The Student Room Group

Goldman Sachs Interview Review

Hi guys,


This is just a review for anyone who is interested in what interviews involve and for people who are thinking of applying for internships next year.

I had my first ever internship interview yesterday at Goldman Sachs (GS) in London. I went down to London on Wenesday evening and had my first mishap - i accidentally booked the Travelodge room for 8th March not 8th Feb, DUH! They had rooms left but i had to beg. Second mishap was that the room was right next to Kings Cross station and i kept waking up in the night to "the next train to Streatham will depart at 6.10am." I made it out of my room to the tube and turned up to my interview an hour early so ended up in Starbucks with a mug of tea.

When i got to the building i was surprised that there was no indication that GS even inhabited the place - it was bizarre. There were a few blokes with Unilever badges to hand out who said i was in the right place. I sat down with some other candidates. Surprisingly not one of them was from Oxbridge. I've been told that GS dont like the stereotypical arrogant egotistical Oxbridge applicant and it proved to be the case here. They guys i spoke to were very friendly and there was a bit of banter which is what you need to offset interview nerves.

Next came a verbal and numerical test. It wasnt extremely challenging but as i havent done maths since GCSE, i probably found it harder than the average maths related degree student. I came back to the 'waiting room', which was basically like the inside of a designer fashion store and there were no urinals in the toilet!? They packed me off straight away to my interview which was with a sharp member of the Private Wealth Management Division. He was obviously highly intelligent and although he made me feel at ease, he didnt have a natural sense of friendliness/open personality. He had my CV in front of him and wrote notes through the interview.

Ok, questions. I was asked:

Can you give me a situation where things havent 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 diagreement in a team/leadership situation?

Can you tell me how many hairdressers there are in Joebloggs Town? (test of analytical ability in addressing the problem rather than asking you to get the answer right)

Why are you interested in applying for PWM?

There was some general conversation on the portfolio i manage for a relative.


Overall, there wasnt a lot of time to go more in depth about me and i got the impression that my interviewer thought i had rehearsed my answers. I asked quite a few questions about the firm and the environment there, which is what you are expected to do as it shows interest. Time was then up and i left feeling ok about how things had gone, but worried that i may have scored lowly on the numerical test and hadnt quite gone about answering the analytical question right. I noted that my interviewer gave me a very soppy handshake. Fair enough you dont want to crush people, but he came across to me as not being very sincere. Just a thought.

I was slightly ticked off that my accomodation expenses werent refunded but the experience was really good. As my train didnt leave till 9pm, i spent 3 hours on my todd in the Leicester Square Odeon wathcing Munich. It cost me £11.50 and that was off-peak! £11.50 i tell you!! - the dirty, cheating, robbing bas*****!

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Reply 1
I am from Durham also. I've got an assessment centre coming on 22nd with HSBC IBD
Reply 2
Brilliant.
Was the interview in Fleet Street (due to starbucks)?

Numerical tests are standard in interviews for any IB firms now.
Friend had one for JP Morgan & UBS.

Have a few questions to ask:
1) Where was the interview held
2) Did they make you sign anything
3) Was it the hotel next to the Thameslink station lol!
4) Where were the other candidates from
5) What was your answer for the analytical question - that I believe would be their main concern

Thanks :smile:
Surprisingly not one of them was from Oxbridge. I've been told that GS dont like the stereotypical arrogant egotistical Oxbridge applicant and it proved to be the case here.


awww.... I'm hurt. We're not all arrogant and egotistical. Just the d**kheads. Besides, I imagine its not liking egotistical and arrogant people rather than not liking oxbridge types. Ironic really, humbleness and selflessness is not the impression I got of employees of Goldman Sachs. That might have just been those that I've met though.
Reply 4
Olek
Ironic really, humbleness and selflessness is not the impression I got of employees of Goldman Sachs.


Was just thinking the same thing, if anything GS should be embracing oxbridge students if thats the way they view them- theyd fit in quite well (sorry for generalisation but also the impression i got from some people i know who work there)
Reply 5
walshie
Brilliant.
Was the interview in Fleet Street (due to starbucks)?

Numerical tests are standard in interviews for any IB firms now.
Friend had one for JP Morgan & UBS.

Have a few questions to ask:
1) Where was the interview held
2) Did they make you sign anything
3) Was it the hotel next to the Thameslink station lol!
4) Where were the other candidates from
5) What was your answer for the analytical question - that I believe would be their main concern

Thanks :smile:


Hi,

Yes, the interview was held at the Fleet Steet offices.

1) The interview was held in a room (surprisingly) in their offices.
2) I didnt sign anything except a claim for expenses form. Why do you ask?
3) It was the Travelodge at KIngs Cross
4) Other candidates that i met were from Durham, Nottingham, York, Birmingham and UCL.
5) My answer took a logical approach, but was not as ananlytical as it could have been as my interviwer reminded me that i had not considered that people have their hair cut more than once a year!
Reply 6
Olek
awww.... I'm hurt. We're not all arrogant and egotistical. Just the d**kheads. Besides, I imagine its not liking egotistical and arrogant people rather than not liking oxbridge types. Ironic really, humbleness and selflessness is not the impression I got of employees of Goldman Sachs. That might have just been those that I've met though.



