Preparing for an interview at Goldman Sachs for the role of Vice President can seem daunting. As one of the most prestigious investment banks in the world, Goldman Sachs is known for having an extremely rigorous hiring process.
However, going in prepared can help take the edge off. This complete guide gives you an idea of the Goldman Sachs Vice President interview questions you might be asked and gives you advice on how to write great answers.
Overview of the Goldman Sachs Vice President Role
As a Vice President at Goldman Sachs you would be responsible for supervising analysts and associates while managing major client accounts and key initiatives across various business units. This critical leadership role requires strong strategic thinking client relationship skills, analytical abilities, and most importantly – the drive to deliver strong results.
Why Goldman Sachs Asks These Questions
Goldman Sachs interviewers don’t just want to know if you can handle the Vice President role. They want to see evidence that you will thrive in it.
The questions are designed to assess different competencies including:
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Leadership skills – Can you effectively manage teams and cultivate talent?
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Problem-solving abilities – How do you approach complex challenges and drive solutions?
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Communication skills – Can you build rapport with clients and work cross-functionally?
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Strategic thinking: Do you know how the business works and can you spot growth opportunities?
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Technical expertise – Are you highly skilled in financial modeling, analysis, and risk management?
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Cultural fit – Do you exemplify the company’s core values of excellence, integrity and teamwork?
Keeping these competencies in mind will help you craft responses that impress the interviewers and highlight why you are the ideal candidate.
Top 25 Goldman Sachs Vice President Interview Questions
Here are the top questions you can expect in your Vice President interview at Goldman Sachs:
Leadership
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How would you describe your leadership style and how has it evolved over your career?
This gives insight into your self-awareness and emotional intelligence as a leader. Share examples of how you’ve adapted your style to suit different teams and situations.
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Tell us about a time you inspired a disengaged team member. How did you turn them around?
Interviewers want to know that you can motivate others. Discuss a specific example and the tactics you used.
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What strategies have you used to develop talent on your team? Share examples.
Demonstrate that you actively cultivate talent by providing coaching, mentorship and growth opportunities.
Strategic Thinking
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How would you contribute to Goldman Sachs’ business strategy if hired as a VP?
Share ideas on how you can help expand market share, improve operations, or identify new opportunities. Show deep understanding of the company’s business.
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If you were made head of a new division, how would you approach defining its strategy?
Prove you can spearhead strategy by outlining a structured approach focused on market analysis, competitive research, identifying USPs etc.
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As a VP, you may need to make tough calls on large deals or investments. How do you ensure decisions align with long-term strategic goals?
The ability to make complex risk-based decisions is key. Discuss how you would analyze variables and assess alignment with strategy.
Problem Solving & Analytical Thinking
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Describe a time you led your team through an extremely difficult period or crisis. What were the key strategies?
Demonstrate perseverance in the face of challenges. Outline your problem-solving process clearly.
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How would you optimize the bank’s trading strategy if we suddenly faced major disruptions in certain markets?
Showcase analytical abilities and strategic thinking to tackle this complex scenario.
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You notice a potential flaw in our risk management models. Walk me through how you would validate and address it.
Detail a logical plan to analyze, test, and resolve the issue methodically, minimizing disruption.
Communication & Influencing
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Tell us about a time you sold an innovative idea to a skeptical client. How did you convince them?
Prove you can tailor messaging in a way that resonates with specific clients and wins them over.
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If your key initiative was met with resistance from senior stakeholders, how would you gain buy-in?
Share a structured influencing approach focused on understanding concerns, emphasizing benefits, collaborating, and effective follow-ups.
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How would you communicate a negative business update that impacts employees across the firm?
Transparency and empathy are key. Discuss strategies for clear, compassionate communication and supporting employees.
Client Relationships
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What strategies have you utilized to build strong client relationships and increase share of wallet?
Share examples like leveraging data to understand needs, adding value beyond transactions, and optimizing touchpoints.
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Tell us about a time you went above and beyond to resolve a major client complaint.
Discuss how you turned a negative into a positive by addressing the clients specific needs and strengthening the relationship long-term.
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How do you balance serving client needs with business/company priorities?
Highlight the ability to manage competing demands by focusing on solutions that aim to satisfy both parties.
Technical Expertise
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Walk me through how you would analyze the valuation of a tech IPO we are underwriting.
Demonstrate your financial modeling and valuation skills. Discuss research, comparable analysis, DCF modeling etc.
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What key risk factors would you monitor for a large M&A deal between two of our clients?
Show in-depth understanding of risk analysis related to large transactions – financial risks, integration risks, regulatory issues etc.
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How would you optimize our program trading strategy and algorithms to adapt to evolving market conditions?
Discuss ways to leverage data, machine learning and backtesting to continuously improve trading algorithms. Demonstrate technical knowledge.
Operational Excellence
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Tell us about a time you spearheaded an initiative that led to significant improvement in a business metric. What was the outcome?
Share examples of projects where you drove tangible impact – increased revenue, lowered costs, improved efficiency etc. Quantify results.
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Where would you look first to find operational inefficiencies within the firm? How would you address them?
Show strong business acumen. Discuss analyzing data points, customer feedback, audits etc. to rapidly identify areas for improvement.
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What operational and risk metrics would you closely track for a new emerging market portfolio? Why?
Demonstrate knowledge of key metrics to monitor new investments across front and back office functions – liquidity, volatility, counterparties etc. Explain your choices.
Leadership Principles & Values
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Tell us about a time you made a difficult people management decision. How did you handle it?
