Goldman Sachs Flashcards
Walk me through resume
I am originally from Worcester UK and am currently studying for a masters in finance from Warwick business school.
I would say my interest in finance stemmed from an arguably unrelated experience during my younger years, where I built a business around buying and selling clothes. From here, I did an internship with a small wealth management firm, where I was introduced to the basics of portfolio management, and have also interned at a small accountancy firm and worked part time at Marstons
Once at university, I joined various finance related societies and had opportunity to give various presentations on finance topics. I really enjoyed these experiences, and so decided , to set up a trading and investing community, where others interested in the world of investing could learn and network with others interested in the industry. With some members of my community I have explored building an algorithmic trading portfolio which has been a really fun process. I’d say that All of these experiences have led to now where I am now wanting to work in a role where I can further develop my technical and analytical abilities as well as working in something where I can have a real impact on the world.
Time I have shown teamwork
Time you have shown teamwork
A time I have shown teamwork was at the start of my degree at Warwick Business School Ethics presentation for Masters degree. Our group had to make a presentation on whether payment for order flow is ethical, and then have a question-and-answer session.
We initially had a conversation of how we will allocate the work, and the other group members expressed that they would feel more comfortable doing the actual presentation, rather than focusing on the Q&A section. I wanted to make sure my group felt comfortable when presenting, so I agreed to this format of the presentation. I also took it upon myself to organise regular team meetings, so we could keep each other motivated.
Our presentation went really well, and we came out with a result of 80%, which was the joint highest mark awarded to any of the 30 groups presenting.
Tell me a time you acted as a leader
A time I showed leadership was I was attending the HEC Paris Investment Banking and International Finance summer school this summer. As a part of the Summer School, we were assigned groups that frequently had to complete tasks together. In this particular scenario we had to make a case study on how we would value a company. No one was familiar with the case, so I nominated myself to be group leader. In this role, I was responsible for allocating tasks to other group members, completing the introduction and conclusion and making sure the presentation was cohesive and well structured. In addition to this, I also organised regular check ins to make sure everyone was working on time. Luckily, all of my group was incredibly hard working, and we had little to no issues. Our presentation went really well and the summer school leader noted that everything linked together nicely, and was very strong throughout.
Time I have solved a problem
- Quant portfolio, where we were trying to build trading strategies that utilised technical analysis. We encountered an issue trying to code astrategy that utilised a trailing stop loss, and because trying to use a coding language that was very niche and not a lot of learning resources, we couldn’t sovle it. I went away and tried thinking about solutions, and thought that we could actually switch to a different language. Spoke to group and they agreed. Switched to Python as the support is obviously a lot more available, and has definitely made our lives easier.
Tell me about a time something didnt go to plan in a team
-Final expedition for DofE Silver award. I was in a group of 6, and we had to do an expedition for 3 days and 2 nights. During the day we had to walk a pre described route, and then we would camp in the evening.
During the third day one of my team members actually twisted his ankle quite badly, and hence could not properly carry the weight of his rucksack. We knew that to receive your award you had to complete the expedition, so if our teammate couldn’t continue, he wouldn’t receive his award.
All of the group wanted to find a solution, and I suggested that we could split up the weight of his stuff between each healthy group member, which would allow our teammate to continue.
We all ended up completing the expedition with time to spare, which I think was down to our strong teamwork and willingness to help our team member out.
Tell me about a time you had a team conflict
I was working with two others on YouTube channel. We were having a discussion about which content to make and there was some disagreement. However, I suggested we narrowed down to two options and then go away have a think and then vote on it; we ended up unanimously voting the right way and everyone agreed the right decision had been made. We ended up making both anyway!
Tell me your biggest weakness
I think my biggest weakness was that I used to be uncomfortable when public speaking if unfamiliar with the information I was presenting. Because I felt uncomfortable, I would sometimes misprounounce words which would put me off. However, I recognised that I had this weakness and took steps to try and improve this, by learning some mindfulness techniques such as controlling your breathing and underlining in advance words that I thought I may mispronounce during the presentation. After making these amendments, I have seen my performance increase significantly in public speaking, and even led a q&a session during a recent presentation.
