Goldman Sachs' interviews are interminable, but this is fine

If you enter into an application and interview process with Goldman Sachs now, it's going to be a while before you come out the other side. Goldman has a reputation for interviewing people a lot. That reputation has now been confirmed by Glassdoor. 

Glassdoor conducted research into the average length of recruitment processes in the UK, from initially applying to being offered a job. It found that the typical duration is 27 days. In investment banking, however, it's 45 days. And at Goldman Sachs it's 54 days.

Goldman's application process is longer than any other bank. Its closest rivals are JPMorgan (41 days) and Morgan Stanley (40 days).

What goes on during this delay at Goldman? Glassdoor doesn't say and Goldman didn't respond to a request to comment on what goes on, but it's reasonably safe to assume that Goldman's gap is filled by interviews. Lots of interviews. 

Historically, Goldman was known for its love of interviewing and inteviewing and interviewing and interviewing. Former CEO Lloyd Blankfein reflected on this in the credits to the recently released 'Goldman Sachs documentary.'  "We torture people by giving them about 45 interviews before they come here," said Blankfein.

45 interviews take time. Especially when you're dealing with the schedules of busy bankers and traders. 

In theory, Goldman interviews people a little less now. There were suggestions a few years ago that the firm was cutting its interviews down to a more manageable 20 or so. It also uses Hirevue's digital interviewing system for the first round of screening interviews for graduate hires. 

Interviewing a lot seems to have an upside. Glassdoor notes that a lengthy application process is positively correlated with interview difficulty and that interview difficulty then predicts of happiness on the job.

By interviewing again and again, Goldman is able to ensure that new hires a good 'fit' with the existing team. As one former GS employee wrote here earlier this week, the repeat interviews allow the firm to hire people who are liked: "There has to be consensus that they're a 'good' hire - in the sense of being a good person as well as a good contributor to the bottom line."

This doesn't mean you'll still be proving your likeability at Goldman into the new year. If you apply now, Glassdoor suggests you could get a job offer by Christmas. Nor is GS the most indecisive company to apply for: Glassdoor says Deloitte's interviews go on even longer. There, 65 days are the norm.

Photo by hanya kumuh on Unsplash

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