Monday, December 10, 2012

How to Get a Job at Goldman Sachs

eFinancial Careers asked Sarah Harper, head of recruitment for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Goldman Sachs a few questions about getting a job at GS. Apparently, it's really easy to follow in the footsteps of banksters past---just get a job as an intern (Harper does not explain how this is done).
Q: Is it worth applying for a front office graduate job in investment banking this year? Have most jobs already gone to last summer’s interns?

Sarah: The aim each year is for us to offer the majority of interns a full time position with us and so a large proportion of our full time class will be filled by previous interns.  However we always have some slots to fill so it is always worth applying.  For this year though our full time deadline for applications has already passed.

Q: How important is it to complete a first year/spring week internship?

Sarah: The benefits of being part of a Spring Programme with us are multiple – it gives you the opportunity to understand our firm, how it differs from others and importantly whether you would like to start your career here, it gives us the opportunity to decide if we would like to work with you longer term and yes absolutely it provides you with the opportunity to secure an early summer internship programme with us well ahead of the usual process (approximately 80 percent of our Spring interns will either receive an immediate offer for the summer programme the following year or will be invited back in for early interviews)

Q: Goldman Sachs has dropped its two-year fixed term analyst contract. Is this something students should be worried about?

Sarah: No, this is not something students should be worried about.  We continue to offer full time analyst opportunities in all divisions and all other aspects of joining as an analyst remain the same (discretionary bonus, training, mentoring, coaching, mobility, etc.).  This change only helps us continue to further invest in developing our peoples’ careers at the firm from day one, with a long-term view.

Q: Is it any easier to get a job in your operations or technology teams than in the front office?

Sarah: My advice to students who ask this is that you should always focus on which division you want to work rather than where you think there might be less competition.  Operations and Technology hire a large number of graduates each year and we are looking for a wide range of students from those who speak different languages, given the global nature of our business, through to those studying Engineering and other STEM subjects.
Harper will be answering three questions a day about GS jobs between the 10th and 12th of December inclusive at eFinancial Careers.

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