Speaking on “The David Rubenstein Show,” CEO David Solomon revealed that of more than 300,000 applicants for entry-level college jobs last year, the bank hired about 2,500, or less than 1 percent.
While the scary statistics may discourage potential hires, Solomon analyzed some commonalities among successful applicants.
While Solomon listed more typical desirable traits such as being hard-working, smart and someone who “believes in excellence,” he emphasized that he wants to see tenacity.
“People want to win. People who have proven they have grit and determination,” he said. “Not just the ability to succeed, but the ability to get up when they fail and bounce back and keep going.”
While the investment giant often recruits from top universities, Solomon said it takes more than intellect to land a job at a prestigious Wall Street bank. In a letter to 2024 summer interns, Solomon advised them to “value your unique skills and experiences.”
“Of course, intelligence is part of it,” Solomon told Rubenstein, “but there are also softer factors that really make people successful in the long run.”
Mr. Solomon said the firm was looking for “skills packages” for a wide range of roles, noting that in addition to highly sought-after investment-banking positions, Goldman Sachs’ 46,000 employees also do other jobs such as traders, and it also has more than 10,000 engineers.
“We have a very diverse workforce, pulling in many different directions,” he says. “Some people are great, and some are doing other things.”
So how do you thrive once you’re hired? Several of Goldman’s most recent summer interns spoke to BI recently, saying that building and maintaining a strong network within the company is a big key to their success.
“If you want to be the next great trader, you have to learn from the greats,” said Robbie Stankard, a Columbia University student-athlete who interned in Goldman’s sales and trading department for two years.
The investment bank received a record 315,126 applications for its 2024 internship program, but only 2,700 places were filled, just under 0.9% of the total.
Stankard told BI that they had heeded advice that Dan Dees, Goldman’s global co-head of banking and markets, had given to his colleagues: “He said, ‘The people to the left and right of you are going to be the most powerful networks you have as you go through your career.'”
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