Securities Summer Analyst 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

3.4/5
  • The Role
    3.8
  • The Company
    3.8
  • The Culture
    2.3

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • My internship was a great learning experience: I discovered new concepts every day. I knew nothing about the business at the beginning but I had a good understanding by the end - I can now understand some technical concepts and come up with my own ideas. Overall, it was a very worthwhile experience.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I felt valued by my colleagues: everyone on my desk would spend time with me and they would always make time for me even on a busy day. They listened to my opinion and sometimes asked for my contribution too. It is clear that the firm invests a lot in interns.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • We had buddies who we could go to to talk about anything we wanted to discuss with someone that wasn't our manager. We also received personalized feedback every week. We each had a HR representative who guided us through the internship, collected the feedback and made sure we were on track all the time.

    4/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • On average, I was very busy as I had to complete tasks for my desk but I had to balance this with networking and learning from employees as well. It depended on the desk a lot as well: some gave me 5 projects to do in a week when some told me that I only had to do a small project but that it was more important to spend time meeting the team.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • It really depended on the desk: the more technical desks were more about understanding what they do, reading documents and asking questions. The less technical/more project-based desks really asked for my contribution. I prepared several presentations and I did some excel analysis for example. Some desks would also allow me to come to meetings with them and listen to their calls.

    3/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I learnt very useful skills, in particular I am way more at ease with networking. I am also ready to face a wide variety of projects and use my problem-solving skills. I especially made some progress in terms of knowledge: I knew nothing about finance at the beginning but I am now able to understand basic concept and I have the tools to explore more complicated ones.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • Learning is clearly at the core of the company: employees are still learning new concepts every day. They work a lot together: there is a strong emphasis on team work and, for big projects, everyone has an input that depends on their strengths. They also ask for feedback all the time in order to learn from their mistakes. The atmosphere is about excellence as well, with everyone clearly being very good at what they do.

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The internship was very well organised, especially given the fact that we had to rotate every week on different desks. We had two weeks of training at the beginning including hourly rotations on every desk followed by 6 weekly rotations and one 2-weeks rotation. We always knew where we had to be and when as this was communicated very clearly.

    4/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • The company invested a lot of time into the internship: every employee knew it was important to spend time with interns and they always made sure they made themselves available. The training was of high quality as well. We also had a lot of support throughout the internship with a wide range of people who we could go to for advice.

    5/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • 2/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • Future employment prospects are very appealing especially given the learning aspect of a career at Goldman. Employees are very driven and inspiring and they are keen to work in teams. I know that I would be able to constantly learn new things every day. I also know that there is a lot of flexibility in your career meaning you can switch desk/location should you want to experience something different.

    5/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • We had regular drinks with desks and some between interns as well.

    3/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • The cost of living in the center of London is obviously very expensive. There is some accommodation for students in the office area and we get a bonus to pay for accommodation as well. The food was fairly expensive too but there are plenty of other places very close to the office.

    2/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • 4/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • 1/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

Banking

London

August 2019


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