Goldman Sachs Questions

7/26/2019 Goldman Sachs Questions

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S = Situation T =Task A = Action R = Result

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/fles/careers/Behavioral_Interviewin_!uestions.pd"

#. Tell us a little bit about yoursel".

The su$$er a"ter $y "resh$an year% I volunteered "or the &arine 'orps because Isaw the chane it caused in $y brother and I wanted to undero the sa$e process.

The prora$ that I did was two si()week incre$ents durin which I was evaluated in

ftness% acade$ics% and leadership potential. Because I had e(celled durin $y frstincre$ent o" trainin% I was desinated as the *latoon 'o$$ander "or $y platoon

this past su$$er. As *latoon 'o$$ander% I was in chare o" stayin on top o" the

whereabouts o" all +, wo$en in $y platoon% as well as insurin that our ri-es werealways accounted "or. By the end o" trainin% I was ranked in the top + o" $y

co$pany and earned the ability to co$$ission as an ocer in the &arine 'orps. I

ulti$ately ot a lot out o" the e(perience% especially with reards to establishin $y

style o" leadership and $eetin people who $entor $e to this day% but "ound thatthere was very little roo$ "or innovation. Based on what I0ve heard% 1old$an o2ers

the structure and hih eciency "ound in the $ilitary% but leaves space "orindividualis$% which is why this position really e(cites $e.

3hat do you $ean by leave space "or individualis$4

5ro$ so$ethin as si$ple as chanin how we stack our ri-es when we0re

conductin physical trainin to fndin a way to strea$line the process o" ettin"ood "or each platoon% the structure o" the $ilitary leaves little roo$ "or deviatin

"ro$ the nor$.

6. 3hy 1old$an4

3hen I described $y e(perience at $ilitary trainin to one o" $y "riends% she

responded with% 7That sounds e(actly like 1old$an89 5ro$ there% I did so$e

research on the co$pany culture and I loved the sense o" pride e$ployees took intheir obs. Tea$ cohesiveness is so$ethin that I loved the $ost about $y ti$e in

the &arine 'orps and I ot the sense that $ost 1old$an e$ployees believe that

they are a part o" so$ethin bier than the$selves. I wanted to be a part o" a

corporation that ives their e$ployees a reater purpose.

+. 3hy hc$4

As a data analyst "or The 1ood ;ud$ent *roect% I analy. Tell $e about a ti$e that you e(hibited leadership.


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?urin $ilitary trainin this past su$$er% I was in chare o" carryin out the plan o"the day while keepin track o" the whereabouts o" $y platoon and their ri-es. 3e

had previously had an issue with ettin the riht count o" ri-es because so$e

$e$bers o" the platoon would leave with their ri-es without tellin their i$$ediatesupervisors where they were oin. To f( this issue% I re=uired each $e$ber leavin

the platoon to lo their whereabouts in $y ournal% as well as leave their ri-es withthe platoon. I$ple$entin this plan increased the accuracy o" our counts% which

$ade $y supervisors0 lives a lot easier.

@. 3hat are three o" your strenths4

I think $y reatest strenth is $y ability to et work done even in the "ace o"

dicult obstacles. &y su$$er trainin has $ade it a lot easier "or $e to re$ain

cal$ in hih)pressure situations.

Si$ilarly% when I co$$it to a deadline% I do whatever it takes to deliver.

I also "eel that $y backround in research has iven $e the tools to search "or

answers that aren0t readily available or co$pletely transparent. I "eel that I a$ ableto adapt to any situation as a result.

. 3hat are three o" your weaknesses4

3hile I do portray a level o" confdence when asked to lead% on the inside% I a$ verynervous and shaken up with bein put on the spot. This has been a weakness o"

$ine always rowin up. Acknowledin this% I a$ always the frst to volunteer to

speak and take on a proect in order to et over this 7stae "riht9. I0$ a lot better

with it than I was% but I a$ still constantly seekin to i$prove in this area.

Also% when I0$ assined a task% I o"ten et so boed down by the details that it0s

hard "or $e to see the bier picture. To f( this% I continuously re$ind $ysel" totake a step back and see how $y work is contributin to a proect in the rand

sche$e o" thins.

astly% because I a$ on the low end "or allocentris$% I tend to think others are$otivated by the sa$e thins I a$ and I have to work e(tra hard at understandin

others0 $otivations. I try to address this by co$$unicatin as $uch as possible so

that I have a better understandin o" how to approach certain people.

