By Shannon Kung
Senior Staff Writer
Goldman Sachs is one of the nation’s largest securities banks with over 12,000 U.S. employees and offices in 23 countries. It has a reputation for being one of the best in the business and thus acts as a financial advisor to some of the most important companies, governments, and families in the world. It is also the primary dealer in the U.S. Treasury securities market, which trades various types of bonds issued by the Treasury Department to finance debt.
Goldman is known for is strong corporate culture that focuses on teamwork. However, some people have criticized it for its cult‐like focus on the team over individual mentality. As is with many other investment banking companies, Goldman employees are expected to stay long hours to finish pressing business.
Despite the intense nature of the work, employees at Goldman often learn the skill sets necessary to achieve success, as some of its former employees have headed the World Bank, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the New York Stock Exchange. In 2007, Goldman Sachs was ranked 37th place in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.
For students looking into internships in investment banking, Goldman’s program is one to consider. The 10‐week summer analyst intern program offers participants training and hands‐on experience by letting the interns do work on actual projects or shadow full‐time analysts.
Internship training starts with a one‐day firm‐wide orientation and is followed by more specific training within each division of business. Throughout the internship, summer analysts participate in a learning series to ensure that they are constantly absorbing new information relevant to their work.
Summer analysts also participate in a mentoring program in which they are paired with an experienced analyst or associate who looks out for the intern’s professional and personal well‐being. More about the internship program is found at: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/careers/your‐career/positions/intern/index.html.
Most new college graduates who enter Goldman as full‐time employees take the position of new analyst. These new hires are given formal general training followed by division specific training at the Goldman Sachs University. Once training is completed, they are provided with ongoing developmental assignments and gain exposure to a wide variety of disciplines in investment banking.
By working with experts on a wide selection of cases, analysts are able to learn the skill sets that can propel them forward in their professional development. To find more information about being an analyst, visit: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/careers/your‐career/positions/analyst/index.html.
To join the approximately 70,000 plus applicants that apply each year, interested students need to do so online at http://www2.goldmansachs.com/careers/begin/apply‐now/index.html. Goldman encourages students of all majors to apply to their firm. However, the process of landing an internship offer is long and intense, and is usually comprised of two rounds of interviews: the first round often focuses primarily on behavioral questions and the second tends to deal with the interviewee’s technical knowledge and capabilities.
