Pros
I've been at GS since well before the firm went public in 1999. Over that span of time its culture has remained remarkably strong and enduring. Indeed, although there have clearly been ups and downs along the way, all the primary reasons for starting and building a career at GS remain just as relevant today as they have been for years. Namely: 1. Strong culture of teamwork and collaboration. People help each other out. There is a significant focus on helping people succeed, and on nurturing and developing talent. This, in turn, drives some important aspects of the interviewing and hiring process. Conceit is the enemy of collaboration. If you are too convinced of the veracity of your own point of view, you will tend to undermine he team-oriented environment and the objective of getting to the best outcome on any given issue or decision. Therefore, a healthy measure of humility, balanced with a proper level of self-assurance, are key traits for successful candidates. 2. Training and Professional Development. GS has a very extensive range of formal training offerings, although in this regard it does not differ materially from other large, leading organizations. The more important element - and the one that will tend to play a much more relevant role in your career advancement - is the wider culture of coaching, mentorship and apprenticeship that exists in the firm. It is a central element of the way GS works that people take an interest in teaching and developing those beneath them, or even in other areas to whom they have only tangential connections. While there are formal mentoring programs for summer interns and new permanent hires, the more enduring mentoring relationship are the ones that grow informally - and GS is very fertile ground for this. Although the firm is now over 30,000 people, it retains the feel and intimacy of a much smaller firm. 3. Long term career platform. I've worked in multiple divisions and regions with the firm. Most managers' initial instincts are to fill open roles with talent already under the firm's roof. Generally speaking,hiring is on such a scale that there is plenty of need to hire new people from outside the firm. However, the central point is that as an employee, you have access to a very wide variety of opportunities within GS and most people who've been at the firm for any length of time have typically been in a number of different roles or have moved around geographically. Does it work perfectly? No - but an unusual effort is made at all times to get the right people into the right seats. 4. Working with the best. There really are some remarkable people at GS. In many cases, people you work with are the most renowned at what they do in the world. It will take your game to a new level. I've worked personally with hundreds of GS people over time, in all kinds of functions and all kinds of places. Contrary to popular external perception, the people are friendly and the atmosphere collegial. While remarkably talented, people are also remarkably normal. The kinds of people you would be pleased to have a beer with.
Cons
The firm is generally very thinly staffed. When it works well, it provides for a rich and intense experience, rapid learning, great advancement in exposure and responsibility, and fewer people among whom to carve up the spoils. Rapid career advancement is more possible here than at many other places for this same reason. When it does not work well, people are simply asked to do more than they are able to, which can lead to reduced morale and engagement. The kinds of people hired by GS are those who strive for excellence. When they are in such a position as to limit what they can accomplish to the merely ordinary, the drag on morale can be significant. Although this aspect has improved over time, the firm still has a tendency to keep certain long-tenured senior managers for several years beyond their expiration date - well beyond the point where their contribution is particularly meaningful or positive.
