WITH starting salaries averaging between £35,000 and £40,000, the promise of generous bonuses and more entry- level vacancies than at any time in the past decade, it’s not hard to see why investment banking was one of the most popular destinations for new graduates this year.

Goldman Sachs is the highest ranked of the 11 investment banks featured in the latest edition of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.

The bank’s formidable business performance — it has generated revenues of more than $125 billion (£66.18 billion) in the past ten years — and highly competitive graduate packages have helped to keep Goldman Sachs near the top of the list of aspirational employers for the UK’s brightest university leavers.

For those who win a place at the bank the rewards can be enormous — last year the average sum paid to each of its 24,000 staff was $520,000 — but this is only part of its enduring appeal. One particular area of focus for the bank is to broaden its client base and product development in new markets such as Russia and the Middle East. “This environment offers unique opportunities for new analysts,” says Alison Trauttmansdorff, the head of European graduate recruitment.

Training and development is another key aspect of Goldman Sachs’ graduate package. “A number of banks train their graduates in London, but we still feel strongly about bringing the global class together in New York for an intensive introductory training programme that typically lasts about four weeks,” Trauttmansdorff says. Ongoing development is provided through Goldman Sachs University, which helps people to build up the skills set they need for each stage of their career, including business, interpersonal and productivity skills.

Although investment banks have in the past been synonymous with recruiting largely from Oxford and Cambridge, Goldman Sachs will be visiting some 18 campuses in the UK and Ireland over the next month to promote its graduate programme.

“In addition to our large-scale presentations, we will also be running a series of skills sessions, workshops and symposia, which are well worth attending for a more personal insight into the bank’s work,” Trauttmansdorff says.

Competition for the bank’s entry-level jobs, known as analysts, is inevitably fierce — especially because many London vacancies are often filled by European graduates with strong language skills. Applications for the 2007 intake close in less than five weeks’ time, one of the earliest deadlines in the graduate recruitment season, but this does mean that all the bank’s interviews and selection activities will be completed during December and job offers made before Christmas.



Martin Birchall is editor of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers

No 10: GOLDMAN SACHS

What is it?
Goldman Sachs is one of the best known and most successful global investment banks. Its 24,000 staff generated revenues of almost $25 billion (£13.23 billion) and record pre-tax profits of more than $8 billion last year. The bank’s clients include major corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals.

Which graduate jobs are on offer?
The bank is set to recruit more than 300 new graduates for its European offices next year to work in more than a dozen divisions such as investment banking, operations, technology and equity research.

Where are the jobs?
All Goldman Sachs’ UK operations are based in London, but the bank also recruits graduates to work in Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich, Geneva and Madrid.

What’s the pay like?
The bank never discusses staff remuneration and reveals starting salaries only when making graduate job offers.


What’s the competition like?
Last year Goldman Sachs received an average of 55 applications for each graduate vacancy.


How do you apply?
For the 2007 entry programme, submit a one-page CV via the bank’s online application system at www.gs.com/careers before November 10.


How has Goldman Sachs done in the Top 100?
2002: 9
2003: 17
2004: 11
2005: 9
2006: 10

Find out more about the best places to work in The Times Top 100 interactive table — www.timesonline.co.uk/top100grad

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