BloombergGoldman Sachs’ HR chief, Edith Cooper.
You may think that top grades and a Harvard MBA are necessary to secure a job at Goldman Sachs.
But Edith Cooper, executive vice president and global head of Human Capital Management at Goldman Sachs, tells Business Insider that she doesn’t look for one qualification over another on a résumé — she looks at the overall experience of an individual.
A candidate’s academic achievement, for example, is certainly an important consideration. “Strong GPAs show a level of commitment,” Cooper says. “But we don’t just look at that.”
During her tenure at Goldman Sachs, Cooper has interviewed thousands of job candidates and sifted through many more résumés. She explains that a résumé that displays only a high GPA shows that “that’s really what you’ve done; you’ve gone to class.” This is important but less favorable than, say, a résumé that shows high academic achievement in addition to outside interests like performing choral music.
“Why is one more interesting than the other? One, you have a commitment and a passion, and that takes time. Two, if you’re part of a choral music society, you have to work with other people. That’s really interesting” Cooper says.
She also cautions that projecting yourself as a well-rounded candidate doesn’t mean you should send a three-page résumé.
Your outside experiences should be a part of who you are, and you should use your discretion to include hobbies that, “because you’ve done your homework, connect to the skills and the qualities that would make you a successful person at Goldman Sachs,” Copper says.
Check out the full interview below:
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