I began my career at Goldman Sachs. Like most people who get hired there, I was pretty excited and when I got thejob offer I went shopping for a new suit. That was unfortunate:I was a young man with littletaste.
On my first day, I found myself in an elevatorwith a partner. When he saw my suit, he did a sort of double-take.
"Whatever happened?"
"Sorry?"
"Whatever happened to your suit?"
Nothing happened to my suit. It was light grey.I thought it was kick ass and modern. I bought it from Prada and it cost me a fortune. I'd been feeling pretty good about it until then.
The partnerraised an eyebrow and stepped out fromthe elevator. I wasleft to reflect upon the fact that he'd been wearing a dark suit, and then that everyone around me was wearing a dark suit too. The only one wearingpigeon-grey was me.
That was over ten years ago, but it's a truth that still holds. If you're buying a suit to wear in a bank, go dark. Not black (unless you are also waiting tablesin a weekend restaurant), but dark blue or dark grey. My light grey Prada suit was rarelyworn again.
You'll also need a suit that fits very well. There's been a trend in recent years for junior and mid-ranking bankers in London to order cheap made-to-measure suits from tailors who've travelled from Hong Kong. Tailors' names are trafficked between juniors who want to upgrade their wardrobes.
No one wears a three piece suit in banking - unless you're in Milan with Goldman Sachs, where that sort of thing is acceptable. No one wears stripes, although people have tried.
Once you've got the suit right, the shirt is no big deal. Once there was a thing for senior bankers to have their initials embroidered into their cuffs.Don't contemplate this if you're anywhere below an MD. Most analysts and associates now just buy top of the range no-iron shirts from chain stores; life is too short for anything else.
The other thing you must never do, unless you're at the top of the tree is to buy a big watch. It does not look good when you walk into a client meeting wearing a watch worth more than the client's car. I've known analysts scrimp and save to buy themselves a Rolex, only for senior bankers to stare at them a little too long and hard and to comment on how expensive watches are "vulgar." They are.
Amit Itelmon is the pseudonym of a banker in London
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)
FAQs
Goldman Sachs is the premier investment bank in the world. With an acceptance rate of roughly 4%, it's harder to get into Goldman than it is to get into Harvard or Yale. Let me share how to get a job at Goldman Sachs from someone who did.
What is the Goldman Sachs controversy? ›
The company has been criticized for lack of ethical standards, working with dictatorial regimes, close relationships with the U.S. federal government via a "revolving door" of former employees, and driving up prices of commodities through futures speculation.
Why do you want to work for Goldman Sachs best answer? ›
I believe that Goldman Sachs would provide me with the opportunity to develop my skills and knowledge in an environment that is both challenging and supportive.
How hard is it to get hired by Goldman Sachs? ›
So, you want a job at Goldman Sachs. Good luck, truly – the bank receives 300 applications for each open position it has. Its internship isn't a happy anomaly, either, with a generous acceptance rate of just 1.27% last year. You're going to need some help.
What is the lowest GPA to get into Goldman Sachs? ›
Goldman Sachs does not give a specific minimum GPA requirement, though some sources suggest a GPA of at least 3.6 is preferred. Additionally, you may need to show relevant coursework and hard skills for certain programs.
Is Goldman Sachs harder to get into than Harvard? ›
And it is still harder to get hired by Goldman than it is to get into Harvard University. "This week, we have about 3,500 undergraduates who are starting their careers here," says CEO David Solomon, in an interview with NPR. "That's 3,500 out of over 300,000 people that applied for those jobs."
What 4 cities will decline Goldman Sachs? ›
“That said, overheated housing markets in the Southwest and Pacific coast, such as San Jose MSA, Austin MSA, Phoenix MSA, and San Diego MSA will likely grapple with peak-to-trough declines of over 25%, presenting localized risk of higher delinquencies for mortgages originated in 2022 or late 2021.”
Why is Goldman Sachs declining? ›
Goldman Sachs topped expectations in its quarterly earnings report Tuesday, sending its shares rallying to a near 12-month high, but a slump in the company's core investment banking unit, generally blamed on the year's interest rate hikes, continued to rear its ugly head amid a cyclical downturn in dealmaking activity.
Who is Goldman Sachs biggest rival? ›
The main competitors of The Goldman Sachs Group include Charles Schwab (SCHW), Morgan Stanley (MS), BlackRock (BLK), Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR), Progressive (PGR), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Citigroup (C), HSBC (HSBC), HDFC Bank (HDB), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD).
What is best answer when asked why you want the job? ›
Be specific about why you're a good fit.
In your answer, highlight a few of the abilities that qualify you for the job and include successful examples from your previous jobs.
Goldman Sachs Reviews FAQs
Goldman Sachs has an overall rating of 3.8 out of 5, based on over 19,150 reviews left anonymously by employees. 70% of employees would recommend working at Goldman Sachs to a friend and 59% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.
What does Goldman Sachs ask in interview? ›
These interviews will likely contain a mix of behavioral and technical finance questions. Goldman Sachs is known to ask mostly behavioral questions, but experiences will vary depending on the interviewer and the candidate's previous finance experience.
How stressful is working at Goldman Sachs? ›
The analysts rated their job satisfaction as two out of 10 and said they were unlikely to stay at Goldman in six months if working conditions remained the same. In addition to the long hours, the analysts cited unrealistic deadlines, being ignored in meetings and micromanagement as major sources of stress.
Is Goldman Sachs a stressful job? ›
Working at Goldman Sachs can be difficult and stressful, especially in roles that require long hours and intense workloads.
How much is a Goldman Sachs bonus? ›
Salaries and bonuses, second year analysts
| Bank | Baird |
|---|
| Bank | Goldman Sachs |
| Base salary | $125k |
| Median bonus | $95k |
| Total compensation | $220k |
89 more rowsFeb 23, 2022
Is it easy to crack a Goldman Sachs interview? Interviews at Goldman Sach are quite similar to other good tech companies. It is not that difficult to crack. The interviewer only checks that you have the skills to solve challenges.
Is Goldman Sachs interview tough? ›
GS interview process is really, really tough but it's certainly not impossible as applicants have proved it in the past and so has Nithin who hails from Bangalore and is studying at NITK Surathkal. He got an offer from Goldman Sachs for a position based in India.
How many applicants does Goldman Sachs get? ›
Speaking on today's Goldman Sachs investor call for its third quarter results, Goldman CEO David Solomon said the firm received one million applications for its jobs last year. Around 260,000 of those were for its 2,600 or so graduate positions.
Which college does Goldman Sachs hire from most? ›
Top Schools
- The University of Pennsylvania is one of the top schools for Goldman Sachs, Citigroup (C), and Credit Suisse (CS). ...
- New York University (NYU) is right with the University of Pennsylvania in terms of where investment banks most frequently recruit new employees.
