Basic Information
- Company Name: Goldman Sachs
- Name: Yashomati Sarnaik
- Role: Quant
- Location: Bangalore
Please elaborate on your internship role and/or any projects that you did?
I worked as strats in Private Wealth Management which deals with the wealth management of ultra high net worth individuals. Here I specifically worked in counterparty credit risk squad which deals with risk assessment for the loans we give to our clients. The internship involved projects that included making code changes to support various financial products that exist in our client’s portfolio in our model. This helped us to calculate several risk metrics appropriately. Also had to work on developing a front-end (added some new scans and features to the existing dashboard) where we show these metrics so that they can be systematically studied for each client’s account.
Please describe the selection process in detail (tests + interviews)?
A test was conducted, which had 3 coding questions and some other questions based on probability and calculus. My interview had 2 rounds, both being technical. I was asked questions on probability and calculus. Also my resume had some finance based projects so I was scrutinized on that part.
What was your preparation strategy for Quant roles (trading and/or software)?
Practiced standard CP questions from various available resources. Brushed upon probability, statistics and puzzles.
What were the working hours like?
11 am to 8.30 pm
How would you describe the structure, work culture and work-life balance of the company?
My team was really good and supportive so things were pretty smooth for me. Working hours can look longer because we need to sync up with other team members across the globe, but the work is manageable.
A lot of Quant firms claim they don’t have silos, and use this as a USP. How true is this for the company you interned at?
It really depends on the divisions that are in picture. Goldman Sachs has multiple businesses so some divisions are completely isolated for regulatory purpose, whereas on the other hand some divisions work very closely with each other.
Was there any evaluation criteria followed by the company, if yes could you elaborate?
I guess my buddy and manager guided as well as monitored me throughout, looking at the way I approach a problem and the way I debug things. Also my willingness to take on new projects and learn new things along with the way I interact and work with rest of the team was looked at.
How did the internship influence your career interests?
Things are pretty interesting in quant and hence it made me realize that I should continue in this domain.
How would you rate your overall internship experience?
Overall it was nice but it was really easy going and things should I have been more challenging to maximize the learning.
Any myths or unknown facts you would like to bust/reveal? Feel free to add in any comments you have.
nan
One piece of advice for someone preparing for similar roles.
Regularly practice lots of cp, puzzles and probability questions on various open source platforms.