Goldman Sachs Analyst Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round: Test
Experience: It was a test checking your logical reasoning with three subjective questions on Probability and three on general algorithm of programming. They were checking our quantitative ability and programming skills as well.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: It was a technical interview in which they started with asking some basic questions on probability such as Moment-generating function of Normal distribution, one algorithm problem and one problem from signal processing. I could not do the last one but rest all went fine.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It was an HR interview. They enquired about my programming skills, career interests and future plans.

General Tips: I took it for granted that being from a non-CSE dept they won’t be ask me questions from OOP and related concepts (like Polymorphism and Virtual functions). However, they expected the candidate to be well aware of all that.
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Test
Experience: The first half is objective. I believe the candidates need to clear a bare minimum in each section in order for their subjective papers to be checked. After 75-90 minutes, the objectives are collected and the subjective papers are distributed (again 75-90 minutes long). Everyone is allowed to finish both papers. You're allowed to leave in the middle of the duration if you don't want to attempt any further. Disclaimer: This has been the format more or less in the last 2 placement rounds ('13 and '14). It may/may not change.
Tips: The test is the most important part of getting an interview. People with very good CPI's and stellar resumes might not even get an interview if they don't do well in the test. The test is extremely conceptual and will grill one on the basics. Some resources which will help you to figure out the type of questions that can be asked: -----/



-----/~hdwang/puzzle.html



-----/



It would be advisable to take an algorithms and a probability class if you haven't studied them and want to do good in the test. MOOCs are also an option if you can't get a classroom course.
Duration: 180 minutes

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: All interviews had a highly technical component again based on my quanti skills. Whatever quanti based technical skills I'd mentioned on my resume were thoroughly grilled upon along with the questions/puzzles asked.



HR was limited to tell me about yourself and why do you want to join the firm.
Tips: 1. Again a huge focus is on your tech skills (similar questions to the test), and:



2. From what I've gathered so far, the firm is an extremely team oriented  place. So if they feel you lack the adequate communication and team skills, that translates to a no-go. I wasn't asked specifically about experiences I've had in teams and other PORs I've held, but you can be sure that they will have a look at it in your resume and will also judge you during the interview based on the way you explain your solution/thought process to them. There are always examples of people who are technically proficient but don't pass the (coarse IMO) filter of soft skills. So do work on them.

General Tips: Placement process is important if you want to get out in the business/non-academia world. Clean your slates of all extraneous rubbish before the semester begins as each and every day of the semester is important. Starting from resume, going to PPTs, figuring out your companies, practicing apti tests, sharpening tech skills, acquiring case prep skills, GDs, giving tests, preparing for interviews/HR and finally going for it in December. It's a jam packed roller coaster ride and you don't want to miss out on the fun by engaging with something not driving you towards your goal. The learning curve in this semester can be exponential if you commit to it and it is indeed a lot of fun. There might be a bit of physical stress due to the number of hours you will possibly be putting into the process, but make sure you stay out of pressures of any kind: self imposed or peers.
Skills: Quant+Math
College Name: IIT BOMBAY
Motivation: I love my math and want to work in a place where I get to use analytical/quanti skills everyday. Finance is a good place to do this as I was told by my seniors (Disclaimer: I have practically zero finance knowledge as of now). Also I want to work with the smartest and the most analytical people. GS ranked the highest on both the fronts according to me among the companies that hire from mechanical. I knew people working there before the placements who told me about their positive experiences over there. Plus, it is an elite institution with a lot of perks and good compensation.



TL;DR: No-brainer.
Funny Moments: 1. String of night outs for 7-10 days for putting up a good resume: Close friends sitting a room with microsoft word in front of them and getting existential crisis about what they've done in their life. Finally a week of polishing the resumes and reading them: Man, I think I've done a decent job in IIT.



2. Last line of resume: avid fan of Led Zeppelin.



3. Day 0, T minus 12 hours: Majorly flunked a mock interview with a friend as I realized that I'd spent the previous week on non conentional HR like 'which animal best represents you and why' and was struggling with my tell me about yourself basics. Sat for the next 5 hours cooking up and mugging the answers to the standard HR questions. These is how I fared:



3. Towards the end of my very first interview (with a consulting firm):



Int: Is there anything else you'd like to add?



Me: My favorite band is Led Zeppelin. I really, really love their songs.



Int: You got me there. (smiles).



Got the next interview right after that with the same firm.



4. In the next interview:



Int: So what do you think a consultant does?



Me:(I had decided the previous night to go ahead with this answer) A consultant is like Batman, and the clients are like commissioner Gordon. They flash the light when they're in trouble, and the consultant is always there when help is needed. They'll do they their job as quickly and efficiently as possible just like Batman. (I followed it up with the reasonable standard answer.)



