Goldman Sachs CEO breaks down what the bank looks for in new hires — and how hard it is to land a job

• Goldman Sachs hired less than 1% of over 300,000 entry-level job applicants last year.
• CEO David Solomon emphasized tenacity, grit, and determination as key traits for success.
• Goldman Sachs values a diverse skill set beyond intelligence, including unique experiences.

Getting a job at Goldman Sachs is even harder than Havard, according to its CEO.

In an episode of "The David Rubenstein Show," CEO David Solomon revealed that of over 300,000 applications last year for entry-level jobs out of undergraduate university, the bank hired around 2,500 people — less than 1%.

For comparison, Harvard's acceptance rate is 3.6%.

While the daunting stats could be discouraging to would-be hires, Solomon broke down some common themes of winning applicants.

While he listed off more classic desirable traits — people who are hardworking, smart, and "believe in excellence" — Solomon emphasized wanting to see tenacity.

"People want to win, people that have proven that they've got grit and determination," he said. "An ability to both succeed but also, when they fail, to pick themselves up and dust themselves off and keep going."

While the investment giant often recruits from top schools, Solomon said that intelligence is not the only attribute that will land you a spot at the prestigious Wall Street bank. In a letter to their 2024 summer internship cohort, Solomon advised them to "embrace your unique skills and experiences."

"Of course, intellect is a part of it," Solomon said to Rubenstein. "But there are other softer things that ultimately make people really successful over the long run."

Solomon said that the company looks for a "package of skills" for its wide range of jobs. In addition to the highly coveted investment banking positions, he noted that Goldman Sachs's 46,000 employees cover other roles, like traders, and has over 10,000 engineers.

"We have a very diverse group of people that come through, and people go in different directions," he said. "Some people excel, and some people move on to do other things."

And how do you excel after getting accepted? Some of Goldman's recent summer intern class recently talked to BI about that, sharing that creating and maintaining a strong network within the company has been a major key to success.

"If you want to become the next best trader to come across the street, you have to learn from the best," said Robbie Stankard, a student-athlete from Colombia University who spent two summers interning for Goldman's sales and trading division.

The investment bank received a record-breaking 315,126 applications for its 2024 internship program, admitting only 2,700 spots — slightly less than 0.9%.

Stankard told BI that Goldman's global cohead of banking and markets, Dan Dees, gave some advice to his cohort that they took to heart: "He said, 'The people to your left and your right are going to be the strongest network you're going to have as you continue through your career.'"