Goldman Sachs
Over the years, Goldman Sachs has held the helm in the world of banking. Considered “king of the hill” on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs has an extensive history of long-term success rooted in a distinct business culture with the accolades to prove it.
Pros
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Cons
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Employee Reviews
Life on the Job
Satisfaction with Work
- “I cannot speak higher of the bank.” -- Analyst
“I've gained invaluable skills and experience.” -- Analyst
“The firm and the people invest heavily in every employee's development.” -- Analyst
“Great place to start your career.” -- Insider
“It’s a fantastic place to work, learn and grow.” -- Insider
“Good career progression and meritocracy, but you have to work very hard to stay on track.” -- Trader
“Very smart but humble people.” -- Director
Quality of Work
- “Junior employees are clearly involved in all steps of a transaction, rather than just being number-crunchers.” -- First year Analyst
“If you put in the effort, the work is well worth it.” -- Analyst
Culture
- “There is a huge emphasis on teamwork.” -- Analyst
“Dynamic, hard-working, and very ambitious.” -- Trader, Emerging Markets
“People are encouraged to express their ideas and opinions.” -- Director, Asset Management
“Some argue that the culture at Goldman breeds arrogance... it's only a desire to try and be the best.” -- Insider
“The organisational structure tends to be quite flat, and team-based. Everyone from the analyst to the partner is a valued and integral member of the team and contributes to the process and the discussions.” -- Executive Director
“Goldman Sachs is typified by a unique culture emphasising teamwork and the importance of the firm’s most valued asset – its people.” -- Executive Director
“Very people-orientated with an open environment. Everybody works hard but is rewarded for getting results.” -- Insider
“My input is considered equally with those more experienced around me.” -- First year Analyst
"Goldman fosters a culture towards benefiting the community and I participate in mentoring at a deprived school in London.” -- Insider
“Goldman is a very different animal than other Wall Street firms.” -- Analyst
Hours, Pay & Perks
Hours
- “New analysts are expected to work at least 14 hours per day.” -- Analyst
“We work 12 to 14-hour days every week and sometimes come in at weekends.” -- Analyst
“Hours are long so you'll need a lot of stamina and the job needs to excite you.” -- Associate
“I typically work 11–12 hours a day, and when I’ve finished I just go home.” -- Analyst
“Don't expect a culture where people work 40 hours a week and take lunch breaks. While hours within certain departments can be less daunting than, say, IBD, no one works less than 50 hours a week.” -- Analyst
“The work/life balance needs to be addressed more.” -- Analyst
“The hours are long but the firm is fairly flexible if you have personal commitments.” -- Insider
"The emphasis is on productivity and completing the assigned work, regardless of hours.” -- Analyst
“Stay until the job is done.” -- Associate
Pay
- "Our pay is very much in line with that of other investment banks." -- Analyst
Analyst (base salary): £40,000 to £63,000
Associate (base salary): £48,000 to £79,000
Vice President (base salary): £74,000 to £165,000
Executive Director (base salary): £80,000 to £105,000
Interviews
Interviews & Assessments
- “Very tough interview schedule.” -- Analyst
“One firm-wide round followed by another more specific departmental round.” -- Insider
“Expects to meet with a broad range of employees, both senior and peers.” -- Associate
“I met eight interviewers. I was recruited at the graduate analyst level and consequently the questions I received were more focused on fit and soft skills, including attitude, motivation and teamwork, rather than on technical aspects and financial knowledge.” -- Analyst
“The selection process is quite thorough and includes a long string of interviews.” -- Associate
“Very rigorous and competitive.” -- First year Analyst
“The usual interview topics include candidate's motivation for becoming a banker at Goldman Sachs, their technical skills and cultural fit.” -- Manager
Sample Questions
- “Give me an example of something you had to do under time pressure.”
“What would you need to develop?"
“Do you have any skills in sales?”
“Why GS more than bank x?”
