The Art of Breaking Into Investment Banking: How I Landed My Dream Job at Goldman Sachs

Having successfully landed my dream job at Goldman Sachs and having helped hundreds of others in their respective endeavours, I have picked up on a simple pattern: that uncertainty and the prospect of failure can instill crippling fear in people. In fact, most people will choose inaction over any action which has uncertain outcomes and a low probability of success.

Breaking into ultra-competitive and top-tier Investment Banking programs is certainly a process that’s riddled with uncertainty given the battle against all odds that the process entails. Here’s a not-so-fun fact for you:

It is harder to receive an offer from a top-tier investment bank such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and J.P. Morgan than it is to get accepted by Harvard University. Harvard has an acceptance rate of ~5.5% while these bulge-bracket banks have acceptance rates of ~3% only.

As a result of the daunting nature of the task at hand, many Investment Banking aspirants either choose not to embark upon the process at all or give up prematurely. In other words, they either get intimidated by the magnitude of the challenge or lose direction and stamina shortly after having taken up the challenge.

This is exactly the pain point that this book addresses. Illustrated through all the tactics that I had used to break into Goldman Sachs’s Investment Banking Division at their New York headquarters despite the odds being heavily stacked against me, the timeless, well-explicated, and proven strategies in this book will move you multiple steps closer to your desired Finance role.

This straight-talking, easy-to-read, step-by-step guide covers the A to Z of breaking into Investment Banking. This guide includes, but is not limited to:

✅ Giving you a realistic picture of what Investment Banking and what it takes to break into Investment Banking entail

✅ How to position yourself academically (for Finance as well as Non-Finance Majors)

✅ What set of extracurricular activities to target while in college and how to excel in them

✅ Using your academic and extracurricular credentials to prepare a Resume / CV that jumps off the page and catches the eye of the reader

✅ How you can make your work experiences, which may or may not be related to Investment Banking, seem somewhat relatable on your Resume and during interviews

✅ How to stand out from the crowd at networking sessions, coffee chats, information sessions, etc.

✅ How to achieve mastery of technical Finance concepts in order to ace technical interview questions

✅ How to answer the simple yet tricky “Tell me about yourself” question and other commonly asked behavioural questions

✅ How to keep abreast of news related to the world of Finance in a way that maximises your awareness and knowledge without taking a substantial chunk of your time everyday

✅ How students from non-target schools can use their “unorthodox” backgrounds to their advantage during interviews

✅ How to build a list of contacts to reach out to with informational interview requests

✅ DOS and DON’TS to abide by when sending out emails to bankers / HR requesting a few minutes of their time for informational interviews

✅ How to ace all your informational and formal (video, phone, in-person) interviews, including your “Superday”

✅ Everything to consider when deciding what offer to pick

✅ How to hedge yourself by diversifying application risk by not putting all your eggs in one basket

The book won’t get rid of the uncertainty and the constraints; but, it’ll maximize your chances of success given the uncertainty and set of constraints. It won’t get rid of the uncomfortable aspects of the process; but, it’ll equip you with the ammunition to prop up your confidence, which will act as an antidote to the discomfort. It won’t get rid of the madness that you experience during the process; but, it’ll provide a method to your madness.

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't." - Shakespeare (Hamlet)

WHY DID I WRITE THIS BOOK?

I consider having been able to break into Goldman Sach’s Investment Banking Division (IBD) in their New York City office as one of the proudest achievements of my life so far.

What made my victory even sweeter were the facts that:

• I was not a US citizen when applying to Goldman’s New York office and hiring internationals poses administrative headaches to US corporations

• I graduated from Georgia Tech which, during my time, wasn’t even remotely close to being a “target-school” i.e. a college that top-tier investment banks recruit from

• I was an engineer in college and not a Finance Major

• I wasn’t aiming for back-office or middle-office roles; I was aiming for front-office roles in their Sales & Trading and Investment Banking Divisions, both of which I was successful in landing

Armed with very specific knowledge that could potentially change the lives of all present and future Investment Banking hopefuls, I sought to share how I had pulled my unthinkable feat in the form of blog posts and short videos.

The response to my content talking about my experiences at Goldman and what it took to get there was overwhelmingly positive! I received truckloads of comments on my videos.

I even got invited to be a keynote speaker at a couple of events to share tips and tricks to land one’s dream Finance role.

