Spring Insight Programme Review

What I enjoyed about the insight was that it was broad, so I was able to learn about Goldman Sachs's different divisions and actually understand their differences and what they do. I further enjoyed that I had an assigned buddy and mentor, so always knew who I could go to with questions and have interesting and helpful one on one conversations.

I felt valued because especially my buddy regularly checked in on me and set up calls for us to have. These calls were mostly between only the two of us, so on an individual level which didn't make me feel like I was just another fish in the sea. Also, my mentor offered to set up calls with colleagues of her or people who were of interest to me, so she was very proactive and helpful.

I was in contact with my recruiter, my buddy and my mentor, so had three different sources of guidance. What made me feel especially supported was that I would always get answers very quickly and was able to pose as many questions as I liked. Also, the graduate recruiting team as a whole sent out further information that served as guidance.

I don't think that I can apply the actual content of the spring week in my studies at it was very broad and served as an insight and overview. But I did get to profit from various connections, so was able to build a network that could in the future be helpful. Also, presenting my research task in front of GS analysts and executives was definitely helpful in developing presentational skills that I can apply at university and beyond.

The insight was well structured in the sense that I always knew what was on my agenda and this made sense to me. However, it would maybe have been helpful to have a sort of final event to round up the insight and let us know what possible next steps will be, as this is still a bit unclear to me.

This is hard to answer as the spring week was virtual, so you didn't really get to experience an atmosphere. During our online sessions, Goldman Sachs representatives were however positive, motivated and friendly, which made up for a positive atmosphere. During the presentation of my research task, they also tried not to make it intimidating, which they did successfully and I appreciated.

It helped me to the extent that I was able to experience Goldman Sachs's corporate culture and believe that I have learned what some of their core values are that one would experience as a full time employee. I also got to ask different people very directly what their experience ist and they were able to report from some of their experiences and everyday life in the firm.

I believe it was quite helpful because you get a better understanding of what divisions there are and what exactly their work is, so you maybe stumble upon divisions that you find interesting and didn't know about. I also helped me factor out, so decide in which divisions I don't see myself. Furthermore, I for myself can imagine being part of a big and international firm like GS.

Since this was a virtual programme, the possibility of networking was quite limited. We were assigned a buddy and mentor and recruiter which were very helpful points of contact and contacts within one's network, but unfortunately it didn't go much further than that. It would maybe have been helpful to have the opportunity to connect with other interns as well.

I would definitely recommend this insight. It's a great opportunity to get an insight into such a powerful organisation, you are able to build a network, you are able to see what working in a financial service institution could mean and whether or not this fits you. It poses great further opportunities and all of this happens within two weeks, so you don't have to sacrifice much time.