Summer Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship at Goldman Sachs. It was tough at times, but a valuable experience in terms of learning about the finance industry as well as learning about the culture of the firm. The HCM team organised a lot of social events, both with employees and with the other interns which was a good way to balance the work life with some fun events. The amount of information that you learn throughout the internship is incredible, and you learn many skills that will stay with you.

Both the employees and the other interns were very friendly and supportive towards one another. The employees invest a lot of time and effort into teaching you, which shows that they really care and want to help you throughout the process.

At the beginning of the internship you are assigned two buddies, one mentor and a summer MD champion. These are all people who are dedicated to guiding you, and giving you advice throughout the process. In addition, you can schedule weekly meetings with your HR recruiter to get feedback and advice. I found all of these connections very useful, and they gave me a lot of guidance and supported me greatly throughout the internship. The range of connections is also good, as with some people i.e. buddies you may have a slightly more informal relationship and can chat about more personal things like your concerns/worries etc.

How busy you are throughout the internship depends on yourself. Sometimes you need to take your own initiative to ask for small tasks/projects to complete, so how busy you are will in part depend on this. Personally, I never had a moment where I was bored, and at points during the middle of the internship the work load was quite heavy. However, with some good time management skills, it shouldn't be too overwhelming.

During the internship, we were given some responsibilities of the analysts on the team. For example, some fellow interns and I were put in charge of sending daily email reports at 11am and 3pm, exactly as the analyst would. This was very useful, as it gave us an insight into the daily tasks and routine of a new analyst. In addition, we all completed a trading challenge game, where we were permitted to trade with real money. Obviously we took the game very seriously, as this was the first time many of us had traded with real money, and we would feel responsible for any losses. The trades were put through via a partner's account and so he would have to cover any losses.

I think I learnt a lot throughout the internship and developed many skills such as better time management, presentation skills, communication skills and teamwork etc. A lot of the tasks given to us throughout the internship I believe were designed to improve these skills. For example we all had to do a compulsory stock pitch, as well as numerous optional presentations almost every week. I believe that all the skills I have developed will be helpful to me in my later career.

The atmosphere was always very lively, especially during this summer. With so many events happening including the Russia/Ukraine crisis, and the BES situation, there was never a dull moment.

The internship had a very clear structure. The first 2 weeks were training, where we listened to numerous presentations and picked up the foundations of the different financial products etc. Week 3-4, we did one hour rotations throughout almost all the desks within the firm. From week 5-10 we did one week long placements on desks which we had chosen.

The firm invests a lot of time in our training, a lot of which comes from the employees on the desk. However, we were also trained briefly on how to use Thomson Reuters, which became a valuable tool to us. We also had special session on bond maths and other derivatives which I found very useful, and we were able to keep all the materials at the end. There is also a GS university which we can access if we are struggling within a certain area, and this contains some reading and a small test at the end.

I think that the firm is very appealing to work for. The culture of the firm is very important and there is a lot that Goldman Sachs can offer outside of work. On our placement all the interns took part in a Community Team Work program which is conducted every year I believe. This charity work was great fun, and a good way to meet the other interns from different departments.

HR organised many social events for the interns, including bowling in the first few weeks, and then a farewell event at the bar. As these were all paid for, many people turned up and it was great fun. Among the interns, we also organised nights out on the weekend, and went for occasional dinners.

I live in London, and commuted from North Acton everyday, so I am not sure about the cost of living in the Chancery Lane/ St Pauls area. However, socialising is definitely on the expensive side,

There are quite a few bars and pubs nearby, however we went out mainly in the Chelsea/Kensington region.

I joined the gym at work, which offered numerous classes everyday, and there was also a sauna. I believe there is also a running club which is available to join. A few of my friends also went to play football matches with teams that they were working with, which was a good chance for them to socalise outside of work.