“How has the market evolved over the last year? “
“What would you do if I gave you 5 million pounds?”
“If company X trades at 9 times earnings and company Y at 12 times, which one is the most interesting?”
“What is the value of the home insurance market in UK?”
“I give you £1000 to invest for a year where do you invest them?”
“You’re given company X's annual report, estimate their revenue and profit for next year.”
“Describe a time when you were a leader in a team situation.”
“Can you give me a situation where things haven't gone as expected in team environment?”
“Can you tell me what exactly you did at x and y when you did work experience?”
“How have you coped with disagreement in a team/leadership situation?”
“Why are you interested in applying for the line of service you have applied for?”
“Why Goldman Sachs?”
“Why should we employ you?”
“Why Investment Banking?”
“What do you know about Goldman Sachs?”
“Why this division? What do you know about it? Describe what we do in this division.”
“What will you be doing in your first year at Goldman Sachs?”
“Tell me about a time when you had to work in a team and something went wrong?”
“Why an internship/graduate scheme?”
The Inside Buzz View
Graduate Careers at Goldman Sachs
A history of long-term success and a well-established, distinct business culture have always enabled Goldman Sachs to attract and retain the brightest candidates. Goldman recruits from all the top universities. In the UK, the bank has a strong penchant for top tier university students, but also seeks out talent from other universities. Luckily, degree discipline is not all that important: the firm will consider graduates with a degree in business or history and everything in between, provided you’re very sharp and have a keen interest in financial markets.
The Recruitment Process
It comes as no surprise that Goldman Sachs runs a competitive recruitment process for both internships and graduate programmes. If you make the cut, brace yourself for a challenging interview schedule that incorporates multiple interviews.
Candidates that impress in their online application will go through at least two rounds of interviews. One round followed by another more specific and technical round within the department, which will allow you to meet with a good number of employees with whom you may end up working.
You will be asked to talk about your achievements and experiences and demonstrate that you are bright, articulate and genuine about your interest in Goldman Sachs. You will also need to display good commercial awareness and a general knowledge about the marketplace in which Goldman Sachs operates, so make sure to brush up on current events shaping the financial world.
Programmes: Graduates and MBAs wanted
Goldman Sachs is a hub for graduates with the firm’s analyst and associate programmes drawing masses of wannabe professionals to the banking fortress. Competition is fierce as the firm is notorious for hiring only the best of the best. Yet, a financial background is not necessary if you want to embark on a career as an analyst at the firm, although it is likely to give you an advantage. Analysts inevitably deal with clients so if you’re into this kind of relationship building thing, you’re probably the sociable and outgoing character the firm is after. Commercial focus and strong problem solving skills are also wanted and while these are not the only qualities you should come armed with, you stand a good chance if you possess these basics.
Analysts serve as busy bees in all of the divisions. Training will depend on the business area, but generally all new analysts will start their training programme with a firm-wide orientation. This will equip grads with an induction to the firm’s structure, products and services, as well as the social events on offer. Goldman Sachs has its own university that forms a central part of the firm’s divisional training programme. Expect to receive training on job-specific strategies and products while also learning about sales, technical and client service skills. New hires are well looked after through the firm’s mentoring programme so – although you’ll be given high levels of responsibility – a helping hand is never far away.
If you’re keen to establish yourself as an associate at Goldman Sachs, you need to have an MBA and two to five years of work experience on your CV. Associate training follows a similar format as the one for analysts and is aimed at expanding professional, technical and interpersonal skills. Remember, big brother is watching you so be prepared for the scrutiny you’ll have to face throughout the training period as new associates are regularly assessed on their performance.
Internships
Goldman Sachs has long represented the number one destination for graduates with serious ambitions about a successful career in banking. Hence a bit of work experience will come in handy when applying for a full-time position at the firm – and you can count yourself lucky as Goldman Sachs runs several types of internships. However, all prospective interns will have to bring a real appetite for the firm and the industry and demonstrate leadership skills, team spirit and academic excellence.