5. When the HR head of GS told me in the last interview that they were planning to put my name in the final hiring list and I said I'd be glad to accept that and wouldn't plan to go for any other firm if they're planning to do so:



Me: So, should I stick around here now or am I free to go get my beer?



Int: Go ahead and get your beer :)

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: A Good Resume is the one with a clear message in one glance. One usually doesn't have much time go through the specifics. Also, most of the resumes look more or less the same if you start reading thoroughly. So what distinguishes you is how much you can convey to a third person in one glance. However a crucial point that one needs to keep in mind is - The third person may be an IITian or may be not. So your resume needs to be optimally elaborate and detailed. Good at glance and not boring with details.

Round: Test
Experience: Various tests aim at identifying different skill sets. And each skill set testing needs different approach and different preparation material and style. Also, not all tests are actually looking for excellent performers. So sometimes you might be surprised to see not so good performers being preferred over the best ones.
Tips: Keep calm during all tests. No need to panic after seeing unfavourable results. It's just the beginning of an entirely new world. For preparation, begin well in advance. Take as light load as possible in your placement semester. Talk to seniors and the placed ones about the preparation style for various skill sets. There are several great books on most of the skill set, and just like JEE if you spend quality time on a book on a particular skill set you are likely to do well. 



For your core jobs preparation, you need to revise your basic concepts and prepare specifically for various areas that you are mostly interested in. For example, in EE, you can have a look at various job roles - system designing, power systems, device and circuits, communication, computer vision and image processing etc, which companies have come in the past for what kind of roles. And what were there expectations from the candidates.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: I sat for only one GD that was for ITC. I did not prepare at all for it and relied mostly on my speaking cum shouting skills that I developed over the years, thanks to my fundae sessions and most importantly TAship sessions. I enjoyed the GD which was a problem statement on a guy's death with a brief description of the circumstances, and was asked to discuss who was guilty for the guy's death. I enjoyed the discussion, and found the problem pretty exciting, but only to find out later that it was a routine problem for GDs.
Tips: My agenda was simple for the GD - I took it as yet another discussion session. Hearing others opinions and pointing out mine. Occasionally I also asked the quite ones to share their views. There are often several tricks that seniors tell the juniors - start early, take the lead, try to summarize, take everyone along etc etc. I like to put it this way - Don't speak non-sense, do speak some sense, let others speak, try to distinguish the sense and the non-sense from others views, and encourage the quite ones to speak a bit in order to have a sensible and wholesome group discussion. If you think you can lead, then lead. If you think you might want others opinions to kick start your thought process, then wait for some points from others. So basically do what seems sensible to you, but do something!

Round: HR Interview
Experience: All the questions that I was asked, I have already put up at my blog raazdwivedi.blogspot.in 



And I am in no mood to repeat them here by classifying. I would summarize some key points in the tips section.
Tips: Before I forget, usually at the end of interviews, the interviewers ask you if you have some questions about them, be prepared with some questions which can be like - what do you usually look for in a good candidate, what is the work culture at the company, the career path of the individual in the company or otherwise etc etc. You can google things, or you can be innovative. Innovation might pay off very well or it may just kill your chances. But that's life - more risk, more reward.



And another point, some of your interviews might be telephonic - in such cases, many more factors come into picture  which might spoil the mood of the interview ( I would let you to think about the possible glitches that you might have because of this technological advancement). But as usual, I would advice you to keep calm and just give your best. 



Puzzles Interview: Prepare from the standard blogs and books, like cseblog and heard on the wall street. Ask seniors about the trending books. For the interview, do what is asked of you. Try to solve the problem. If you have already soled the proble, try to outline the steps and the solution, but don't be over or under excited any time. Sometimes the interviewer might be curious about the steps, and about your thought process. He might be looking for how many different ways you can think of attacking the same problem (At times they give a wrong problem just to check that!). However at times, you might not be that lucky and the person in front of you might value only accuracy and speed - that makes the task tougher - you have to be quick and you have to be correct, I would suggest you to trying being accurate, even if the guy in front of you is checking your patience by bugging you about your speed. In all cases, keep your calm.



HR Interview:Technically, I didn't give an HR interview (at least I don't think I gave one!) but standard preparation includes questions of the sort - walk me through your resume, tell me about yourself, tell me about yourself BEYOND the resume (meaning what is not covered in the resume), strengths and weaknesses, your learning experience, capabilities as an individual, team player and team leader, some illustrations of them, why the XYZ role in ABC company probably over DEF company, why not higher education, why a job of this pay scale, your expectations of the firm etc







Case Studies and Guesstimate:The only thing that I can think about such interviews (I had only one and I didn't do very well) - during some stage of preparation preferably 60-70% of it, prepare and discuss in groups, work many problems, and learn from your mistakes. As usual try to value the thought process than the answers only!

