "Hahaha these are hilarious. Such a great way to troll some interns."
- "I bet the guy will come out and say he was just joking around."
- "My friends thought it was funny, but ... they probably would've questioned if it was real or not if they had been the actual interns to receive it."
But they do feel there is some truth to the joke:
- "It's clearly a satire, but the bittersweet part is that there is a hint of truth behind it."
- "The parts about analysts leaving last and arriving early or instructions on who to talk to - those are what we perceive we will have to do."
- "In any business it's good to be the first one in last to leave, and with banking that means you will be there late. But bringing a pillow and yoga mat is probably a joke."
Ultimately, they said, the email hasn't changed their expectations, or heightened nerves at all, before they dive into their internships:
- "It's nothing that people haven't discussed before. Some of it is exaggerated, some of it might be true, so you just hope your group isn't as bad as he made his seem."