C. 3hat are you passionate about4

I0ve always been passionate about $akin a tanible di2erence% no $atter the

situation. 3hether I0$ workin on a tea$ proect% leadin $y peers% or tryin tobetter so$eone0s standard o" livin% I et a lot out o" havin a positive i$pact on

anythin that I a$ involved with.

D. 3hen was a ti$e that you had to do due dilience4


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Talk about data analyst ob.

,. ?escribe a ti$e you had to deal with a dicult or unresponsive person.

&y ob at The 1ood ;ud$ent *roect re=uires a lot o" collaboration with tea$

$e$bers% which $eans that so$eti$es I can0t $ove "orward with $y work without

hearin back "ro$ $y co)workers. ast week% I had a ti$e hack to $ake and $ytea$ $e$ber was not respondin to e$ails% so I $ade it a point to $eet with hi$

in person. That way% I was able to =uickly et the portions o" his work that I neededto continue $y work.

#E. Fow is the new fnancial re"or$ oin to a2ect the co$pliance world4

##. 3hy should we hire you over our other candidates4

I have a uni=ue set o" e(periences that the $aority o" the population will never

have which ives $e the ability to look at proble$s in a di2erent way than $ost. I

do not shrink "ro$ any challenes and a$ always willin to o the e(tra $ile toacco$plish a task. &ost i$portantly% I thrive in a tea$ settin because I know how

i$portant tea$ cohesiveness is "or boostin $orale.

#6. ?escribe a ti$e you had to work on a tea$. Fow did that o4

I volunteer "or *A'T G*eople H Ani$als 'o$panions ToetherJ "or Ani$als% whichis a nonproft that provides ho$es "or pets when their owners are on deploy$ent.

3e recently had a lare in-u( o" pets who needed ho$es because o" a chane in

the deploy$ent cycle% so each o" had to take on $ore ho$e visits. Because $ost o"

the other volunteers had "a$ilies to take care o"% they would not be able to do theho$e visits be"ore the pets would be re=uired to stay in an ani$al shelter. I decided

to take on the ho$e visits that they could not et to and we $anaed to place all o"

the ani$als in ho$es be"ore their owners deployed.

#+. Fow do you handle stress or pressure4

I" a situation see$s overwhel$in% I try to break it up into s$aller chunks and ust

"ocus on reachin each one on the way to acco$plishin the larer task. 5orinstance% this past su$$er we had a $aor issue with individuals losin ear% which

beca$e a headache because all o" our issued ear was needed "or trainin. I ended

up breakin it down into Kwho needs certain ear frst%0 and concentrated on one

step at a ti$e until we were able to et $ore ear issued.

#>. 3ould you pre"er to work independently or on tea$4

3hile I0$ e=ually co$"ortable doin both% I fnd that I enoy workin on a tea$ a lot$ore. &y ob at The 1ood ;ud$ent *roect involves a lot o" $eetins durin which

we brainstor$ ways to strea$line our data analysis. A"ter these $eetins% I o"ten

leave with individual tasks to co$plete so that the proect can $ove "orward. These


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$eetins ave $e a better picture o" how $y work would contribute to the tea$ asa whole% which $akes the prospect o" workin on a tea$ $ore appealin.

#@. 3hy fnancial services4 3hy not consultin% $arketin% etc.4

I like bein challened on a daily basis and I enoy bein around people who derive

satis"action "ro$ hard work and dedication. 3hen I was workin with the rantsdepart$ent "or *enn0s $ed school% I really enoyed providin solutions "or "undin

issues and to be connected with fnance in so$e "or$% while still dealin with leal$atters see$ed like the best ft "or $e.

#. 3ould you rather be the captain o" a losin tea$ or a reular $e$ber o" a

winnin tea$4

I would rather be the captain o" a losin tea$. I love takin on challenes and I "eel

confdent in $y ability to turn the tea$ around. I0$ "ar $ore interested in the

potential "or positive chane and the e2ectiveness o" $y contributions to the whole

than to be the person on a tea$ who has nothin to contribute.

#C. ?escribe an ethical dile$$a you had to deal with.

As a $anaer "or the $en0s basketball tea$% I a$ in chare o" $akin sure the

players attend captain)run practices% which $eans that the coachin sta2 is notpresent. &ost recently% one o" the players wanted $e to vouch "or hi$ when he was

not at one o" the practices% which put $e in a touh position because the tea$ is

essentially a "a$ily. Fowever% I knew that I would not have their best interest atheart i" I allowed hi$ to cut corners% so I did not lie "or hi$.

