GUEST COMMENT: How to survive an interview with Goldman Sachs
Humility isn't a trait often found in the City, but in my 'humble' opinion there are four keys to sailing through an interview at Goldman. How do I know? Because it worked for me.
First, a few prerequisites. If you're still at university, go to all the careers presentations. Prepare for them as if they were interviews. Dress smart casually (suits not necessary, but torn jeans & student chic will fail you at the first fence).
Ask smart questions which show you've been reading the FT. Get noticed by introducing yourself clearly (lists of names will be compiled afterwards by the people from the firm which you meet). If your name is hard to remember, ask for a business card and follow up with a brief email the next day thanking the person you met for their time.
Once you've done that getting your online application pre-selected for interviews should follow automatically.
At interviews, arrive promptly. Mine began at 8.30AM. I was so determined to be on time that I got there at 7.55AM. Be prepared for anything. One of my interviewers grilled me for 45 minutes and never cracked a smile once. Another gave the excuse of a colleague's leaving drinks the previous night and had trouble staying awake. And be nice to HR. Relative to other firms, Goldman hire pretty decent Human Resources people who tend to treat you fairly if you are polite and don't make their lives complicated.
Your keys to success are:
1. Have a story - be unique The company is inundated with applications so try to prove that you are worth meeting. I met guys who had traded derivatives from their university residences, played professional tennis and been on NASA space missions before joining the firm.
2. Look good on paper - or try to make yourself look good on paper In my experience, Goldman screens according to preferred universities (e.g. Oxbridge, LSE & Imperial in the UK), so if you're not on that list, you'd better use all of your marketing skills to convince the recruiters you're still good enough.
3. Know someone in the firm - even if not in the areas you expect to interview for. Goldman runs on a system of internal networks which stems from its former (pre-IPO) partnership days. These networks cross Chinese walls and physical spaces and are what the firm depends on to work as a well-oiled machine. It's how a trading idea from equity research gets to corporate finance, becomes a debt issue syndicated by capital markets which is bought into by the firm's prop trading desks and internal hedge funds. Be resourceful - use your local gym, LinkedIn, university alumni and anything else you can think of.
4. Have your top 10 market views down pat. Do this even if you're interviewing for a role in M&A or IT. Oil, gold & copper spot prices, US, UK & Eurozone rates, FTSE, S&P, Dow & Hang Seng levels are my own top ten. I'll leave it to you to decide what yours are but be prepared to discuss and defend them thoroughly. A good tip is to have an idea of where they have traded in the past as well.
Above all, be like the people you meet. Practice on the contacts you make before applying. If this is a struggle, and you can't fit into the firm's very particular corporate ethos, a career in the 2nd tier beckons.
