Investment Banking Division - Spring Intern Review

The spring week at Goldman Sachs was an amazing experience. Every individual who was selected to be part of the programme was impressive but also extremely easy to approach. I have learned a lot about the investment banking division, the finance industry in general and look forward to going back to the bank for the summer internship next year.

I felt really extremely valued. I was astonished by the amount of exposure we had, from junior analysts who recently completed their spring program, to senior management including successful partners of the firm. This was particularly true for the case studies and presentations that were held in front of executive and managing directors.

During the spring week, a lot of guidance was provided. Human Capital Management included some one-to-one feedback sessions throughout the program. Moreover, every intern was automatically assigned a buddy (first or second year analyst) and a mentor (associate or executive director) who could be helpful and even provide more insights than required.

Coming from an economics / finance background, much of the information covered over the two weeks and in general was coherent with my coursework. However, the two-day accounting and valuation training was extremely helpful and allowed to develop some topics more in-depth. In addition to that, soft skills session were also part of the two-week program.

The internship is very well structured, and (especially during the first week) the schedule is quite tight, with a great number of activities included. For the Investment Banking Division, via the case studies and presentations, the first week of the program focuses on IBD Classic (M&A), whereas the second week focuses on Financing.

As mentioned before, the calibre of the participants to the program was very high. As a result, the atmosphere was extremely stimulating. Everyone is like-minded, willing to work hard and extremely smart and collaborative. This proved especially useful during the numerous group activities. Finally, I believe that this was a good representation of the corporate culture at GS.

Due to compliance reasons, for the Investment Banking Division the experience of the spring week is not entirely representative of the experience one would have on the job. However, talking with employees (especially buddies), is able to provide one with a great understanding of the company’s culture and the job on a day-to-day basis.

To be fair, I knew I was interested in finance and investment banking in particular even before the spring program. Having a clear idea in mind is helpful to get on the program in the first place. However, the case studies allowed me to get some hands-on experience, which in turn reinforced my interest to explore a career with GS.

There were plenty of opportunities to network with current GS employees. Moreover, it is explicitly encouraged to reach out to school alumni and meet them over coffee. At the end of the two weeks, we were even asked a list of people we networked with, who could be able to provide feedback on us.

Definitely. I would recommend the spring internship at Goldman Sachs to friends and colleagues. It is a great opportunity to create a network and get to know many like-minded people. Moreover, it provides you with valuable transferable skills, both technical and soft skills, and will paint a great picture of the finance industry.