GS Veteran Integration Program (VIP) 2018

I'd like to start the 2018 Veteran Integration Program thread this year. I'll be applying as soon as the application opens...Last year it was mid-October. Who else is applying this year?

In past years the application entailed an online resume screen, followed by a Hirevue interview with several questions. Successful candidates then went on to a superday before offers were presented in February/March.

Please share your background and desired divisions. I was a Marine O3 finance officer with no prior finance experience and a minor in business administration. Since I left active duty a little less than a year ago I've been working on my MBA at a non-target. I'm also applying to a few other internships and vet programs in finance for the coming spring/summer. My hope is that we can pool our collective knowledge to make ourselves more competitive than some of the less interested applicants/those that haven't done the legwork.

186 Comments
 

Thank you for your service. @Isaiah_53_5 and @TheGrind also served and they are both bonafide financiers!

“The only thing I know is that I know nothing, and i am no quite sure that i know that.” Socrates
 

I too will be applying for the GS VIP 2018 this year. I unfortunately could not go to the networking event in London but look forward to applications opening up in mid October.

I am currently an O3 in the USMCR as a communications officer for 4th Tanks. I am also a graduate student at USC Marshall School of Business in their MBV program (Masters in Business for Veterans). And lastly, I have been in residential mortgage lending for the last 2.5 years with LoanDepot as a licensed lending officer.

I will be applying to GS in hopes of receiving training and getting into their RMD (Real Estate Management Division). Hope to see you guys soon!

 

Good to meet you, hopefully we end up there together. I thought about applying to REMD but I'd rather not live in Texas again. I'm applying to IM, IB, and Internal Audit but I;ve heard that IA doesn't get very many slots. Then again, neither does IBD...

 

Honestly I am open to a lot of things but my heart is in real estate. Do you know exactly when and how these applications will open up? I have been diligently reaching out through the career portal and people who have oversight on it and don't get much feedback.

 

Honestly I am open to a lot of things but my heart is in real estate. Do you know exactly when and how these applications will open up? I have been diligently reaching out through the career portal and people who have oversight on it and don't get much feedback.

 

Same man, I check the page every other day but right now it just has information on London's VIP. The Americas application is still closed. I'm surprised more people aren't following this thread...? I thought we had more vets here.

 

Glad to find this thread, I am too in the process for JPM program, submitted yesterday and got a phone call today from HR for more info. Also got invited to the networking reception at NYC on 14 Nov. If anyone is in the same process, please reach out and we can help each other.

 

Nice...I'm thinking so. I may or may not stay over...I'm thinking of heading in to the city earlier to meet up with several guys. I'm over in eastern PA just north of Philly so it's a drive but it's not too bad.

 

I'll be applying to this next year, can't wait. For those applying this year, GS is now taking applications for the 2018 VIP.

"That was basically college for me, just ya know, fuckin' tourin' with Widespread Panic over the USA."
 

Tough to say...I just put down IBD, IMD, and Ops, all NYC. My guess is if they like you they'll pull you in and put you somewhere where they have head space.

 

JPM has been interviewing for a few weeks now and will be giving out final offers in the next week or two

 

They're making a resume book for those that didn't get in this cycle for next year. Reach out to whoever your point of contact was, give them which divisions you wish to be part of and in what city, and that should give you first refusal for next year. Seems like the main issue was that most of us who didn't get in just didn't apply early enough.

 

Does anyone know if making it to the video Interview was actually a big cut?

Also, at what level is this internship? Do all offers go in at the analyst level or, if you have an MBA for example, will an offer be made at the associate level? Both for internship and if you make it, follow-on offer?

 

based on speaking to someone who did it two years ago in IBD, i believe offers go out usually as a 2nd year analyst with exceptions being made. Don't know about if you have an MBA, but im guessing you should probably go through regular MBA recruiting.

 

Got my digital interview as well. Good luck to everyone. Hope to see some of you there if I get in. Fingers crossed on this opportunity

 

The biggest issue for me was telling a story for both questions and keeping it under two minutes. Practiced enough and eventually got there.

All in all it felt good! We'll see how it goes.

 

Did anyone on here receive an invitation to interview that has already been accepted into an MBA program starting in 2018 and indicated that in their application?

