Spring Intern Review

I enjoyed the spring insight to a really great extent. Goldman Sachs really put in the effort to make the program as enjoyable and informative as possible. They allowed us to gain an insight into other divisions as well as giving an opportunity to learn more about what work entails in the division we were most interested in when applying.

I felt very valued during my time there. My buddy and the recruiters really tried to get to know as many of us as possible on a small group and 1 to 1 basis. This also allowed us to learn more about them and get to build a close network with them.

We were all assigned a buddy during the program who we could turn to for any questions and generally learn more about the firm. The buddy provided us with a research project that was a bit challenging but definitely do able. This proved to be a great learning experience as I learnt a lot more about the technical details involved in the industry. Maybe more guidance with the tasks could have been helpful as some interns did seem to be confused at certain points.

I was able to significantly develop my communication and technical finance skills. This is because we had to engage in effective communication with our buddies and other spring interns. In addition to this, I was able to learn a great deal about corporate finance technicals. While this isn't very relevant to my degree course, it will definitely be relevant to my future career.

The program had a clear structure that was clearly advertised to us in advance. We had regular sessions with the rest of the spring cohort and the links to these virtual sessions were available to us ahead of the time to give ample time to sign up and avoid delays. There were also recruiter open hour sessions giving us a chance to speak to recruiters and learn more about what the firm and future programs were about.

The insight had a very pleasant atmosphere. Everyone was very excited and people in the IBD cohort organized our own virtual social session to get to know each other better. It was definitely great as I was able to connect with them and see how friendly everyone was. The spring interns in IBD were also very global with students right across Europe so it was also exciting to get know their interests.

The insight definitely did just that - give us a great insight into what it would be like to work in a full time role at GS. We were able to speak to full time employees and have Q&A sessions to learn more about the specific aspects of their work life that we were interested in getting to know more about.

By speaking to many different people at the firm we were able to grasp a clear picture about the company culture: 1) They value excellence. This is because they every person puts in the effort so that GS can maintain its position at #1. 2) Everyone is very friendly. The atmosphere is such that people enjoy coming into work and building great relationships with everyone to allow for effective collaboration.

The insight program's content was very valuable as it confirmed my interests into the division (IBD) I am most interested in. The research project gave us an excellent opportunity to learn more about the different processes involved in M&A transactions and generally learn more about the many different teams in IBD, such as LevFin, ECM, etc.

I would definitely recommend this insight to my friends. Even though this insight was held virtually it was a great way to learn more about GS as well as the industry in general. I imagine future cohorts that do this in person will have an even better experience as they can set foot into the office and meet people in real life instead of virtually. It is also a great way to earn some money while learning!