We recently caught up with Abigail about how she secured an internship with Goldman Sachs, how she built her commercial awareness before the interview and her top tips for members looking to follow in her footsteps.
What stood out to you about Goldman Sachs?
Goldman Sachs is a high profile, nationally and internationally renowned company. I wanted to find out what it would be like to work in technology for such a large financial institution. I want to get as much experience in as many different fields of technology as possible whilst still a student and this seemed like an excellent way to broaden my horizons and help me make decisions about my future career.
I also found Goldman Sachs appealing as they have a partnership with Code First Girls so are actively encouraging more women to pursue careers in technology.
How did you build your commercial awareness before the interview?
I made sure to research Goldman Sachs and learn what the company does as a whole, as well as researching the division I was applying to. The Goldman Sachs careers website is very useful and gives overviews of each division. I also follow Goldman Sachs on LinkedIn, try to keep up to date with any news about the company and read a few of the Goldman Sachs careers blog posts. I also researched a few of Goldman Sachs' rival companies.
What would be your top tip to members going through the application process?
Something I've found very useful while applying to placements has been keeping a document of all the different placements I've applied to. I have created a word document that includes the name of the company, the stages of the application process (and their deadlines), and some details about each stage (such as the questions I was asked in the interview stages). I also made sure to save any feedback given to me from placements where I was unsuccessful and made a note of this in the document.
This document has been very helpful whilst applying to placements this year but will also be useful when I apply to graduate roles as some companies have very similar application processes for their placements and graduate roles.
How did Bright Network help you secure this role?
In the summer of 2020, I took part in the Technology stream of Internship Experience UK where I heard from a speaker from Goldman Sachs. I had never considered technology roles outside of tech companies, so this opened my eyes to a much larger range of roles out there. I mentioned Internship Experience UK in my application as it helped demonstrate my interest in technology.
I also found out about the role through an email from Bright Network so it's safe to say I wouldn't have secured the role if I wasn't a Bright Network member.
What’s been the toughest interview question you've faced and how did you tackle it?
In the pre-recorded video interview, the first question was 'Walk me through your CV'. This was challenging as I only had 2 minutes to speak so I couldn't talk about everything in detail. In the preparation time, I looked through my CV and tried to pick out the most relevant experiences to the role and the key points of these experiences. I made a note of these to ensure I wasn't searching through my CV during the time I had to speak.
Did you use Bright Network Academy in your career search and if so, how did it help you?
I used Bright Network's advice for preparing for the pre-recorded interview. I found the video on the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique for answering competency questions in Lesson 3 very useful as it helped me structure my answers so they were concise and to the point but still showcased my experiences. The module also covered the types of interview questions I might face which helped me feel more prepared as I knew what to expect.
What top three tips would you give Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?
- Have an up-to-date CV that you can quickly tailor to each placement you apply for.
- Sign up for email alerts from placements you're interested in.
- Keep track of placement deadlines and apply early if possible.