 

This is false, having just interviewed and discussed this specific issue, they would bring you on and if they like you, offer you a summer associate position between your 1st year and 2nd year of MBA, then go from there.

One of the guys on the IBD conference call said he did exactly that, as an additional data point.

 

Mine was less than fantastic. If I had the opportunity for a do-over, I would not hesitate. The problem I had was really articulating why I want a career in the financial services industry. I know why, but don't know why. Money is a large pull, so is the allure of the culture, etc. But, being that I'm 36 and have a great career in the military, I couldn't explain it well enough.. We will see.

 

Haven't received anything. Feel like I am checking my phone every 10 minutes especially because they said we would get a yes or no by the 5th

 

I'm sure the market's performance since the new year has delayed our process. GS is probably killing it!!! Keep hope that we will hear something soon and good luck to everyone!

 

Hey, I received an e-mail on Jan 12th, and I sent a reply confirming my attendance. Has anyone received a response to their confirmation e-mail?

Any word from others who attended the VIP in 2017?

Looking forward to meeting y'all!

 

Received the IBD invite for NY/NJ on the 12th for a 25JAN18 Superday as well with the request to reply by 15JAN18. I replied (obviously lol) and haven't heard back yet. My guess is that it may take them a little while to actually book the travel which is delaying responses a bit.

Anyone have any links to past interview questions they ask? How is everyone else preparing?

 

I was going to reach out to some GS friends, but I don’t know how to prepare for this interview. Is it mainly bahavorial questions? I can’t imagine lots of technical questions.

 

I did not get any flight tickets information yet. We should get contact before Friday (I assumed). Do you guy think how much they pay for this internship ($5K)? We can figure it out about the living in NY area. I used to live in 1 bed room in Manhattan. It costs like 3K but living in Queen or Brooklyn is cheaper.

 

What division are you interviewing for? Do you have any background in finance? I’m just prepping for behavioral questions, I heard it’s not really technical.

And yeah really hope they get back to us today with flights so I can try to plan. I shot them a follow up email yesterday but still silence on the net.

 

Finally got info on travel. Looks like a temp AMEX. Timing is going to be close considering I'll need to fly out Wednesday.

Not super impressed with this process so far.

 

Yeah, got my travel confirmation at 1230AM. Someone was up late Also, it says not to book on weekends, but we got this email on a weekend. But it also says to book within 24 hours of receiving this email. Anyone have an idea?

 

I'm going to try and book mine later today. I figure you can't meet both of those requirements (the entire 24 hour period is over the weekend) so better to have tickets.

I don't mind short timelines and a fast pace, but this seems pretty disorganized.

EDIT: Looks like I'm waiting until Monday.

 

Currently on the line for the "firmwide coaching call", dialed in and just hear classical music. About to dial into the 5PM IBD conference call, hope it's not the same story...

 

Well I got an email an Email at 1308 PST from the recruiter reminding me of the call at 1600 EST.....Didn't the previous email say it was 1700 EST?

 

I'll be in the area the day before but leaving after the last interview. Is anyone coming straight from the airport to the interview?

 

For people who are out of town.. did you get to stay in the club quarter wall street hotel? My super day is on 25, another friend got both 24 and 25. What's your?

 

I've got both 24 and 25, and yeah got a hotel stay at the quarters But I'm coming int he day before so I'm staying in at a self-funded hotel

 

Did anyone else get an updated time moving the call from 5 to 4, 8 min after 4 only to find there was no one on the line :)? Just curious if anyone was able to get through and if so what advice was offered.

 

Hey all! So obviously there was some significant issues with the coaching calls today. I was able to catch the very tail end of the Investment Management coaching session and then listened to the whole firm-wide session and I'll share a few of the things that were salient for me. I won't differentiate between which note came from which session because there was a LOT of overlap. These are in no particular order, really.

-"Most important": Know Yourself. Know your resume inside and out. ID the 3-5 key skills and traits that you want to highlight, and have a few solid examples of each of those skills.

-Know the firm, know the divisions you're applying to, know the role

-Look at the annual reports, look at the recent results

-Goldman is very team oriented; committed to diversity

-Prepare for market-related questions; the thought processes. Show that you care about the role.