Hi Olek,

You are quite right. Sorry for making the inference and no offence intended. I was told this second hand from a GS employee through someone who had completed an internship there.

I did not get an impression of selflessness and humbleness either, although i only met one employee the whole time i was there (excluding the receptionist and lady from HR). My interviewer could recite a whole spiel on 'teamwork' and client focus for why he came to GS, but i didnt really believe him.
Reply 7
Pogel, I think the reason you didn't see any Oxbridge people there is because they interview by University. They do the Oxbridge/LSE lot first.
Reply 8
I went there on Tuesday and most people around me were from Imperial and LSE. possibly they divided interview groups by universities
Reply 9
I am sure Oxbridge people make up around 40-50% of employees.
they are the top universities with the top students, so why would goldman sachs not be interested!
Reply 10
bluefuture
I am sure Oxbridge people make up around 40-50% of employees.
they are the top universities with the top students, so why would goldman sachs not be interested!


how you can be sure?^o)
Reply 11
They interview uni by uni, I went on the warwick, UCL, kings day I think... although there were a couple of manchester students there.

My interviewer didnt ask anything technical really, the only real questions were why banking, why goldmans, why equities and why equities as opposed to fixed income. The rest she was just like 'tell me about yourself' which is fine for 5 mins but for an entire interview?... :rolleyes:

She also asked me to tell her something she could remember me by and I started rambling on and on about my work exp in the UAE and cultural differences. Was quite cool actually; somehow even talked at one point about arab weddings.

Dont really know how it went... first half she seemed a bit bored tbh; I wasnt really saying anything majorly differnt to a lot of other candidates I dont think but second half she was much more into what I was saying and seemed more positive. Said she could see me in a sales role which can only be a good thing I guess. Just have to wait and see. Not holding my hopes up majorly high though; just in that one day I think they must have been interviewing around 2-300 people.
pogel17
Hi Olek,

You are quite right. Sorry for making the inference and no offence intended. I was told this second hand from a GS employee through someone who had completed an internship there.

I did not get an impression of selflessness and humbleness either, although i only met one employee the whole time i was there (excluding the receptionist and lady from HR). My interviewer could recite a whole spiel on 'teamwork' and client focus for why he came to GS, but i didnt really believe him.


Nah, its cool mate...
It's just a standard poke at people who went to Oxbridge and I can imagine somewhere like Goldman would be an easy place to develop a problem with them. Given the some of people that I've met at Oxford who have jobs at Goldman Sachs, they'd rub me up the wrong way, so I can see where this person is coming from.
Reply 13
well done pogel and good luck buddy couple of questions from me

1.where the HR ladies fit :smile: i heard that goldman HR dept is hot
anyway now for some real questions
2.how many people where at the interiew room eg when you were being asked about yourself etc is it a 1on1 kinda thing
3.are there any group exercises that go on
4.what where the most challenging questions ??
5.did they give you an idea of the kinda questions they may ask you or did you just prepare for the standard questions and hope they come up.

well done and good luck by the way im sorry the guy seemed kinda bored to be honest, dont take it personally i think its just that asking people the same questions and geting similar answers all day long is kinda boring but its hard for you or anyone to just be able to connect with someone within 5-10 minutes to not receive that.

the only thing y0u can do is damagae control and ensure that if there isnt anything they like about you then there musnt be anything they dislike about you !!!
Olek
Ironic really, humbleness and selflessness is not the impression I got of employees of Goldman Sachs. That might have just been those that I've met though.


It's a weird one. Some people define themselves by the things they are associated with.

I've met plenty of very sound and reserved GS people though. Some seasoned, others from within UCL. Mostly, they are the sort who are not defining themselves as "Goldmanites".
Reply 15
bluefuture
I am sure Oxbridge people make up around 40-50% of employees.
they are the top universities with the top students, so why would goldman sachs not be interested!

GS interviewed Oxford students in Oxford, so they wouldn't even have to come down to London
Reply 16
Hey..

The interviews happen in Oxford as well as London and yes, they do have a day reserved for Oxbridge. I had a very different experience. I met with three interviewers for the FICC & Equities summer programme and they all seemed very nice and elaborated a great deal on the team culture. All interviews were very difft from each other and overall, I had a great time! :smile:

Cheers!
Anisha
Reply 17
Crimes!

Looks like i didnt do too badly in my interview after all. I've been invited back for a second round interview next Thursday. 4 x 30 minute one on ones for Private Wealth Management. Anyone any idea of what i can expect, apart from being thoroughly grilled about why i want to work in PWM?

cheers,

James
i didnt get an interview for gs but i got the internship...:s-smilie:
cheerfulsakib
i didnt get an interview for gs but i got the internship...:s-smilie:


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