Goldman Sachs Bankers

Owl.

Why banking and why GS?

Admissions, lifestyle are going to be the same at most BB's. Culture will be different but not by much.

I declined an offer from GS so can offer advice on only certain things.

owl you are a tool, sorry. you dont know the difference between ANY of the banks so to come out here and saw you want to work for Goldman Sachs is such an absurd statement.

There's a fairly obvious reason for the question. GS is the most prestigious US investment bank, period. You can not rationalize that fact away. And I can think of additional good reasons for wanting to work at a particular bank, such as having many friends/contacts there already (less likely as a sophomore, but possible).

That said, Owl, I don't work at GS so I can't help you. Based on my interview and chatting with friends who worked there, though, I can tell you that having high-level contacts inside may be more important at GS than elsewhere. A buddy of mine claimed he was unimpressed with the talent, but frankly I don't believe that for a second; people I know interning there are really top-notch, smart kids with a true interest in finance.

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http://ibankinglife.blogspot.com

ibankinglife,

nice blog. Great job on your new job.

Don't worry about it, you'll fit right in...

You have been of great assistance, really appreciate your courtesy and help - you are the man!

I've sent a few PM's to those who are willing to answer just a few simple questions, I appreciate those who are willing to do this. Thank you

-NO

Monty09-

Thank you for taking my thread seriously and taking your time to reply to my post and hopefully this message.

In regards to your first question, I think I have a few reasons that should suffice. To be honest, I originally studied Engineering. Up until the point where I shadowed a family member who is an Engineer, I realized Engineering was not for me. I needed something more fast paced, on-the-dot and stressful, yes, stressful (I work well under pressure). From there I interviewed a banker, read a few classic banker books (monkey bizz), and did a tons of research. Certainly, the money is an attractive force, but for me, the lifestyle, the exit opportunities, working with high caliber people really hit the nail in the head.

I hope you don't mind me asking but why did you chose to decline the offer from GS?
What can you recommend to someone at my age (20) to get ahead and increase my chances of getting a offer at GS? I am looking into an internship for next summer first.

Thank you

Best regards,

NO

well, I would help you night owl but as I am a rising sophomore too, I see no reason to increase the competition even marginally.
However, using this site's search function will yield some answers.

don't be a tool. there is really no reason you should be targeting GS vs any of the other banks, and there's not really a difference between the people at GS vs MS vs LEH, etc. if you have the credentials and are actually down to earth and not a giant toolbag, you shouldn't have a problem landing a banking internship.

neutralnuke -- posts like that represent exactly what interviewers dislike most about wharton undergrads. this isn't china. sure, it's cutthroat, but being a hypercompetitive douchebag isn't going to get you very far. half of the time in these banking interviews, you're talking about times when you've sacrificed for a team or put others before yourself

Someone help, Tom Cruise is trapped in the closet!

Must be part of that whole Yale thing...

economy's moved on. time to find something besides banking guys. maybe consulting

yeah banking is soooooo 'out.' No reason to think bankers will be needed anymore. This newfangled interweb thingy will solve all our financial problems.

That or some kids in Mumbai.

I didn't mean to come across as a tool, but I just wanted to network with someone who has experience with Goldman Sachs. No where in my postings have I stated that GS is the BEST bank and surpasses other investment banks --- clearly, I created this thread to learn more about Goldman Sachs from someone who has experienced the firm first hand.

Thank you

LOL...are you serious? If you are a sophomore and are reading the boards, then your give-to-take ratio on this forum is something like 1:100 anyway. The least you can do is to offer something constructive when someone else asks, considering all the knowledge you have leeched from reading this forum. It's "me-first" attitudes like yours that will get you weeded out of your potential analyst class, unless you really are heads and shoulders above everyone else.

nuke, even if you really are the complete dbag you seem to be, I don't think there was any good reason to point it out.

This Thread is meaningless, use the damn search function.
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http://modernyuppie.blogspot.com/
The musings and antics of a Meathead college wrestler turned asset backed securities trader.

untitled are you posting this on every single thread?

im protesting that ppl on this forum repeat info when they cud use da search
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http://modernyuppie.blogspot.com/
The musings and antics of a Meathead college wrestler turned asset backed securities trader.

true enough numi and ginntonic.
thanks for pointing out my idiocy and my low give/take ratio.
I'm a dbag and gradually working on it.

Why that is mostly true, it seems that people come here in search of answers and though they can use the search function and get everyone's opinions from 5 or 6 months ago, as you probably know things do change. Maybe not this particular question, but many.

At any rate, people should use the search function more often and go to that first. I know I do and though there isn't any fun associated with reading through 12 different threads that each may only have 4 or 5 decent responses, its important to at least put in the effort.

I will say that in order for a forum like this to survive you probably need new people to come on here and ask these types of questions as it facilitates conversation and often brings up good points. If people don't ask "new", although somewhat repetitive questions this just turns into an online library...and we know how cool libraries are to hangout at.