Private Wealth Management 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

2.4/5
  • The Role
    2.6
  • The Company
    2.4
  • The Culture
    2.3

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I was very pleased to have been offered the placement year at Goldman Sachs, it was a fantastic opportunity to work at a global firm in between years at university. The year has generally been a positive one, and I would be looking to work in a similar industry. It has been a great year of living in London and getting an idea of what city life is like. It is a huge contrast to university life, however has been an unparalleled opportunity to work full-time in a professional environment.

    3/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I was fortunate enough to have been on the same team throughout the entire year which means you are more involved in all aspects of the team, which gives you the opportunity to work with everyone. I felt I owned some tasks which was valuable to team life, and helped take the burden of other people's shoulders. As the year progressed, I have taken on more complicated tasks, adding some variety and dynamic to the job too.

    3/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • There is always someone to turn to should you need advice or have any queries regarding the role, however due to the workload it is occasionally a case of requirements for the firm as opposed to individual desires which can be expected for short term employees. Both colleagues, whom you work with everyday, and the recruitment team will generally take time to listen to your thoughts and have an interest in your well being at the firm.

    3/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • Everyday was very busy, at no point was I bored. This can however go to the other end of the spectrum in that there is less time to enjoy and take advantage of different opportunities at the firm such as meeting other individuals from different teams/sectors. The hours were quite long which has been difficult to endure at times, however it should help with long days of studying back at university.

    1/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • I was given lots of responsibility over the year, more so as the year progressed. Given that the internship was a year long, you are seen as a full time employee and take on the same role as a graduate. This gives you an insight into what the future role would be like and will be helpful in aiding my decision on what role I would be looking for as a graduate.

    5/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • The tasks taken on during the placement were generally not related to my degree, economics, as there was less analytical requirement than initially expected. However, the placement has helped me develop my interpersonal and time management skills by engaging with individuals, both in and out of the firm. I have also increased my ability to work long hours, which will be very helpful for the final year of university.

    3/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • The atmosphere can be a little tense as times due to the amount of work people are doing, however it is quite noisy which is good and helps keep the office feeling positive. There are always people around throughout the day due the size of the firm which means there is always work to be doing. However, there is generally less of a social scene between employees as most people start and finish at different times throughout the day.

    3/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The placement as a whole was generally not well organised from a training perspective. There was no clear training program which would have helped when joining the firm and getting us up to speed with the specific role. It was a case of learning lots of processes on various systems which did take some time at the start. This may however have been due to the placement being a year long. The summer internships are fantastically well organised over 10 weeks, which would be difficult to maintain over a year as placements take on a role similar to that of a graduate.

    2/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • The placement at the firm is essentially a one year long training program, enabling us to return after the final year of university as a fully trained employee who knows the skills and can walk straight into the graduate role. It would generally be expected that a placement student would return after the year of university, as the firm has invested in a year of training of each placement in the hope that they will return because otherwise, a new-joiner would join instead and would need to be fully trained again.

    3/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Subsidised/Company Gym

    2/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • There is a lot of opportunity within the firm. Given that it is a global firm, there are chances to work in both foreign countries and different divisions. There can be the opportunity to speak to individuals across the firm in order to find out various avenues of future employment.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • In comparison to the summer internships, there is significantly less organised events in which to meet fellow placement students from different areas of the firm. However, having taken the initiative to meet some of the other placements in different divisions of the firm, it is interesting to hear their thoughts and how they are enjoying the year. There is an average social scene amongst other colleagues, however it is difficult to organise events given that everyone makes their own plans.

    2/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • The cost of living and socializing has been expensive. However, the salary is generally quite good and so it gives us some opportunity to enjoy some of the nicer areas in London. Having lived in an expensive area of London for the year and compromising on space, I would have done this differently and lived a little further out of the city in order to live in nicer accommodation.

    3/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • The nightlife is great in London, there is something for everyone and you can enjoy something different every night of the week depending on what environment you are looking to enjoy yourself in. There are a lot of offices in the area, and so venues are always busy with people looking to enjoy themselves.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • Due to the long hours of the job, there was little opportunity to enjoy various activity during the week and then occasionally working on the weekend inhibited the chance to balance the social-work lifestyle. In a graduate role, there is more opportunity to enjoy work organised sports, as you would likely work less hours, and be more knowledgeable on activities put on by the firm.

    3/5

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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

Banking

London

June 2018


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