Tell me a time you have shown iniative
- Time I have shown initiative is when setting up own trading and investing community. I wanted to meet others interested in trading and investing, so we could discuss the markets and different investment ideas but couldn’t find a good place. Also spoke with one of my mates who was having the same issue. We took it upon ourselves to set up our own group, where we now have over 130 members who regularly chat about the markets which has achieved our initial goal.
Tell me about one of your accomplishments
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What makes you unique
I think the 3 things that I possess are Intellectual curiosity, Resilience and Entreprenuerial spirit.
Firstly, I always want to learn more about things, and improve my knowledge of a range of different topics. I am currently reading around behavioural economics, and I choose to pursue a masters to better understand the world of finance.
Secondly, I think I have a very resilient attitude. During my A levels I underperformed, which meant that I missed the grades required to accept my offer to read Economics and Management at the university of Oxford. I think to come back from this disappointment to perform so strongly at the university of york highlights my resilient attitude.
Finally, I think I have a very entrepreneurial mind, and am always trying to solve problems in creative ways. I think this is highlighted by my previous entrepreneurial endeavours with my trading and investing community and my clothing business.
To sum up, I think the qualities mean that I am a person that always strives to learn, isn’t afraid of setbacks, and will try and find creative ways to solve problems, all of which would be useful qualities as an intern at Barclays.
Tell me a time you have demonstrated integrity
Integrity: When I was at Marstons working on the bar, we got paid weekly. I remember one time where I had clearly been paid more than I had worked, and I brought this up to my manager. It turned out that someone had accidentally put down their hours under my name on the timesheet, and my manager appreciated my honesty and even bought me some food for it.
Tell me about a time you worked under pressure
Undergraduate Exams period, where I had 24 hours to do each exam. Opened paper to find questions were significantly harder than expected.
Split questions up into smaller chunks and identify what was actually being asked. Make a plan for each question and identify resources I need.
Worked through the night as wanted to achieve best result possible..
Didnt finish any exam before 2am, and actually stayed up all night on my last exam to get it done.
Tell me about a time you helped someone
Time I helped someone was when I helped one of my friends learn econometrics. One of my friends was struggling with econometrics and he knew that I had done well in my own previous econometrics modules.
Asked for some tips to prepare for his exam. I organised a call to help him through the basics as I feel it is important to help others to try and make a positive impact, especially as people have previously helpt me.
He really appreciated me going the extra mile, and sent me a message on his results day to say that he did better than expected, and he thought a lot of that was due to my help.
Tell me about a time you demonstrated excellent customer service
An example of providing customer service was when I was working as Bar Staff at Marstons. As part of the role, when a customer was ordering we had to inform them the average wait on food, in order to minimise customer complaints.
In this scenario, I had Informed customer only 20 minute wait on food. My manager quickly informed me that the kitchen has just received a sharp influx of orders, and the wait was actually 35 mins. I realised that I had informed the customer the wrong time, and that I needed to explain to the customer the situation. Had to go and explain to customer who appreciated my honesty and thanked me for coming and updating them rather than just letting them sit there wondering where their food was.
When the customer came to the bar to pay before she left, she reiterated how nice her meal was and that she appreciated my proactivity and high levels of customer service.
Tell us about a situation where your communication skills made a difference to
a situation?
A situation where my communication skills made a difference is during my time as a referee. I am a qualified FA football referee, and before the pandemic, I used to frequently referee U18 and below football games.
In this scenario, maintaining effective communication is key, especially when penalising players through fouls or cards. I always try and explain to players effectively what they did wrong, and why I have deemed that tackle to be a foul, and I think the players appreciate my forthcoming attitude as it helps them understand how I am refereeing the game.
I have previously been recognised as one of Worcestershire’s leading FA referees, and have previously been assigned as referee for cup finals as a result.