#D. Tell $e about a ti$e you "ailed.

As a *latoon 'o$$ander% I ot to choose individuals who would report the counts o"

their s=uad $e$bers% as well as their weapons to $e. Lne o" the individuals that Ichose did not sit well with $e% but I had heard reat thins about so I tacked it to

paranoia. A"ter takin a rest durin one o" our platoon0s hikes% I discovered that shehad lied about her weapons count and one o" our ri-es had been $issin the entire

day. This was a hue sa"ety issue and I ulti$ately ot rea$ed because o" $y "ailure

to inspect. 5ro$ that e(perience% I learned to always trust $y ut and do $y duedilience whenever possible.

#,. 3hat type o" decisions do you have diculty $akin4

I fnd the touhest decisions to $ake are the ones with two riht answers% butdi2erent possible outco$es. It0s hard to know which one will ive $e the outco$e

that I need% which takes the outco$e away "ro$ $y control.

6E. Fow do you stay current4

6#. Tell $e so$ethin about yoursel" that I didnMt know "ro$ readin your resu$e.


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I0$ a $ovie bu2 and especially love scary $ovies with bad dialoue and plot holes.I0$ also a "reelance writer "or *op&atters% which is a $aa. ?escribe a $aor oal youMve set "or yoursel" recently.

A"ter decidin not to accept $y co$$ission as an ocer in the &arine 'orps% I

noticed that I had a lot o" e(cess enery because I wasn0t trainin every day. To

channel this enery in a positive way% I set a oal to

6@. Now that you0ve had a chance to learn $ore about us% what would you chane

about our co$pany4

6. 1ive $e an e(a$ple where you used your "act)fndin skills to solve a proble$.3hile workin "or the eonard ?avis Institute o" Fealth Ocono$ics% I was tasked with

appro(i$atin the nu$ber o" AO?s in certain counties in *ennsylvania and was not

iven any restrictions on $y $ethods. Rather than physically countin each AO?%which was what was done in the past% I searched "or and contacted businesses in

these counties that listed havin AO?s on their websites. This process proved to be

$ore "ruit"ul than what was usually done and $y fndins were used as a pro(y "or

the ne(t launch o" the challene.

!uestions to ask:

#. 3hat do you like about workin here4

6. 3hat is the $ost challenin part about your ob4

+. 3hat do you think are the $ost i$portant =ualities "or so$eone to e(cel in this

role4

!uestions asked durin interview:

#. Tell $e a ti$e where you0ve have to deal with dicult people on the tea$.

6. Tell $e a ti$e where you were pro$pted "or a speech to $otivate your peers.

+. 3hy fnance4

>. 3hat relevant coursework have you taken "or this role4

aw and 'ri$inal ustice.

@. Tell $e about a ti$e that you had to persuade so$eone to accept your point o"

view4

. 3ho is so$eone you hate4


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C. Tell $e about a ti$e you "ailed on an assin$ent.

D. Tell $e about a ti$e you didn0t per"or$ well on a deliverable.

,. Tell $e about a ti$e you had to $entor so$eone throuh a diculty.

#E. 3hat would you do i" your $anaer leaks confdential in"or$ation4

##. Tell $e about a ti$e you "ailed and weren0t able to f( it.

#6. 3hat are three strenths and three weaknesses4

#+. 3hy fnance4

#>. 3ho is the fr$0s 'OL4

loyd Blank"ein. BANP)5INO.

#@. 3hat is the stock price o" 1old$an this day4

Q#,E. Increased since yesterday.

#. 3hat do you think is the $ost i$portant thin to 1S at this point4

#C. Fow will you best help 1S achieve our oals4

#D. 3hat would you do i" you don0t et this position4

#,. 3hat can you brin to the tea$ over so$eone who has a $ore fnancebackround4

6E. 3here do you see yoursel" in two years4

6#. ?escribe an ethical role $odel.

66. Tell $e about a ti$e when you were on a tea$ and the tea$ e(perienced anun"oreseen challene. Fow did the tea$ work throuh the challene and what role

did you play on the tea$4

6+. Tell $e about a ti$e you had a really i$portant presentation.

http://www.wallstreetoasis.co$/blo/ethics)test)sharin)secret)docu$ents

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