Discover your dream Career
For Recruiters

Lloyd Blankfein says you must be humble and neurotic to work at Goldman Sachs

How it is at Goldman Sachs

Are Goldman Sachs jobs for bold, brash, corporate combatants? Or are they for neurotic, bearded-types who worry about the limits of their own knowledge.

Try the second.

Lloyd Blankfein just gave an interview to Frankfurter Allegemaine in which he said Goldman Sachs bankers are "worriers" not "warriors."

Goldman bankers are not infallible, said Blankfein. Nor must they assume themselves to be. Success in financial services is all about planning in advance for, "a variety of potential future scenarios," Lloyd added. "It is not our job to be fortunetellers. One should never take one’s own forecasts too seriously. "

It doesn't end there. Blankfein says his own strength comes from an awareness of his weaknesses. "I don't consider myself to have second sight," he says, "Observing the incessant volatility of the markets has been enough over the years to wipe out any hubris on my part. I’ve been around long enough to know that I know nothing."

Blankfein's philosophy is worth remembering if you're interviewing at Goldman Sachs. Especially if you were planning on expounding your financial omniscience. Blankfein suggests that Goldman Sachs likes humble people. It also likes neurotics. The less you think you know, the better. At least, that's the theory.

Related articles:

Former Goldman Sachs interns reflect upon where it all went wrong

Amazing graduate careers advice from Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs

9 life and career lessons from Gary Cohn, COO of Goldman Sachs

author-card-avatar
AUTHORSarah Butcher Global Editor
  • ha
    hahaha
    29 July 2014

    Anyone who knows someone working at GS or any other IB will know that you'll be lucky to find any humble people there, even in BO. Sarah, please resist the temptation to jump to conclusions after every single interview you read with a senior banker ;)

Sign up to our Newsletter!

Get advice to help you manage and drive your career.

Boost your career

Find thousands of job opportunities by signing up to eFinancialCareers today.
Latest Jobs
Allstate Insurance
Personal Financial Representative (PFR)
Allstate Insurance
Orlando, United States
Bloomberg
Executive Assistant/Office Administrator
Bloomberg
New York, United States
Bloomberg
ML Platform Engineer - Bloomberg Law
Bloomberg
New York, United States
Venture search
Quantitative Developer
Venture search
New York, United States
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Information Security Engineer - PKI
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Charlotte, United States

Sign up to our Newsletter!

Get advice to help you manage and drive your career.