-Most common mistake: not answering the question. Listen to the question, and engage the interviewer.

-Human Capital Management ("HCM") does their best to match VIP slots with available future full time positions. So basically, if you get the internship, you're now working on a two month long interview in which both you and GS will decide if there's a good fit.

-Practice answers to common questions: Why Goldman Sachs? Why IM and why Risk? Tell me about yourself

-Do not ramble. Most important part of these questions is structure. Every story has a beginning, middle, and end. Make sure you tell your story.

-Expect to get fatigued. Push through it. The 10th person is just as important as the 1st person.

Anyway, seeing as this is a competition it was probably not in my best interest to have shared all that but hopefully karma will come through in the end somehow! Good luck, all!

 

From reading the last couple years’ group posts, it seems to be 2-3 weeks. But that might be different since those programs were ran differently than this one.

I’m eager to hear back as well! Good luck!

 

Has anyone been able to find contact info on the people the interviewed with? I’m trying to send some thank you emails, but no luck on a directory of any kind.

 

Has anyone been able to find contact info on the people the interviewed with? I’m trying to send some thank you emails, but no luck on a directory of any kind.

 

I asked one of the recruiters before I left for contact info, and they happily obliged. Maybe e-mailing Chandni asking for contact information will work. Good luck!

 

Got the same email. But they had reschedule TBD because it was made within less than an hour upon me receiving the email. It sounded like the HR department and Operations Division were not in sync! Did you get a chance to speak to someone?

 

I got an email for "Decision by COB Friday 9th" but not for any follow up interviews. I hope that's not a bad sign. I interviewed for FIM.

 

I've been trying to find someone who applied for JPM Chase's 2018 Veteran Program. All they did for me were phone interviews and I've had zero contact with them since. I can't seem to find any info if they did Superday's or in-person interviews as part of their process.

GS' Program has been more impressive than JPMC at this point.

 

Got the same email today about 09FEB18 in the OPS DIV. Did anyone else get contacted (email or telephone) after the superday at NJ?

 

What do you mean by "wait list"? Is that like a stand-by or alternate group? I didn't see mention of a wait list when I read over previous GS VIP years.

 

Just had a scheduled phone call with an ops MD today- basically another interview but it sounded like a follow up...haven't heard anything from my other choices though.

 

I just heard from another friend. They just called him a few hours ago and he got 2 division (IMD/Compliance). They asked him to pick on. I am still waiting for mine :(

 

If you can, please write a review of the program when you complete. I’m sure I’m not the only one that will apply again next year.

Enjoy! And best of luck!

 

Congratulations to all of those who got selected! I am still waiting for my notification and already mentally prepared myself to start looking for other opportunities. GS is a dream for me and this was my first year, just remember that next year there will be a new class of VIP candidates. Get some more experience under my belt and apply again next year.

 

Yeah.. Given our midnight Superday emails and what not... I'm still hopeful though but it seems unfavorable. At least I got a free trip to NYC

 

Hi again. Please don’t give up you dream. This was my second time to apply for the VIP program. I applied it last year for IB when I was still in an active duty. What I learned from the past is to do more research on the firm, division, and team that we were interviewing with as well as applicable market conditions and macro trends. There are also other opportunities out there. I am actually receiving other 3 full time jobs from other well-known organization now. However, I made the decision to go for this internship, Goldman Sach has been my dream too.

 

Thank you for the positive support.

I was reminiscing about my interview and I remember them asking about 3 values that I think are important for finance. I realized I didn't generically pick GS' values to regurgitate. I'm sure there are plenty of other factors but I will likely reapply last year. Did you go to Superday last year too?

 

I did not even pass the HireVue last year. I was not sure because I was in oversea or because I totally messed up the first time VDO interview recording. I also mixed my choices in the different divisions this year (Finance / IMD / IB). Last year, I focused too much on IB/Trading choices.

 

Thank you you for the support! I am fresh out currently still on terminal leave. I also read the thread on last years VIP class which I used to see how the process went. Best of luck!

 

the blurb in the email stated "contact us if you have questions about timeline and have competing offers"...

Has anyone from the group sent an inquiry yet?

 

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