Spring Intern Review

by Goldman Sachs Group

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

4.9/5
  • About You
    4.8
  • The Company
    4.8
  • Everything Else
    5.0

    About You

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy the insight?
  • It was an overall amazing experience! "Goldman Sachs's best asset is its human capital" was a phrase mentioned numerous times during the 2-week programme, and from my experience in the firm that statement could not be more true. Every single individual that I was fortunate enough to meet, had an incredible background and was extremely interesting to talk to. Through such meetings, I was able to get a taste of the firm’s culture. Employees at all levels were extremely approachable and willing to talk to me as an intern, highlighting the inclusive and welcoming nature that prevails in the culture they all passionately stand for! Moreover, the intellectual challenge presented by the group projects that we participated in, both in terms of tackling technical problems but also understanding how to behave in constantly changing and evolving teams were also two aspects that made the insight a joyful experience. All in all, the opportunity to be a part of the team like spirit present throughout the firm as well as the chance to challenge myself in a professional environment were the key reasons that made my two weeks at the firm, tremendously enjoyable!

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued during your time at the company or firm?
  • Even though, during the Spring Internship we were not assigned to perform actual tasks that may be potentially sent to a client, everyone in the firm treated us interns, as real Goldman Sachs employees! The firm’s culture was really welcoming which meant that everyone was really approachable and willing to talk to you, treating you as if you were one of their colleagues. As a result, the intimidation of talking to an individual at the firm was completely eradicated, increasing my confidence in my ability to contribute and add value to every conversation that I was fortunate to have! The overall atmosphere and the ethos that characterised each of the firm’s employees as well as their attitude towards me was one of the key reasons why I had a really enjoyable time there.

    5/5

  • 3. How much guidance/support did you receive during the insight?
  • Given the extremely diverse cohort in terms of ethnic but especially educational background we all had different level of technical knowledge. As a result, the necessary guidance and support was always present, especially during the group project preparation. In the beginning of the programme a training scheme was organised in order to bring everyone to a similar level of technical knowledge. The guidance from the training scheme, was invaluable given that it narrowed down the technical concepts that we as interns needed to be aware of to successfully complete the programme. Coming from a science based degree that was extremely helpful for me, since I could place extra focus on the technical concepts that were necessary, to contribute more effectively to my team's success. After the training scheme and during the group projects we had support available by the firm’s actual analysts. Not only was their support extremely helpful to successfully complete the task at hand, but it was extremely exciting to have the opportunity to engage in conversations with individuals doing the actual work that we were training for.

    5/5

  • 4. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and information you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • Coming from a science related degree, the outright technical knowledge gained from the insight will not be as effective as to a business degree student. However, it is in the development of my problem solving and soft skills however where the spring internship was of tremendous value for me and assisted in my degree studies and my development as a person! Through working on numerous group projects, I put my team working skills to the test given that new teams were assigned for each project so we all had to adapt to working with new people and each team’s dynamic. Being able to practice my cooperation skills in a professional setting has been of great assist in the university lab group experiments, where the experience I have gained in understanding a team’s chemistry has been helpful in numerous occurrences towards increasing the teams overall efficiency towards completing a task. Moreover, by tackling problems for which I was lacking the technical knowledge necessary, I was able to hone my problem-solving skills as well as other similar transferable skills that have proved invaluable for my university education.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 5. How well structured was the insight?
  • The programme was very well thought-out in terms of structure given that it provided interns with an insight into a wide range of aspects, a banker's life consists of. To begin with, it contained the right amount of technical training in the beginning of the programme, to bring all the students to a similar level of technical knowledge so that everyone could perform to the full extent of their abilities. Moreover, networking sessions were organised so that interns could sharpen their networking skills while forming important relationships with the firm's employees as well as with the rest of the interns! Finally, through working on extremely interesting and engaging projects, we could improve our problem solving and team-working skills. As a result, the insight’s structure gave every intern the opportunity to improve the core skills necessary for a banker, by practising them in the real professional environment of a top institution and hence form an informed opinion about whether a banker’s life suits them!

    5/5

  • 6. How was the general atmosphere during your insight?
  • Preparing for the spring internship I was under the impression that I would face a competitive environment during my time at the firm. However, a collegial atmosphere was the one that prevailed when working with fellow interns and especially with the firm’s employees! Getting a taste of the firm’s culture, through working with the employees, it was clear to me that it is of vital importance to them, that we all saw the person next to us as a colleague and not a competitor. Not a single person in the firm was promoting unhealthy competition and it was clear from the way everyone was operating, that the most efficient way to successfully completing a task is through cooperation and healthy levels of communication within one’s team! Given that a collegial and friendly environment particularly suits the way I like to operate, I had a great time, being productive and challenging myself throughout the two weeks there!

