I read this week about Goldman Sachs having a 22 billion bonus pot to distribute to it’s staff. You have to wonder how they were able to be so successful in todays recession especially when the rest of the private sector is struggling badly.. And of course they are all looking at the banks as the cause of it all (even though the public have to acknowledge some blame for borrowing beyond their means).

“22 billion bonus pot to distribute to it’s staff”

From a career point of view if you are working at Goldmans it seems through rain or shine you are likely to get a bonus from your job.
In my early years I placed people at Goldman Sachs in their first job and although they went through about 10 interviews, “normal” people got these jobs.  The candidates were simply well rounded guys with a good education…(they certainly weren’t rocket scientists, and the bank won’t hire geeks).   These guys started on £35k gbp ($56k usd) plus whatever bonus the bank chose to issue that year. If you were there now you would be looking at between 500k-1m as a standard bonus, by that I mean as a professional not a banker (obviously bankers get a lot more).
So to get a job at Goldmans, you are going to need a good degree (it doesn’t matter what, and it certainly doesn’t have to be in finance) and a lot of persistence.

1. Call all the recruitment agents until you find one that is on their preferred list. Apply and follow up, then follow up the next week and the next.
2. Apply via their website and formal application process.
3. Lastly don’t forget to follow up via HR directly. Don’t think you are being a nuisance… Only people who do this will be remembered and if you can get one interview  and be on their way to those mega bonuses.

If you don’t get an interview, at least you can honestly tell yourself  you have done everything you can to get there.

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