Summer Analyst Review

Due to the rotational nature of the programme, it was a very up and down experience but the highs certainly outweighed the lows. You were always very aware of the other interns and it was a high pressure atmosphere, with desks unafraid to tell you that you weren't suited to their desk but likewise when you found a fit they also made sure you knew.

Despite GS being one of the most competitive internships, due to having most likely the highest calibre of interns and the rotational aspect, the intern class got on really well and there was a lot of comraderie. The employees were almost always more than willing to talk to you and help you out. It's very clear that they take the internship very seriously as their main source of hiring - so people are very keen to get to know you!

Because there are lots of short rotations, you don't have a manager as such. Each desk has a recruiting captain who sort of takes responsbility for you while you are rotating on the desk (and after, if they liked you) and they were very keen to get involved, source the best people and support you. In the final few weeks of the internship the seniors get much more involved - but it's more about assessment than guidance. I found that almost everybody approachable though if you needed help, or just wanted to shadow them.

Again, varied between each desk. Some desks set projects, others just want you to shadow/speak to everyone as many times as you can and some do a mix. I know some people who worked 16 hour days and didn't get an offer, and some who worked 12 hour days and did. It all depends on your desk, how much extra you ask for and how efficent you are. As a rule of thumb though, you should always be busy during market hours.

was in securities, so we aren't legally allowed to have much responsibility! Again, because of the large number of short rotations, most of the projects were about assessment rather than 'adding value'.

My course isn't finance related so not a huge amount - but that was to be expected!

GS is the top investment bank for a reason - it's lean and has 1 person doing the job of 2 people at other banks. In that sense I can imagine the atmosphere is more intense than in other banks - but I found lots of desks still pretty chilled and always seemed to be cracking jokes. The culture can vary a lot from desk to desk though.

Couldn't speak more highly of the grad recruitment team.

Had a week of training on the firm, markets and bond maths in the first week and for the next 4 weeks had a few hour-long sessions from each of the desks. Learning is best done on the desks though and any more training time in a 10 week placement would have eaten up too much time

Very appealing employment prospects but extremely competitive

The one thing that let the internship down was a lack of good social events organised by the firm. Friends at other banks had balls and cruises for farewell events - we had drinks at a local bar/pub! There was a good atmosphere and regular friday night drinks amongst the interns though.

It's London - but we got paid very well so it was affordable.

The City is buzzing on Friday nights - and shoreditch/mayfair aren't too far in a cab after.

It's an internship - if you have time to lots of activities you probably aren't working hard enough! There were some sports networks we could join though and you had your weekends free to do with what you pleased (unless you chose to come in)