Summer internships are amongst the most popular and are offered globally across the firm’s prime locations and core divisions including finance, internal audit, investment management and operations. Both summer analyst and summer associate positions are available; the former is open for those pursuing an undergraduate/postgraduate degree, and the latter for students working towards an MBA or a more specialist degree. Summer internships kick off with a firm-wide orientation that is aimed at providing novices with an introduction to the firm’s culture and the kind of responsibilities interns will have to take on during the 10 weeks spent with Goldman Sachs. This initial induction is then followed by more formal division-specific training.
There are also more long-term internships on offer that, depending on the business area and region, can last three, six, and even 12 months. They are offered on a rolling basis so it’s worth keeping an eye open for these. In Europe, positions for one-year placements are usually filled in Frankfurt, Moscow, Paris and Zurich so if you’re keen to go abroad, you better bring some good language skills with you. Initial training for the year-long industry internship is provided in the firm’s London office with continuous training opportunities available throughout the internship.
If you’re two years away from graduation, then the two-week internship at Goldman Sachs running in April is probably better suited for you. Pick a division – global investment research, investment banking or technology, to name just a few – and be prepared to learn about the industry and sector. Spring internships are also a good way to secure a summer placement if you’re serious about a career in banking.
Goldman Sachs Graduate Recruitment Info
How to apply: www2.goldmansachs.com/careers/begin/index.html
When to apply:
Full-time: 23rd October 2011
Summer Programme: 4th December 2011
Spring Programme: 8th January 2012
Work Placement: 8th January 2012
Goldman Sachs Profile & Stats
Goldman Sachs was founded in the US in 1869 when Marcus Goldman, who emigrated from Europe, embarked on a small enterprise to provide an alternative to expensive bank credit. Little could founding father Goldman have known that his company would become one of the biggest names in banking. Headquartered in New York, the firm today has a large global footprint and employs over 30,000 people across all major financial centres worldwide.
A Bit of Background
Goldman’s first international office opened in London in 1970. Today, this office is home to over 5,000 professionals and serves as the hub of Goldman Sachs’s European activities – a real force in UK investment banking and securities.
Over the years, Goldman Sachs has held the helm in the world of banking. The bank was pivotal in establishing the IPO markets of the early 1900s. In the 1950s, Goldman Sachs played a lead role in establishing the municipal bond market and 20 years later the investment bank was the first to create a specialised mergers and acquisitions group. During the 1980s, the firm gained a shiny reputation as a white knight of M&A by advising clients on how to avoid hostile takeovers. Then in the late 1980s, Goldman Sachs ranked as the first and only North American bank in the top 10 table of M&A volume in the UK. Goldman also became one of the first companies to recruit a large number of MBAs from leading business schools worldwide, a practice which still runs to this day.
Goldman Sachs going public and raising just under £2 billion in the process created quite a stir and made all the financial headlines in 1999. In the fall of 2008, as Congress worked on a $700 billion relief package for the big banks of Wall Street and the markets witnessed the abrupt bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the quick sale of Merrill Lynch's to Bank of America, Goldman Sachs requested to become a bank holding company.
A Closer Look at the Business
Goldman’s business is divided into three sectors: 1) investment banking, 2) trading and principal investments, and 3) asset management and securities services.
The investment banking business serves clients in the industrial, consumer, natural resources, health care, financial institutions, real estate, special products, technology, media and telecommunications industries. The investment banking sector is further sub-divided into two groups: Investment Banking and the Financing Group.
The trading and principal investments business – the largest of the three segments and the company’s profit centre – has three categories: fixed income, currency and commodities, and equities and principal investments.
The asset management business is split into two categories: asset management and private wealth management. This sector generates most of its revenue through management and incentive fees, providing investment advisory and financial planning services and offering investment products to institutions and individuals worldwide.
