It’s easier to get into an Ivy League school than it is to land a job at $337 billion banking giant Goldman Sachs. But unlike the colleges, the business isn’t chasing the most intelligent minds floating into its talent pools. David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman, says he’s in the “camp of smart enough.”
“You have to be smart enough, but the smartest person in the world without a whole package of other things [is] not going to navigate Goldman Sachs well, not going to be successful in Goldman Sachs over the long run,” Solomon revealed on Sequoia Capital’s Long Strange Trip podcast last year.
There are a few key qualities Solomon looks for in new hires, over educational pedigree. The CEO said the most attractive candidates are in touch with “human elements” like the ability to connect and to be resilient and determined. They always need to be striving for excellence—and on top of everything else, they should come to Goldman Sachs with a proven track record.
Experience, Solomon said, is “hugely underrated” and “a big differentiator for the firm.” It’s not impossible to do very well without it, he added, but relying on book smarts over real-life expertise won’t get one hired at the bank.
“You can’t teach experience,” Solomon explained. “Experience matters in these big organizations and when it matters it doesn’t matter when things are going well. It matters when the bumps come. You’ve got to make difficult judgments.”
