Hey there -
I have a pretty unique background. I thought I would open up a discussion to answer any questions you might have.
Here's my background:
Salt Lake City Goldman Sachs
-- Contingent Employee PWM Operations (2006)
-- Full time employee 3rd year analyst (2008)
-- Associate Operations (2009)
-- Associate Investment Research (2011) (not operations)
Top tier asset manager in Boston (best company in the world to work for)
-- Investment Analyst (2013)
There are several things worth noting that might be of interest to you.
-- Contingent employee to full time employee conversion
-- Back office to front office
-- "High Value" location (Salt Lake City) to "Core location" (Boston)
-- Sell side to buy side
Feel free to ask me just about anything.
Fido?
What do you look for in a company to determine if it's a buy or not?
What was fidelity like?
This ! ^
Good question. It was just a hedge against something weird and inappropriate.
Cmon Dick, give him an inch or two...he hasn't even gotten going yet.
Did you go to BYU/UofU undergrad?
Fido? Nope
Investment philosophy? We are "quant-amental" (quant + fundamental). It's mostly a mean reverting factor based story that we're after.
College? I and a Utah native and went to the UofU. Nearly everyone from GS SLC in 2006 came from BYU, UofU or USU. Only in the past few years have they done broad western US recruiting.
Fidelity? Nope, better
How did you go from Ops to Research? Do you get a push in from someone? Did they require you to know all the technical skills prior? How did that work? Why was your boss okay with the transition?
I've never really understand how the internal laterals work... some insight would be great.
First, you have to be prepared. You should start studying for the interviews right away. You HAVE to know the material in and out.
Second, Do extremely well in your current seat. You should be in the top 5% of your peers. Your reviews should be excellent and should be considered a subject matter expert in what you are doing. In order to make the conversion, you need to show that you're 100% capable. Also, most likely you'll need to tell your boss that you're interviewing with another group. Being in the top 5% ensures that you won't get cut from your role. Instead, your managers may actually try to figure out how they can keep you around.
Third, show your interest. Do this by meeting as many people as you can in the department. Treat every meeting like you are interviewing (dress sharp, speak appropriately, be smart). Take (and pass) as my CFA level exams as you can. You need to show that you are ready for the switch.
Keep in mind that if are beyond an analyst, this can be EXTREMELY difficult. Make the switch as early as you can in your career. Your chances of making the switch are far easier as an analyst.
Feel free to follow up if you want more detail on an item.
Have you attended graduate school or any CFA exams?
Ah so Wellington then
Or GMO
I think everyone would have their own opinion about which one is best. GS was a great place to work. My current company is fantastic as well.
Looks like wellington put up a new website? Nice improvement.
Anihilist, to answer your question I have a master's degree (non MBA) and two undergraduate degrees. I do not have a CFA, but I should have taken the time to do it. I would highly recommend studying for the exams. It's a great way to show you're committed to the industry. My master's degree helped a lot to differentiate myself (my thesis got a lot of traction).
Hey I am moving to SLC in a week and have a recuriting firm trying to get me into Goldman as an ops temp analyst. Is there any advice that you could give me on the interview process or what preperations could help my chances?
Hi hpd2,
Getting your foot in the door as a temp is generally easier than if you were to go through the standard interview process. In some cases, it's a great way to get started. Interviews at your level will be mostly situational. They will be trying to assess what you know about finance and whether you can get the job done. More often than not, people are hired because they did not say something stupid rather than because they said something brilliant. If you go into the interview and ask if this role can translate into a front office position, you most certainly will not be hired. The important thing is to nail the following:
I hope this helps. Honestly, these things will vary depending on which team and division you are interviewing for. Feel free to reach out to me if you get an offer. I can set you up with a mentor. I know someone in just about every division there.
Good Luck!
Hello,
Thank you so much for the advice. I will keep you updated. This community is so positive and encouraging.
Having worked at a larger place, and now at what I assume is a smaller place, are you glad you started somewhere larger with brand name recognition (although not a core office)? Or would you recommend trying to get into a lesser known but, as BlackHat has called it, "top asset manager" at a younger age and forgo something that may be a little more recognizable? (Yes, I realize that something like GMO is well known and respected, but still has a different ring than Goldman)
Pandemonium,
It really depends on what you're after! GS is definitely an amazing company to have on your resume. It opens up a lot of doors down the road. The question is; however, what you want to do with it. Let's go through a few scenarios:
You want an MBA at a top 10. GS will be better than a boutique. 2. You want a great work-life balance and a lot of job security. GS is a horrible choice for you. 3. You want to become a partner and devote your life to your job. GS MAY OR MAY not be the best choice. It is a great choice if you are on a proper path to achieve this. There are many jobs at GS that progress too slowly for the super-ambitious. I left for this reason. 4. You think you like finance but are not quite sure. GS is great here. They provide a lot of training to help you understand the finance world.\r\n5. You are ready to start a hedge fund now, but you went to a state school. GS is a horrible choice. You can not just walk into the firm and expect a huge role. Boutiques offer more opportunity for career risk (and potentially failure). No one in HR would tell you this, but many of the really Sr. people in the firm were bought out from another firm. In other words, they were not grown organically through the division, but were recruited. There are many exceptions to this, but there's more recruitment at the MD level than you'd expect.
Honestly, the people I have seen with the very best careers were those that got into a small firm which became big. I should note that I am not currently at a boutique, so I am really am not an expert here.
Hard question, but I hope I helped!
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