Share an example focused on acting with integrity, empathy, and objectivity. Avoid disparaging others.
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How would you foster a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion within your team?
Share ideas rooted in respect, equal access to opportunities, encouraging diverse perspectives etc. Avoid tokenism.
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If you observed unethical behavior from a team member, how would you address it while upholding our company values?
Discuss following protocols and proper channels while acting with discretion. Emphasize correcting behavior through coaching.
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What aspects of our company culture and values resonate most with you personally?
Show that you’ve researched the culture and can authentically discuss values that align with your own. This demonstrates fit.
How to Prepare for the Goldman Sachs VP Interview
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Thoroughly research the position, company, culture, and industry trends.
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Review your resume – be ready to expand on all experiences and responsibilities in detail.
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Prepare stories of success, challenges you’ve tackled, and failures you’ve learned from. Quantify results.
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Brush up on technical skills like financial modeling, valuation, accounting etc.
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Practice mock interviews focusing on confidence, active listening, and concise, structured responses.
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Prepare smart questions that demonstrate your understanding of the role and company.
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Review Goldman Sachs’ leadership principles and be ready to discuss your alignment with their values.
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Get a good night’s rest and eat well before your interview day. This will help you focus and manage nerves.
Preparing thoroughly and practicing your responses will help you put your best foot forward. With these tips and answers to common VP interview questions, you’ll be ready to impress the hiring team at Goldman Sachs. We wish you the very best!
Goldman SachsInvestment Banking
Based on the Interview Insights at this company, the Interview Experience is a score between 1 star (very bad) and 5 stars (very good).
The number in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the mean of all these scores. If you move your mouse over the different parts of the doughnut, you’ll see exactly how each score was calculated.
The title percentile score is based on an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates that is applied to the whole Company Database. This is done to account for companies that don’t have many interview insights. The confidence in a “true score” rises as more reviews are given about a business. This causes the score to move closer to its simple average and away from the average of the whole dataset. 3. 6.
Based on the Interview Insights at this company, the Interview Difficulty is a score that goes from “very difficult” (red) to “very easy” (green).
The number in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the mean of all these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. This doughnut has different parts that, when you move your mouse over them, show you the 20% breakdown of each score given.
The title percentile score is based on an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates that is applied to the whole Company Database. This is done to account for companies that don’t have many interview insights. That is, as a business learns more, it becomes more sure of a “true score,” which moves it closer to its own simple average and away from the overall average of the data set. 3. 1.
Based on reviews at this company, the 20% of interns getting full-time offers chart is meant to give you a good idea of how the company hires people.
The number in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the mean of all these scores. This doughnut has different parts that, when you move your mouse over them, show you the 20% breakdown of each score given.
It uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates to account for companies that don’t have many reviews, which is how the percentile score in the title is found. To put it simply, when a business gets more reviews, the “true score” becomes more likely to be accurate. This makes it move closer to the simple company average and away from the average of all the data points. 61%.
About interviews at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs (GS) was founded in 1869 by Marcus Goldman in New York City. In 1882, Goldmans son-in-law Samuel Sachs joined Goldman Sachs & Co.
In 1896, GS pioneered the use of commercial paper for entrepreneurs. It joined the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the same year. In 1898, the firms capital rose to $1. 6 million.
GS is one of the top Investment banks and has services in areas such as:
- Investment Banking
- Asset Management and Security Services
- Private Equity
- Wealth Management
- Global Consulting
For more than 150 years, GS has had close to 40,000 employees working together to meet the needs of clients. They do this by building on a long history of great ideas from amazing people.
Students who want to work as analysts or associates are brave, because even if they only work at GS for a few years, they will get the same experience as an associate who has been there for five or six years. This is because of the company’s double-edged work culture and high pay and benefits.
This behavior could kill your chances in a Goldman Sachs interview
FAQ
What is the bonus for vice president in Goldman Sachs?
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Pay Type
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Range
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Median
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Base Pay
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$161K – $221K
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$189K/yr
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Bonus
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$25K – $47K
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$33K/yr
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Stock
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$16K – $30K
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$21K/yr
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How many VP are at Goldman Sachs?
Are Goldman Sachs interviews hard?
How many Goldman Sachs interview questions are there?
Glassdoor has millions of jobs plus salary information, company reviews, and interview questions from people on the inside making it easy to find a job that’s right for you. 91 Goldman Sachs Vice President interview questions and 85 interview reviews. Free interview details posted anonymously by Goldman Sachs interview candidates.
What questions did you ask during a technical interview at Goldman Sachs?
Technical Interview with an Associate and Vice President, basic SQL and Python Programming Questions. It was over zoom. Asked some more typical interview questions about company culture and behavioral questions. What is something you read about in the news that may be applicable to Goldman Sachs? I interviewed at Goldman Sachs (Bengaluru)
What is the interview process like at Goldman Sachs?
I interviewed at Goldman Sachs The interview process was very simplistic, it’s the waiting for the extensive background checks and verification of who you are that is very drawn out. #1 HCM reaches out for Interview #2 Hiring Manager Interview #3 Peer Interview #4 Sr. VP Interview #5 Panel Interview #6 Offer is extended
Does Goldman Sachs use hirevue?
For those unfamiliar with Hirevues or video interviews, most investment banks will use this type of platform for candidates to answer pre-recorded video questions. Goldman Sachs typically only asks candidates behavioral questions in the Hirevue, but some of the banks may sometimes put in one or two technical questions.
