Investment Banking Summer Analyst Review

The work was very challenging, but thoroughly rewarding. The working environment was conducive to continuous learning, and I felt that I got a lot out of the experience.

Your work as an intern is comparable to that of full-time analysts. At no point are you made to feel anything less than a valued member of your teams. Colleagues were happy to answer questions, and appreciated the fact that I was trying to understand the issues at hand.

Informal training was provided throughout, specifically in the form of frequent and helpful informal feedback. Frequent meetings with deal teams meant that more senior members were able to provide direct guidance where necessary.

It is a fact of the job in general that you are always busy. At Goldman Sachs, the sheer number of deals meant that there was little opportunity to be bored. Deadlines were tight, and as valued members of the teams, interns were expected to complete work in line with the agreed timeframes.

You work as analyst, meaning that you are often contributing in a significant way to the deals. Responsibility was thrust upon all the interns, and the more readily you accepted the challenges, the more you were rewarded with more interesting and more challenging work.

As I do not study a finance-based course at university, the training will not be applicable until after I graduate. The skill of working independently and to tight deadlines is of course transferable to study at university, particularly with respect to weekly tutorial essays.

Conducive to learning and continuous improvement. Colleagues were friendly and it was a simple matter to ask questions and receive answers and tips.

There was a Speaker Series that ran throughout the internship, where senior and junior bankers from the many different teams would give talks about their work and their careers. This was a very good way of learning about the different areas within the Investment Banking division, and provided a unique insight into how the careers of senior bankers panned out.

Aside from the week-long formal training at the start of the internship and the pre-internship GS university training modules, team members, particularly analysts, were more than happy to provide informal training. As someone without experience in banking or finance, the training provided at all levels helped me make the most out of the internship, as I was continuously learning new things.

I converted my internship into a full-time job offer. While I am unaware of the exact figure, there were many interns who also did so.

Interns were friendly enough. It's a competitive industry, so don't expect to meet your best friends at work.

Very high. It's London!

Decent, though, given the hours you are working and the fact that you need to be 100% focussed, there was not much opportunity to enjoy the nightlife during the week.

Not many. The industry is such that a commitment to work is just about the only commitment you can make during the week.