Round: Summary
Tips: There are many things that I would like to convey to the students regarding the placement process.On the preparation side, one must give his best - visit websites, read blogs, attend presentations and various related sessions, ask seniors who have been placed, talk to anyone who you think can provide some help. These practices will give you enormous data - and your job is to filter and use it wisely, at your own discretion. Read relevant material from books and internet, practice problems and tests, do mock interviews and GDs with your friends, prepare your resume well - in short - do what is to be done. Depending on job profiles that you target, the preparation keeps varying, ask around and work hard.



With that being said, I would like to say that placement is not simply about merit - independent of whether you appreciate this fact or not. Various companies value compatibility over the merit of the student (which is quite logical thing to do!) and sometimes you may under-qualify and sometimes over-qualify on those standards - and rarely will you be just at an optimal level. Consequently, many results(in fact most, to be even more precise all except one) will not go in your favour - either accept them or challenge them (if you think you have been denied of something that you truly deserve) but never lose your heart - this is simply a welcome song to the real world. In the long run, this short and (most likely a difficult and) tough experience will prove to be one of the most memorable and a great learning experience.



In a nut shell "Keep Calm and Give your Best! - Karm karte raho, fal ki chinta mat karo."

Round: Puzzle Interview
Tips: Prepare from the standard blogs and books, like cseblog and heard on the wall street. Ask seniors about the trending books. For the interview, do what is asked of you. Try to solve the problem. If you have already solved the problem, try to outline the steps and the solution, but don't be over or under excited any time. Sometimes the interviewer might be curious about the steps, and about your thought process. He might be looking for how many different ways you can think of attacking the same problem (At times they give a wrong problem just to check that!). However at times, you might not be that lucky and the person in front of you might value only accuracy and speed - that makes the task tougher - you have to be quick and you have to be correct, I would suggest you to trying being accurate, even if the guy in front of you is checking your patience by bugging you about your speed. In all cases, keep your calm.

College Name: IIT BOMBAY

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: A Good Resume is the one with a clear message in one glance. One usually doesn't have much time go through the specifics. Also, most of the resumes look more or less the same if you start reading thoroughly. So what distinguishes you is how much you can convey to a third person in one glance. However a crucial point that one needs to keep in mind is - The third person may be an IITian or may be not. So your resume needs to be optimally elaborate and detailed. Good at glance and not boring with details.

Round: Test
Experience: Various tests aim at identifying different skill sets. And each skill set testing needs different approach and different preparation material and style. Also, not all tests are actually looking for excellent performers. So sometimes you might be surprised to see not so good performers being preferred over the best ones.
Tips: Keep calm during all tests. No need to panic after seeing unfavourable results. It's just the beginning of an entirely new world. For preparation, begin well in advance. Take as light load as possible in your placement semester. Talk to seniors and the placed ones about the preparation style for various skill sets. There are several great books on most of the skill set, and just like JEE if you spend quality time on a book on a particular skill set you are likely to do well. 



For your core jobs preparation, you need to revise your basic concepts and prepare specifically for various areas that you are mostly interested in. For example, in EE, you can have a look at various job roles - system designing, power systems, device and circuits, communication, computer vision and image processing etc, which companies have come in the past for what kind of roles. And what were there expectations from the candidates.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: I sat for only one GD that was for ITC. I did not prepare at all for it and relied mostly on my speaking cum shouting skills that I developed over the years, thanks to my fundae sessions and most importantly TAship sessions. I enjoyed the GD which was a problem statement on a guy's death with a brief description of the circumstances, and was asked to discuss who was guilty for the guy's death. I enjoyed the discussion, and found the problem pretty exciting, but only to find out later that it was a routine problem for GDs.
Tips: My agenda was simple for the GD - I took it as yet another discussion session. Hearing others opinions and pointing out mine. Occasionally I also asked the quite ones to share their views. There are often several tricks that seniors tell the juniors - start early, take the lead, try to summarize, take everyone along etc etc. I like to put it this way - Don't speak non-sense, do speak some sense, let others speak, try to distinguish the sense and the non-sense from others views, and encourage the quite ones to speak a bit in order to have a sensible and wholesome group discussion. If you think you can lead, then lead. If you think you might want others opinions to kick start your thought process, then wait for some points from others. So basically do what seems sensible to you, but do something!

Round: HR Interview
Experience: All the questions that I was asked, I have already put up at my blog raazdwivedi.blogspot.in 



And I am in no mood to repeat them here by classifying. I would summarize some key points in the tips section.
Tips: Before I forget, usually at the end of interviews, the interviewers ask you if you have some questions about them, be prepared with some questions which can be like - what do you usually look for in a good candidate, what is the work culture at the company, the career path of the individual in the company or otherwise etc etc. You can google things, or you can be innovative. Innovation might pay off very well or it may just kill your chances. But that's life - more risk, more reward.



