Summer Internship with Goldman Sachs — Jeh Krishna Agarwal from NIT Trichy

Wildcard Entry for: –  11th August 2012

Name of the intern: –  Jeh

Institute: –  NIT Trichy

Organization interned with: –  Goldman Sachs

I still remember the day I was selected for internship with Goldman Sachs and Co. Just like many other companies visiting our campus we were informed to be prepared for a PPT in the morning followed by written tests, GDs and PIs. The charm and awe that GS had in our campus had already made me dream about working there. Dressed up in formals I attended the PPT which impressed me a lot. Then we attended the written round. After coming out of the examination hall I was happy with my performance and was hopeful of getting through at least in the written round. We were asked to wait for the shortlist to be announced.

After a couple of hours the result came and to my dismay I wasn’t selected. My eyes were scanning the list again and again hoping to find my name if I had missed it somehow by mistake. It was really hard for me to accept that I was not selected because I was so hopeful of getting through. Though disappointed, I wished good luck to all my friends who had cleared the first round. That evening some of my friends decided to have dinner in the city. I joined them as I thought it would be a change of mood. We had just reached some 6-7 kms from our campus when I got a call from the Training and Placement (TnP) department of my institute. The time was 7:15 P.M. The representative sounded stern and asked me where I was. After telling her that I was on my way to the city, she told me that I was supposed to be present at the TnP for the Group Discussion. I thought she was making a mistake and told her that I wasn’t even shortlisted for the GD round. After cross-checking she replied that my name was there in the list and there had been a mistake on their part earlier. She said that I had only 5 minutes until the GD round started. But I was far from our campus in a bus and it would take me at least 30 minutes to get back and change into formals for the GD. So I requested her to talk to the GS Campus Recruitment Committee (CRC) to postpone the process for some time. She was cooperative and understood my situation after all it wasn’t my mistake. She said she would try that they wait so I could get enough time to come back. I immediately got down from the bus and took an auto back to my institute. Still it took me some 15 minutes to reach the campus.

Midway the representative told me that the CRC wouldn’t wait any longer and ask me to come immediately to the TnP. I was too tensed as I wasn’t even in proper formals. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with shabby hair. The entire episode had already made me nervous but I don’t know what kept me going. At TnP, the CRC were cooperative and allowed me to appear for the GD in my casuals saying that if I was selected for the interview I would have to change into my formals.

I thanked them and entered the conference room for GD. People there were eyeing me which further increased my nervousness. The GD began and slowly my nervousness decreased as I eased into the discussion going on. I knew that to proceed further I had to overshadow my appearance with good performance and I tried my level best. After the GD I quickly changed into my formals which my friends had brought from my room. The GD shortlist was declared and had my name in it to my utmost happiness. I was no more nervous and was now more confident than before. I took a relaxing break and mentally prepared myself for the interviews. Soon I was called for my first interview which was entirely technical. After some time I was called for a second round. Meanwhile others were also having their interviews. Some were done and waiting for the results outside. I joined them too.

We waited with baited breath, tensed about the result. Finally at around 1 A.M. in the morning, the CRC members came out with a list in their hands containing the names of the people who were selected for the internship. I never understood what actually happened to me there. I just remember that I was shocked when I heard my name being called out first. For a moment I was stunned. It seemed like a miracle to me considering the strange turn out of events since last evening. Never ever in my life had I expected such a dramatic selection. I was thrilled and overjoyed on being awarded the internship and shared it with others who had got through as well.

On 14th May 2012, I joined GS as an intern. We were provided accommodation at a condominium called Halcyon. On our first day we were given short tutorials on using and accessing GS systems and were made familiar with the firm policies. All interns were allotted a separate project in a separate department. I was allotted the Sales Management Technology Division. After lunch we met our respective managers who were all Vice Presidents of their respective departments. Our managers greeted us and took us to our offices. There I was introduced to my team with whom I was supposed to work for the next 8 weeks. My manager assigned me my project and buddy (mentor). We discussed my project a little. A day or two passed in understanding the system and familiarising myself with the project background. My buddy and manager were very helpful with everything I asked them for, whether it was approval for some required software or going for some business learning sessions which were arranged for us from time to time.

My work was mostly in Java and I was enjoying coding in Java a lot. I was liking the GS culture very much. People around were nice and helpful. The timing was flexible. Everyone called everyone by their first name. Often we had meetings with teams abroad. So we had conference calls and shared desktops. The entire system was so organised. Any problem or technical difficulty was resolved at the earliest. Help desks were available 24X7 to cater to the entire workforce and provide them a good working experience. I was really awed by the hi-tech systems being used and the cool technology that GS uses for its businesses. People were happy with their pay and were quite dedicated at work. The corporate culture was something different that I was experiencing here. Indeed, I could understand why people say that GS gives the ultimate corporate experience.

Another thing which I loved about GS was the concept of Community TeamWorks. Each employee is entitled to a paid leave for a day for engaging in social activities. I was very eager to participate in one so I registered for a CTW called Acts of Hope. On the day of the CTW we left early in the morning for a school in a Bangalore suburb for poor children. The entire day we spent interacting with those children, telling them moral stories, teaching them singing dancing etc. We also organised a special lunch for them. At the end of the day our entire team was feeling so glad. We really felt happy to serve the community which has given so much to us.

We got lots of cool GS goodies and stuff as well and learnt a lot from different types of sessions organised ranging from art, culture, diversity to healthcare, business, finance and technology. We even got a chance to meet the popular model/actress Lisa Ray who was there for a program on creating cancer awareness. The playing arena at GS included table tennis, football and chess among other things. There were health care rooms for taking care of people falling sick. Regular yoga classes were organised in evening.

I had made friends with a lot of interns from different colleges there. It felt great to know so many people. We all worked on our project at the same time having fun together and enjoying our stay in Bangalore. We used to meet over lunches and outings. We even went for trips on weekends. Within a few weeks time we all had become good friends of each other. A networking session was organised for all us interns. We partied hard! In our last week we had to give a PPT on our project to our team in Bangalore and other offices abroad. This was one chance to make an impact for our work. My manager set up a meeting with different VPs and Project Leads from London, New York and Bangalore. I spent an entire day preparing, editing and revising my PPT. I got it reviewed from my buddy and manager as well to ensure there was no mistake. They were helpful and gave me valuable suggestions. I had my PPT on the last day of my internship. It went smooth and the attendees were happy with my work. After the PPT I bade farewell to my entire team and left the place with a heavy heart. We partied hard that night again. Thus ended my superb internship that I had secured very luckily and with so much trouble :P

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