    5/5

  • 7. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • Given that the spring internship cohort consisted of students from various educational backgrounds we all had different levels of technical knowledge. As a result, a training scheme was organised in order to bring everyone to a level playing field. The guidance from the training scheme, was invaluable given that it narrowed down the technical concepts that we as interns needed to be aware of to successfully complete the programme. Coming from a science based degree that was extremely helpful for me, since I could place extra focus on the technical concepts that were necessary for the successful completion of the required technical tasks! Given that everyone was from completely different backgrounds, the pace of the classes varied according to everyone’s needs but the instructor always made sure that everyone had a chance to ask questions and hence understand the technical concepts adequately.

    5/5

  • 8. To what extent did the insight help you to understand what it would be like to have a full time role with the company or firm?
  • The programme was very well thought-out in terms of structure, which meant that interns had the opportunity to get an insight into a wide range of aspects that a banker's life consists of. Through working on extremely exciting real-life group projects as well as interacting with the employees I was able to understand the values of the firm’s culture and hence form a more informed opinion about whether I would be interested in a full time role. Having the chance to understand the quality of the employees' characters, I was definitely convinced that I would like to work with and alongside them in the future!

    5/5

  • 9. How much did the insight help you in understanding the company culture?
  • The importance of the firm’s culture for the success of the organisation as a whole was highlighted throughout the 2-week programme. The culture and the way the company operates was the epicentre of the majority of the presentations given by the firm's employees. Such presentations and especially the opportunity to interact and work with the employees were extremely helpful in order to get a taste of the culture of the firm. Everyone was really approachable and willing to talk to you, which meant that I could experience the values in the culture that they all passionately stood for! From my interactions and conversations with the personnel, I understood that cooperation and continuous discussion within a team, instead of unhealthy competition were some of the key principles by which they operate.

    5/5

  • 10. How valuable was the content in helping you to decide on your future career path?
  • The group projects and the problem-solving aspect that they involved was the most exciting and engaging part of the 2-week programme. Having to combine my technical knowledge with the ability to coherently work within a group and use the team’s dynamic to our benefit were the key motivators that convinced me that I would like to pursue this career path. Real-world content and circumstances under which analysts work, were simulated, so that we could decide whether the division and the firm offered future career aspirations for us. Given that throughout the programme we dealt with real-world problems, that closely resembled the day of an actual employee, the content was overall extremely helpful in highlighting what such a career path entails.

    5/5

    Everything Else

  • 11. Were you paid or reimbursed adequately for this experience?
  • I was paid for my 2 weeks there and was offered to have any expenses reimbursed, however I did not have any daily commuting, given that I lived in close proximity to the offices! However, I am aware of the fact that other spring interns were adequately reimbursed for their commuting expenses!


  • 12. Were there opportunities for networking and meeting other employees of the company or firm?
  • Numerous networking events were scheduled throughout the duration of the programme! Given, that the spring internship is a divisionally-aligned programme we mostly interacted with individuals working in the division of our group. We had the chance to meet personnel from all levels of hierarchy in the firm, ranging from senior individuals, to employees that had joined the firm through completing the whole recruiting process out of university and had hence taken part in the spring internship. It was really exciting to talk to employees that had completed the same programme as us!

    5/5

  • 13. How were the networking/ social event opportunities?
  • Every single individual that I was fortunate to meet had an incredible background and provided us with invaluable advice! Given the welcoming nature of the firm’s culture every employee was approachable and willing to answer any question from a spring intern. We had the opportunity to meet individuals from all the different levels, so I was able to get a taste of how the day-to-day work as well as the work life balance varied within each level of hierarchy. Being able to get direct feedback of what everyone’s life as a banker consisted of was extremely useful! Overall, it was an amazing opportunity getting to meet the employees and experience their mentorship to our generation. It was definitely one of the highlights of my time there since I was able to get a taste of how a career path in the firm is like!

    5/5

  • 14. Did you find out about activities that employees can get involved in outside of work?
  • Throughout the programme, employees stressed the various activities that were available for the employees to get involved in outside of work. The activities ranged from those that were organised by the employees themselves to those that were initiated and organised by the firm, in which employees were strongly encouraged to participate. There was a vast array of “affinity networks” that encouraged diversity within the firm. I was fortunate to participate in a “Black Network” event raising awareness and empowering the black community within Goldman Sachs! The vast majority of the activities were revolved around charity activities concerned with helping those that were "less fortunate than people in the firm"!

    5/5

  • 15. Would you recommend this insight to a friend?
  • Of course, I would recommend the programme to a friend without the slightest reservation. I would suggest the spring internship to anyone looking to pursue a career in banking, and is looking to get an insight into the industry and especially into Goldman Sachs. Given that this programme is the longest in terms of duration compared to the rest of the banks it will provide first year students on a three-year course and second year students on a four-year course with the most detailed insight into a career in the industry. Such an insight will be invaluable experience to students that wish to make an more informed choice about their summer internship during the following year. Finally the spring programme contains opportunities for advancement, given that successful spring interns may be invited back to join our summer analyst or work placement programme during their penultimate year of study.

    5/5

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Details

Insight / Vacation Scheme (< 4 Weeks)

London

October 2017


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