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02 / Hiring process
Four stages, and one of them decides it
4 stages from application to offer. One way HireVue video interview is reported to be the one that decides it.
4stages
01
Online application resume and division fit
An online application through Goldman's own careers platform, reported to be the entry point across every division and level.
02
One way HireVue video interview 3 to 6 questions, no interviewer present
A recorded round with no live interviewer, reported to run three to six questions mixing behavioural prompts with a common opener like why you want to work in the specific business.
03
Technical screen (Engineering) HackerRank or a live coding round
Reported for engineering candidates specifically: either a HackerRank assessment with two to three coding problems, or a forty five to seventy five minute live coding session with a Goldman engineer, ahead of the Superday.
04
Superday 2 to 5 back to back rounds, then a decision
Reported to run two to five back to back interviews of forty five to sixty minutes each in a single day, covering technical depth, commercial awareness and behavioural fit, with the full process reported to take three to eight weeks from application to offer.
Ask before the interview: what will this round cover, who will I meet, and is there anything I should prepare?The question almost nobody asks
03 / Question library
Interview question practice library
The HireVue round, the Superday format and the Business Principles apply across every division, so the core set below covers that ground. Each division then adds the technical depth specific to it.
59questions
Asked in every interviewAsked in every Goldman Sachs interview
01 Why Goldman Sachs, and why this division specifically? Motivation Open guide
Find your angle. Screens out candidates whose interest in Goldman is really just an interest in prestige rather than the specific business they applied to.
Build your answer
- Name the actual division. Not just Goldman Sachs generally.
- Tie it to something concrete you've done. A trade, a project, a class that points at this specific business.
- State what you want to be doing there in two years. Concrete, not a vague career goal.
Bring the evidence
One specific fact about the division you applied to that most Goldman applicants wouldn't know.
What weakens it
Goldman Sachs is the top firm on Wall Street with unmatched opportunities.
Likely follow upWhich other banks are you interviewing with, and how does this compare?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.02 How would you make a strong impression in a recorded interview with no interviewer reacting to you in real time? HireVue Open guide
Find your angle. The one way HireVue round is reported to run with no live interviewer, a genuinely different skill than reading a room.
Build your answer
- Describe the format constraint. No visible reaction, a fixed time to answer.
- Explain what you'd do instead of reading the room. Since there's no room to read.
- Give a comparable past instance. Performing without live feedback before.
Bring the evidence
A specific instance of performing or presenting without any real time feedback, and how you adjusted for it.
What weakens it
I present well on camera without much effort.
Likely follow upHow would you know if an answer landed if no one reacts to it?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.03 Tell me about the first time you got genuinely interested in markets, not just the idea of working in finance. Why banking/finance Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.04 Walk me through how you'd approach a coding problem you don't immediately know how to solve. Technical screen (Engineering) Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.05 Describe a time you had to perform well in the fifth conversation of a long day, not just the first. Superday stamina Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.06 Tell me about a recent market event and why you think it happened. Commercial awareness Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.07 Describe a time an interviewer or evaluator disagreed with your answer and pushed back hard. Handling pushback Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.08 Tell me about a time you put someone else's interest ahead of what was easiest for you. Clients first Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.09 Describe a time you held your own work to a higher bar than anyone actually required. Quality Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.10 Tell me about a time you changed how you worked specifically to make a group's output better, not just to be a good teammate. Teamwork Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.11 Describe a time being honest cost you something real. Integrity Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.12 What's something about how you work that would show up in your first month here, not in this interview? Weakness Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.13 Tell me about a time you gave a wrong answer under pressure and had to recover in the moment. Handling failure Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.Risk and Compliance6 to practise
6 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 6 are specific to Risk and Compliance, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountWhat you get
Less than the cost of one lunch, for a great deal more confidence.- Unlimited tailored interview preparation
- A massive database of actual questions and answer guides
Role specific
Pick your role and the list narrows to what that role tends to get asked.
A guide for every answer
What the question is testing, three steps to build your answer, and the evidence to bring.
Prepared, not guessing
You walk in knowing the shape of the round and which of your own stories fits it.
04 / In the news
Worth mentioning in the room
The strongest answer to why this company is something that happened last month.
4stories
Free account
What happened at this employer this month
Stories screened from everything published about this employer, chosen because they can be used in the room rather than because they are recent.
- Each one carries a line on how to use it in the answer
- Crime, recalls, litigation and share price moves are excluded outright
- Refreshed daily, so it is different the week of your interview
05 / The six values
What is actually being scored
Goldman Sachs publishes fourteen Business Principles, written in 1979 and still referenced in interviews today. Bring one real story for each of the ones below rather than a general answer about wanting to work at a top bank.
6stories
Our clients' interests always come first
A time you chose the harder path because it served the person you were working for, not the easier path for you.
Our assets are our people, capital and reputation
A time you protected a reputation, yours or someone else's, even when a shortcut was available.
We take great pride in the professional quality of our work
A time you held your own work to a higher bar than anyone actually required of you.
We stress teamwork in everything we do
A time you changed how you worked specifically to improve what the group produced, not just to support the existing plan.
We stress creativity and imagination in everything we do
A time an unconventional approach beat the obvious first answer to a problem.
Integrity and honesty are at the heart of our business
A time honesty cost you something real, not a story where it happened to be free.
06 / Before you apply
Where candidates lose it
Pro
Where candidates lose this before anyone meets them
The part of the process that eliminates most people is not the interview. It is what happens around it, and almost none of it is written down anywhere.
- The assessment answers that read as dishonest rather than confident
- What the availability question is really deciding
- The application detail that cannot be edited once submitted
Interview in 48 Hours
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