And my inbox was inundated with people from every nook and corner of the world reaching out to thank me for my videos and to ask me for personalized guidance over a phone / video call.

I had 1-on-1 phone / video conversations with a bunch of such students and young professionals who, in turn, used the advice that I shared to land their respective dream jobs in Finance.

Through my conversations, I had pretty much covered and provided advice on the full gamut of pain points that students / young professionals experience when trying to defy all odds and break into ultra-competitive Investment Banking / Finance roles. This is when it dawned upon me: why not share all the tips and tricks and best practices in the form of a step-by-step guide; hence, The Art of Breaking Into Investment Banking was born.

HOW IS THIS BOOK DIFFERENT?

While there’s already a lot of information out there, most of it has a relatively low signal-to-noise ratio, which leaves readers helpless and paralyzed in trying to differentiate between the signal and the noise. Everything that I’ve composed is devoid of noise i.e. is pure signal that’s been derived from the success of my own example and that of many others for whom it’s proven to be a gamechanger.

“I came across Anubhav’s videos on YouTube a week before my Goldman Sachs interview and promptly reached out to him for personalized guidance. My 60-minute phone conversation with him prior to my interview proved to be not just a game changer, but a life changer! I went into the interview feeling so much more confident and prepared and was rewarded with a full-time offer from GS three days later!”
- James K.
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Moreover, the information that’s out there lacks universality. In other words, the advice is very generic and nebulous, as opposed to being tailored in accordance with each individual’s unique situation and set of circumstances. In addition to articulately and comprehensively describing the common best practices and advice, this book accounts for the edge cases, no matter how obscure, as well. It is also universal in the sense that it describes every step along the way starting from asking you if you’re doubly sure that Investment Banking is what you want to do to landing your desired full-time / internship role. Thus, regardless of whether you’re just commencing the process or have already made some headway, you’ll find the material useful.

Moreover, this book isn’t just limited to those aiming for Investment Banking roles; the pointers, ready-made templates, and best practices contained in this book can be successfully put to use by those seeking other (non-Investment Banking) competitive Finance roles as well.

Another way in which this book distinguishes itself is by catering to both target as well as non-target school students. Most existing resources contain information that target-school students might find somewhat useful while ignoring the non-target school students. This book contains information that’s specific to non-target school students, who, I can tell from personal experience, have it much harder than their target-school counterparts.

Lastly, you can also rest assured that I’ve tried being as straightforward and straight-talking as possible throughout the book. I’ve painted a very realistic picture of not only what breaking into Investment Banking entails, but also of what to expect once you hit the desk. And it’s anything but smooth sailing.

FEEDBACK FROM CLIENTS AND READERS:

"The only way in which the actionable advice in this book won’t work for you is if you don’t act upon it."
- Robert Gordon
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“Regardless of what your educational and professional qualifications are, if you’re seriously keen on securing that Finance offer that you’ve been eyeing, this book is a goldmine.”
- Arjun Khanna
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"This book is such that if you need it but haven't yet bought it, you're already paying for it."
- Thomas C.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

It’s amazing how just one good book has the power to change your life forever. I truly believe that if your overwhelming desire is to break into some of the most sought-after Investment Banking / Finance jobs, this book can do that for you. So don’t think of the price of this book as a cost; think of it as an investment - an investment that has the potential to change your life.

I’ll conclude by saying that if I could do it given my circumstances, so can you.

The choice is yours.

Cheers and happy reading!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After graduating as an Industrial Engineer from Georgia Tech with highest honour, Anubhav worked at Deutsche Bank’s Jacksonville, FL office for a few months before sealing his dream move to Goldman Sachs’s New York headquarters. Anubhav spent two highly rewarding years at Goldman Sachs working across both their Sales & Trading and Investment Banking (Global Industrial Group) Divisions before moving back to India, his home country, in July 2018. Upon his return to India, Anubhav decided to pivot to the creative arts space to fulfil his potential as a writer, orator, and creative thinker. Anubhav worked as a Presenter at ESPN during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and, at the time of this writing, serves as Principal Presenter at a Singapore-headquartered sports-focused media Company called 1 Play Sports. Outside of work hours, and when not watching Manchester United play and Virat Kohli bat, Anubhav likes to provide professional development guidance to students and young professionals all over the world. If you need personalized guidance, you can reach Anubhav at anubhavjain0712@gmail.com.

LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/AnubhavTalks