[KDGBEE]

Hey guys...

i am university student who is going to graduate in the coming Apr and planning to work in HK after i grad. Goldman Sachs HK has scheduled a phone interview with me sometime next time. This is my first phone interview. I am very nervous about it. can you guys please me some tips on phone interviewing? and.. if anyone of you guys has an phone interview with goldman sachs... can you please tell me what they will ask and how was it? please share your experience with me.. and give me some tips...

Thank you thank you thank you x10000000......

Oo... they will also ask me about expected salary during the phone interview... and how much is the reasonable pay for a entry-level analyst post in the operation division at goldman sachs?!

Thank youuuu

[freeier]

wat is the operation division ? back office ?

goldman has a worldwide pay scale. if u are taken as associate u wld get the basic pay of 5k usd p/mth thereabout.

find out more about your job and see how the market is like.

[coolgirl]

my suggestion re expected salary you just say it's not the top most concern, so you'll leave that if the interviews go well, blah blah blah

more common problem in g sachs is getting in not being paid poorly, so that shouldn't be a problem

[jimbo]

Your typical phone interview consists of them asking the following type of questions.

1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time

2. What are your extra curricular activities

3. They'll probably ask you what do you know about the organisation

4. Tell me of an incident/situation where you had to deal with a lot of pressure

So be prepared for questions like that.

[KDGBEE]

Hey guyss.....

Thank you very much for the repliesss.... the interviewer has emailed me and the phone interview will be on tuesday...

welll.... i am reading stuffs off their homepage now.. and getting ready for it... i dunno... i am still pretty nervous about it... coz i think phone interview is much harder than a face-to-face interview.....

anywazzzz... thank you sox1000000000000000 much...!!

[KDGBEE]

oo... yea.. i think operation division is the back office...

but wat's the difference between back offfice and front office and others?!

[rodigan]

front office refers to those who generate revenue and have direct client interaction. back office refers to the guys who make the job that front office do possible.

remember, when you are interviewing it is important to know what it is you want to do and to clearly get that message across. there are many many people who would like your job, so remember that you have to seel yourself as a confident (but safe) candidate. being indecisive is often fatal in these interviews, because if you're indecisive here, how are you going to be underpressure.

as another small point and i'm sure you will have taken this into account, the interview is not the place for smileys and thanks X 1 million etc. you have a great opportunity with one of the bulges here - you will be up against people older and wiser than you - it is time to exude maturity, confidence and calmness under pressure...

good luck.

[JonnyC]

Originally Posted by jimbo

Your typical phone interview consists of them asking the following type of questions.

1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time

2. What are your extra curricular activities

3. They'll probably ask you what do you know about the organisation

4. Tell me of an incident/situation where you had to deal with a lot of pressure

So be prepared for questions like that.

My phone interview didn't actually ask any of those questions but then I was going for an experienced job and not a graduate one where it's about potential and not experience.

I imagine the "when have you worked as part of a team" and "when have you had to show leadership" chestnuts will probably come up too

[GrahamR]

I was put through the gauntlet of 4 1-hour phone interviews in 5 days for my current job...and I have to do plenty of phone interviews to hire employees.

1) RESEARCH. Know alot of specifics about the organization, the position, even a little bit about HK. Have questions ready to ask your interviewer, that will show how much you've thought about the job. You are showing them how well-informed you will be if they hire you.
The nice thing about the phone interview is you can keep all this printed out in front of you, with your web browser open as well
You can also take notes during the interview (if you want to bring something up again later in the interview, for example).

2) Be natural. Especially over the phone, it is tough to convey that confident, mature, affable persona they want to see. Just have a conversation, keeping your voice friendly+firm and your sentences concise. Inarticulate is esp. BAD on the phone, because there is no body language or eye contact to signal that it's time to move on.

3) On that note, be mindful of "the pause." Finish your sentences strong with a clear pause, and wait for that pause from your interviewer (who will be experienced at this). Sounds nitpicky, but there is nothing more awkward than constant interrupting.

4) Clarify if you don't hear something. It's a phone interview, the interviewer will understand.

5) Get comfortable. I did mine half-dressed in my bedroom, with coffee. Might as well take advantage of the situation.

This is a general suggestion, but interviewers love the "what's your one strength/one weakness" question. Be prepared; your weakness can be a passive aggressive allusion to a strength (For example, "Sometimes I tend to put work ahead of my personal life," really means that you are hard-working and dedicated. Or "If something is not getting done, I often take over to finish it" shows you have initiative and are results-oriented. Never incriminate yourself with something plainly undesirable!)

Hope that helps, good luck!

[jgl]

As previously mentioned, salary should not come up during the interview. New associates have preset pay. In fact, pay should be the most remote thing on your mind with GS as they will pay you well (and make you work for it). I went through three rounds of interviews as a new associate, and pay never came up until the offer letter (nor was it negotiable).


GS entry level interviews are notoriously tough in the US as they are conducted by bored employees without HR training. They should be much more sedate in HK though.

Phone interviews: This will probably be with HR. In which case the questions will be of the predictable ones about teamwork, dealing with pressure and deadlines, handling conflict. Oh, and why you want to work there and in that position.

If it's with a person from the department, rather than HR, the questions could be more random. Either way, they will not expect technical proficiency but could ask technical questions just to see how you handle them. Ops isn't technical though- it's pretty routine stuff that they'll teach you once you start.

A couple of procedural pointers: Take the time to clarify questions from the interviewer- too many phone interviewees launch off onto tangents because they misunderstood the question. And stand up when you are speaking on the phone- it helps project a more confident voice.

Good luck.