Goldman Sachs Redesigns Campus Interviewing

Goldman Sachs broke tradition last week and really turned a lot of heads with its new approach to campus recruiting. Goldman announced that they will no longer be conducting in-person first round interviews for undergraduates on college campuses.

Instead, applicants will interview via a pre-recorded video interviewing platform. Yes, Goldman Sachs will be using HireVue for all on-campus undergraduate interviewing.

Considering that Goldman Sachs attracts talent from every industry, not just financial services, companies of all types that compete for talent should pay attention. Else, that next leader you hope to find may just be interviewing with Goldman Sachs instead.

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Below is a summary of all the press from last week.

1. Financial Times

“The number one priority is how do we find more terrific people that are potential candidates for the firm,” said Edith Cooper, global head of human capital management at the bank. “Leveraging technology will help you get to more places.”

2. Reuters

"We want to hire not just the economics or business undergraduate but there is that pure liberal arts or history major that could be the next Lloyd Blankfein," Edith Cooper, Goldman's global head of capital management and executive vice president, told reporters at a briefing.

Russell Horwitz, co-chief operating officer of Goldman's securities division, pointed to top executives at the bank who have succeeded despite not graduating from the Ivy League. Chief Financial Officer Harvey Schwartz attended Rutgers University, while Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn attended American University.

3. BBC News

The new method will include structured interviews, which the bank said will allow for greater comparisons between candidates and "more objective and informed hiring decisions".

4. Business Insider

"We invest a lot of time and effort in recruiting, and so therefore if we know that taking the time to get the right people in will create more cultural synergies and connectivity to the firm, that's what we want," said Edith Cooper, Goldman's global head of human-capital management.

5. Wall Street Journal

The bank has concluded that helping to widen the pool of candidates beyond those from elite schools like Harvard University and Yale University will enable it to find students loyal to the industry. So it is making changes in the way it interviews and assesses candidates for summer analyst roles, typically the first-rung jobs for a banking career.

The Wall Street bank is experimenting with video interviews to open up the field to entry-level roles and turn up candidates who aspire to a long-term career in banking, rather than a short stint.

6. New York Times

Now the firm is focused on finding analysts better suited to the demands of banking.

That requires updating some of its traditional recruiting methods. Goldman announced on Thursday that it would no longer conduct first-round, face-to-face interviews on elite college campuses, and instead would interview students remotely on video.