A significant part of my 3rd year of Engineering was dedicated to applying to various organisations for internships. It was a time taking process, even though I had my resume ready by the end of my 2nd year and only had to revise it at times. I have two other experiences, but let’s focus on my Goldman Sachs experience today!
My GS efforts started when my partner Meghna Dutta got my attention on the off-campus Goldman Sachs Engineering Campus Hiring Program (GS-ECHP). It is offered for pre-final year interns (Summer Associate) and final year full timers (Summer Analyst).
The Internship is a 8 weeks program, with joining dates to be chosen from dates in between mid May to mid July. (Like, I joined on 06 June 2022).
Application windows: For 2022 hiring, it happened during July end to August mid 2021 (Cohort 1) & November 2021 to January 2022 (Cohort 2). Yes, the opportunity is offered twice. Also note, each round is eliminatory in nature.
Round 1 — Comprehension, Mathematical & Logical Aptitude
Exam date: 22 August 2021 & 16 January 2022
Notice the NEGATIVE MARKING.
Platform: HackerRank
My Approach for Round 1:
- Start with Verbal/Comprehension (2 passages * 5 Qs = 10 Qs)
- Numerical Computation == JEE Mains level Maths. Revise your class 11–12 notes! Continue by choosing between Numerical Reasoning or Numerical Computation, doing one first then the other.
- Move on to Logical Reasoning as the fourth section.
- Choose randomly between Abstract/Diagrammatic to continue. Both are equally hard to decipher, and the section names are deceiving (trust me on this 😉).
Special Advice: Make sure not to waste time on solving specific problems due to ego. The goal is to crack the exam, not solve one problem and re-live your JEE glory days. (Personal experience 😅)
I solved around 30–33 problems out of 60, and took less risk to avoid negative marking in both the cohorts.
Round 2 — Technical Test
Exam date: 24 October 2021 & 27 February 2022
Notice the NEGATIVE MARKING.
Platform: HackerRank
More details on the pattern:
- Coding: 1 LeetCode Easy, 1 LeetCode Medium, together in 30 mins.
- Quant: 11 Qs, JEE Mains level Maths, 45 mins.
- Subjective: 2 HR type questions, you will have to type out around 200 words each for 2Qs in 15 mins. (Kindly distribute your time well. Use the choicest of words for recounting your best experiences and portraying your strengths!)
- Computer Fundamentals: 7Qs, 20 mins for various computer topics like OS, DBMS, Computer Networks, DSA (Stacks, Queues, Heaps, Sorting etc), Code review, Output prediction (The code segments were in Java, but the code is comprehensible for people from C++ background too!).
Round 3 — INTERVIEWS!
Here comes the difference in the assessment of everyone. Some people had faced 2 mini-rounds of interviews, some were subjected to various logical and mathematical puzzles, and a few faced some HR rounds (as I learnt from fellow interns), along with technical rounds.
All your interviews will be held in one day, and kindly keep the day free from all other engagements!
Exam date: 06 December 2021 & 24 March 2022
Platform: Zoom & HackerRank CodePair (for coding and whiteboarding)
Cohort 1 experience- 3 mini rounds, each eliminatory and progressively difficult.
Mini Round 1- After the initial introduction (and a minor mic issue from my side!), we talked a little about my PWD-Generator project. Over to questions on arrays and doubly linked lists and coding them out. Major Q: Reversing a DLL.
Mini Round 2-
Q1 DSA: Calculate the sqrt of an integer upto three decimals without library functions.
Q2 COA: How are floating point numbers stored in memory?
Further, he asked me about a college project on my resume, guest-room-management, in which I had worked on the Database and designed the ERD.
Q3 DBMS: Describe the ERD, the entities, the relationships that you have considered for this project.
Mini Round 3- One and only Q: The popular LeetCode Question of Trapping Rainwater.
Cohort 1 Interview Result — Not selected
Cohort 2 experience- 3 mini rounds, all on Cybersecurity (my field of choice)
The various kinds of Questions I was asked in all three mini-rounds were about the different types of injection attacks (vulnerability, how to mitigate) the MITRE ATT&CK framework, questions on Networks (DNS, Routing) and other more general questions based on my interest in the red teaming part. Two special questions were regarding Virtual Functions and Buffer overflows.
Cohort 2 Interview Result — Selected
When I got the mail of selection on 01:34 AM of April 02, it was truly a moment of jubilation for me! I was on chat with Meghna, and she was the first person aside from me to know about this selection. I started with GS on 06 June 2022, and the ongoing mentorship is supportive and nurturing!
Some tips and tricks from my application experiences-
- Two platforms were extremely helpful for me: LinkedIn (for MNCs and startups) and AngelList (for startups). Make sure to create job alerts in both of them to receive personalised opportunities on mail.
- Other helpful sources were: Arsh Goyal’s YouTube Channel & Telegram updates, Scaler Discord Server, Heiphen Discord Server, DEVs Dungeon Server.
- Be honest and confident, and know your strengths and weakness. Let all your thought processes known, even some edge cases and considerations. Communicate clearly, and make sure you know the question well and good before starting to answer.
- Make sure to read several other blogs and experiences, and get hold of past questions. TalentBattle YouTube Playlist for GS past questions should be a good resource.
- When asked whether I have any questions, my favourite is to ask “what does a day of your work look like”. In my cybersec interviews, I really found the replies of my interviewers engaging and helpful . I got some rudimentary ideas about the kind of processes I would be introduced to, what was expected of me, and how it was to be delivered.
- I have found that dissociating myself from the consequences of the interview result helps me perform better during the interviews. I treat the interviews as fruitful conversations where I get to know about the organisation and people, and they get to know more about me!
Additional resources and references:
- Goldman Sachs Career Page for Students
- ECHP_Coursework 2021–22.pdf
- Goldman Sachs Pattern
- TalentBattle YouTube Playlist for GS past questions
- My interview by Ankur Khandelwal! Do find his channel and show some love: Cracking the Goldman Sachs Internship | Summer Analyst | Atrik Ray | IIIT Bhubaneswar
- How I cracked the internship interview for Goldman Sachs 2021 by Amisha Jodhani (I personally was benefitted by her blog!)
“We don’t need anyone to tell us what to do… We are free to follow our own path… Choose your own way, do not follow me or anyone else!” — Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Assassins’ Creed 2