And another point, some of your interviews might be telephonic - in such cases, many more factors come into picture  which might spoil the mood of the interview ( I would let you to think about the possible glitches that you might have because of this technological advancement). But as usual, I would advice you to keep calm and just give your best. 



Puzzles Interview: Prepare from the standard blogs and books, like cseblog and heard on the wall street. Ask seniors about the trending books. For the interview, do what is asked of you. Try to solve the problem. If you have already soled the proble, try to outline the steps and the solution, but don't be over or under excited any time. Sometimes the interviewer might be curious about the steps, and about your thought process. He might be looking for how many different ways you can think of attacking the same problem (At times they give a wrong problem just to check that!). However at times, you might not be that lucky and the person in front of you might value only accuracy and speed - that makes the task tougher - you have to be quick and you have to be correct, I would suggest you to trying being accurate, even if the guy in front of you is checking your patience by bugging you about your speed. In all cases, keep your calm.



HR Interview:Technically, I didn't give an HR interview (at least I don't think I gave one!) but standard preparation includes questions of the sort - walk me through your resume, tell me about yourself, tell me about yourself BEYOND the resume (meaning what is not covered in the resume), strengths and weaknesses, your learning experience, capabilities as an individual, team player and team leader, some illustrations of them, why the XYZ role in ABC company probably over DEF company, why not higher education, why a job of this pay scale, your expectations of the firm etc







Case Studies and Guesstimate:The only thing that I can think about such interviews (I had only one and I didn't do very well) - during some stage of preparation preferably 60-70% of it, prepare and discuss in groups, work many problems, and learn from your mistakes. As usual try to value the thought process than the answers only!

Round: Summary
Tips: There are many things that I would like to convey to the students regarding the placement process.On the preparation side, one must give his best - visit websites, read blogs, attend presentations and various related sessions, ask seniors who have been placed, talk to anyone who you think can provide some help. These practices will give you enormous data - and your job is to filter and use it wisely, at your own discretion. Read relevant material from books and internet, practice problems and tests, do mock interviews and GDs with your friends, prepare your resume well - in short - do what is to be done. Depending on job profiles that you target, the preparation keeps varying, ask around and work hard.



With that being said, I would like to say that placement is not simply about merit - independent of whether you appreciate this fact or not. Various companies value compatibility over the merit of the student (which is quite logical thing to do!) and sometimes you may under-qualify and sometimes over-qualify on those standards - and rarely will you be just at an optimal level. Consequently, many results(in fact most, to be even more precise all except one) will not go in your favour - either accept them or challenge them (if you think you have been denied of something that you truly deserve) but never lose your heart - this is simply a welcome song to the real world. In the long run, this short and (most likely a difficult and) tough experience will prove to be one of the most memorable and a great learning experience.



In a nut shell "Keep Calm and Give your Best! - Karm karte raho, fal ki chinta mat karo."

Round: Puzzle Interview
Tips: Prepare from the standard blogs and books, like cseblog and heard on the wall street. Ask seniors about the trending books. For the interview, do what is asked of you. Try to solve the problem. If you have already solved the problem, try to outline the steps and the solution, but don't be over or under excited any time. Sometimes the interviewer might be curious about the steps, and about your thought process. He might be looking for how many different ways you can think of attacking the same problem (At times they give a wrong problem just to check that!). However at times, you might not be that lucky and the person in front of you might value only accuracy and speed - that makes the task tougher - you have to be quick and you have to be correct, I would suggest you to trying being accurate, even if the guy in front of you is checking your patience by bugging you about your speed. In all cases, keep your calm.

General Tips: There are many things that I would like to convey to the students regarding the placement process.On the preparation side, one must give his best - visit websites, read blogs, attend presentations and various related sessions, ask seniors who have been placed, talk to anyone who you think can provide some help. These practices will give you enormous data - and your job is to filter and use it wisely, at your own discretion. Read relevant material from books and internet, practice problems and tests, do mock interviews and GDs with your friends, prepare your resume well - in short - do what is to be done. Depending on job profiles that you target, the preparation keeps varying, ask around and work hard.

With that being said, I would like to say that placement is not simply about merit - independent of whether you appreciate this fact or not. Various companies value compatibility over the merit of the student (which is quite logical thing to do!) and sometimes you may under-qualify and sometimes over-qualify on those standards - and rarely will you be just at an optimal level. Consequently, many results(in fact most, to be even more precise all except one) will not go in your favour - either accept them or challenge them (if you think you have been denied of something that you truly deserve) but never lose your heart - this is simply a welcome song to the real world. In the long run, this short and (most likely a difficult and) tough experience will prove to be one of the most memorable and a great learning experience.

In a nut shell "Keep Calm and Give your Best! - Karm karte raho, fal ki chinta mat karo."
College Name: IIT BOMBAY