“12 hours, 10 interviewers”: How to get a job in finance on the example of an interview at Goldman Sachs

In our blog earlier we already talked about what psychological tests employees in financial companies pass, the conditions under which financiers work, and what developers should expect in this area (the list of other current ITinvest vacancies is available here ).

Today we will talk about how difficult it is to get a job in the field of finance - using the example of the interview process at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, which will help to form an opinion about what to expect when finding a job in a financial sector company.
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According to statistics , only 3-4% of the huge number of applicants get a job at Goldman Sachs. It is not enough to be the best on your course, at a university or at a previous job. Each year, one of the most respected investment banks receives tens of thousands of resumes - mainly graduates of Ivy League universities graduate.

The path to Goldman Sachs is open not only for members of elite communities, but for everyone else to get an interview is even more difficult, even for a summer internship. For successful interviewing you need to seriously prepare and prove that you really need Goldman Sachs, and not just you.

Selection process

A candidate with an impressive resume fills out an online application form and goes through two stages of interviewing and testing. Usually for interviews and tests take three or four days. If a candidate is interested in Goldman Sachs and will warn about important interviews in other companies, the process can be accelerated up to one day.

For example, according to the story of the former hedge fund manager Vladimir Novakovski, the interview for the position of quantum or financial analyst lasted from 9:00 to 21:30. During this time, he managed to meet with 10 employees of the company - from HR-specialist to vice-president, solved a large number of mathematical and economic problems, passed testing for the ability to work in a team and asked his questions.

As the representatives of Goldman Sachs advise , you should know your resume very well and be ready to discuss any part of it. It is useful to plan ahead and prepare the main points for the story about yourself: study, scientific work, projects and any other activities - everything that will help you create your “portrait”, understand the strengths and weaknesses.

It will be good if you tell about your interests in specific areas and demonstrate a desire to work and develop in the field of financial services. If you have included your article or research in the summary, you should have a deep understanding of these topics, even if you worked on them a few years ago - you may be asked to tell about these projects in detail.

The candidate can share the latest news related to the markets, tell about the changes taking place on the stock exchanges, show their knowledge of global processes and events at the micro level. Naturally, you need to know stock quotes on the day of the interview. You can ask your questions - this is a great opportunity to show interest in the company.

The main purpose of the interview is to understand whether you will be accustomed to the team, whether you are motivated enough to work at the level of their standards. Therefore, you should definitely study Goldman Sachs in more detail: in which markets the company works, what is its uniqueness, who they want to see as their employees, and why you are the one they need.

In each case, the process may differ, but on the basis of feedback from people who have already been interviewed at GS, a common plan can be made for all.

First stage

During the interview, a candidate is tested for the ability to work in a team, creativity, ability to eliminate problems, leadership skills, honesty, initiative, ability to work with a client, level of perfectionism and commitment.

The first interview usually lasts at least half an hour, it is conducted by one of the senior staff of the department to which you are selected. The main objective of this interview is to understand whether you are suitable as a member of the team. At this stage, you need to show your social skills and your true character. In this interview you will be asked point by point summary.

Also at this stage you may be asked why you want to work at Goldman Sachs, why it is in this position that you will be asked about successes and failures, interests, strengths and weaknesses. By the end of the interview you will be asked to ask your questions.

Questions vary and depend on the interviewer. You may be given unexpected tasks to test your ability to navigate in unusual situations. Sometimes in this interview they ask about something from the financial sphere - about the reasons for the recent economic crisis, for example.

After the interview, you must pass two tests: verbal and numerical, each is given about 20 minutes. The verbal test is similar to the widespread SHL tests, which contain excerpts of texts and statements, from which you need to choose the correct option. In a numerical test there may be several correct answers. The use of a calculator is not allowed - for solving these problems, there is enough knowledge of the senior classes of the school. Most often, candidates who decide both tests are completely correct fall into the next stage.

If you pass the selection to the technology department, then instead of tests you will solve one problem using the example of a specific situation. Performance of this task demands the developed analytical thinking.

Second phase

Invitations to the second stage sometimes have to wait up to two weeks due to the large number of candidates.

The final stage consists of three or four interviews with Goldman employees, each conversation takes about 30 minutes. At these meetings there are several people present, and they all ask you questions. The last interview is usually conducted by the vice-president. The questions at this stage depend on the specific position and the level of knowledge expected from you.

Throughout the process, GS employees test your competence, so you will return to the story about your achievements, goals and developed abilities several times. One of the interviews will focus on your technical knowledge - we can expect complex, highly specialized tasks, questions on the verification of logical thinking and a lot of puzzles.

Based on information from the Glassdoor website and anonymous employee surveys, the issues frequently repeated and common to all during the interview at Goldman Sachs are highlighted:

How would you rate a particular company?
How does China's growth threaten the German economy?
What problems might investors face in the future?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Give an example of the moral dilemma that you faced.
How do you handle stress?
Do you sit alone in a boat in the middle of a lake and drop anchor - does the water level go up or down?
Tell us something interesting that you recently read about.
How do you convince a customer that their request cannot be executed?
What will you do in your first year at Goldman Sachs?
Briefly describe your life in 30 seconds.
How many sewer manholes in London?
Which of the most famous and influential people would you like to meet?
Tell us about the problem you faced in the past, how did you solve it?
Can you name a moment when you didn’t meet your deadline?
What is more important - deadlines or the quality of the work performed?
Can you give an example of a process that you were able to optimize?
Tell us about your previous work.
What role do you usually have in a team?
What do your colleagues say about you?
Why would your colleagues choose someone to work for you?
Give an example of the moment when you showed yourself as a leader.
Would you call yourself a perfectionist?
What is more important - creativity or efficiency?
If you are arrested for not considering a crime, what will you do?
Name the article in the news bulletin that will affect Goldman Sachs business.
What happens when you enter "google.com" in a browser? (by the way, interesting material was published on Habré about this)
Is there anything that excites you in this work?

In answers to such questions, they do not expect to hear the right ones, but they are interested in how the candidate builds reasoning.

Final recommendations

Technical knowledge alone is not enough to get into Goldman Sachs, you should be able to work with people and do it very well. Try to make contact and remember the names of the people who are interviewing you - you may be asked about this, and social skills are highly valued. Behave confidently and actively, but without arrogance and selfishness. Knowledge of foreign languages is very useful, try to show them if you can.

Read all about the company and the division where you want to work, orient yourself in their work, read the annual report of Goldman Sachs. Follow the news from GS on social networks and news feeds.

Read business publications regularly to understand what's happening in the financial world. But do not abuse professional jargon, especially if you do not know the exact meaning and application of these words, otherwise spoil your impression of yourself when you are asked to explain the term you uttered.

You need to be patient - from the first interview to the final decision of the company, on average, a month passes, in some cases people are waiting for an answer for 2-3 months.

“12 hours, 10 interviewers”: How to get a job in finance on the example of an interview at Goldman Sachs

Selection process

First stage

Second phase

Final recommendations

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