Goldman Sachs A-Level Girls Program

Finance has always seemed like a mystery to me. Something that was whispered around dining tables and became many students ‘elusive’ career goal. I signed up for the Goldman Sachs A-level Girls program expecting nothing more than to listen to employees at Goldman Sachs give talks. But the 8-hour event proved to be more insightful and inspiring than I could ever have hoped for.

The program for the event was seemingly normal- a lineup of different speakers, sprinkled with the occasional Q & A and networking session. What I had not expected was to be given a personal in-depth account from each of the female vice-presidents from different sectors at Goldman Sachs. Each woman told their story of how they found their place at Goldman Sachs and made the jump from university to a career in finance seem less daunting. They also shed light on the respective departments they were working for and taught us the ins and outs of the different jobs offered at Goldman Sachs. From listening to each talk my interest in the firm grew as I noticed the common thread between each talk. This being the ‘Goldman Sachs culture’ that each speaker’s talk showed, a culture that promoted an interdisciplinary and ever-evolving working environment that took pride in their ‘people’. I also gained a greater, less superficial understanding of finance as a job and even found myself being inclined towards certain job positions at Goldman Sachs.

We were then given the invaluable opportunity to have a networking lunch with different representatives of each sector. I made an effort to speak to as many different representatives as I could and gained a respect for all of them by the end of our discussions. The discussions with them also gave me a chance to clarify with them any questions I still had about finance. By the end of the day I had all my questions answered and left Goldman Sachs inspired.

Rachel 6.2