Sample cover letter for Internship position at Goldman Sachs

My interest in Corporate Finance, my passion for working in advisory roles, and my well-rounded skill set working in corporate sectors make me a well-qualified candidate for an internship at Goldman Sachs (GS). My participation in this scheme will help me to gain a better understanding of your firm’s culture and working ethics, and will be my first step to realise my long-term career path here.

My career choice in Investment Banking division was a result of careful consideration after having worked in many different positions. I have had an early exposure with Investment Banking with the Goldman Sachs A Level Girls Program, however, at that time, I was not quite persuaded that IBD was for me because of the challenges of working in the male-dominated environment, the long hours, and the difficult economic conditions for IBD. This mindset has changed over time, because I had the chance to experience other less-challenging fields, such as Human Resource, which I interned in at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as well as Retail Banking, which I interned in at HSBC. Since then, I realised that my long-term career needed to be more intellectual, fast-paced and intense than that. In July 2012, I listened to a panel discussion of female MDs in the Fresh Look to Banking Woman Conference, which inspired me that I should not limit my potential when I have not even experienced IBD firsthand. I recognise I am well prepared to work hard, because, from all the challenges I have undertaken, I have always worked for longer hours than what was required. From then, I was motivated to try Corporate Finance; therefore, I made many speculative applications to several financial institutions in Vietnam. By successfully selling my skills to a partner in KPMG, I managed to get a month off-cycle Corporate Finance internship in KPMG with their M&A Team. This was an extraordinary opportunity working with the experienced seniors because M&A is the only team in KPMG that does not even take interns nor fresh graduates in the KPMG graduate training program. I was passionate about the job I did in Corporate Finance and devoted a lot of time and effort to it, because of the significant impact I could make by working with the small regional M&A team of only five people, handling a vast amount of work. My passion with IBD was consolidated from this internship, yet I have not forgotten the first inspiration Goldman has given. I, therefore, wish to challenge myself again in this field during this summer with GS.

During my internship in different financial institutions, I formed the habit of reading their internal news and got to understand the firm's strategies and goals. From the three different companies I worked for, one investment bank, one retail bank and one accountancy firm, I have gradually seen the direction of the post-crisis transformation in the financial industry. HSBC, BAML and KPMG, despite exercising different strategies, have strategically moved to specialise in more profitable products and geographical regions. This industry trend has come in not only because of the regulation changes but also because of the vision of more profitability and lower cost generated from a more fragmented and specialised financial industry. Relating this to choose the bank I work for, observing that trend from the rapid transformation of the industry, your strong future performance and potential are what appealed to me. I believe, as the best performing Investment Bank in M&A in term of the number of deals, GS will continue to strengthen and gain more market share from other players' exits. Moreover, since the GS A-Level Girl Program, I was attracted to Goldman’s culture; therefore, I motivated myself to apply to the Global Investment Research division for your Spring Insight program. Reaching the interview stage, after the discussion with the interviewer, I realised that GIR division might not fit me. However, on the interview day, I was impressed when I was walking into the Goldman office and reporting to the reception, a Goldman senior employee walked passed me. He smiled at me and said ‘Good luck’. Such a simple encouragement is what attracted me about your culture, and kept me returning to apply to your IBD Summer Internship.

Working for Investment Banking Division is challenging, as I am well aware, yet I have got the right attitude and a well-rounded skill set for what it takes. I am determined to work hard to deliver results and able to work on multiple projects at once, which is evident from a number of work experiences I have obtained - many of which happens simultaneously and drove me to manage my time more efficiently along with my academic study. In term of technical proficiency, I understand having excellent numerical skills can make me a good analyst, however, aiming to outperform, I have also self-studied Excel and the necessary technical foundation for IBD before my KPMG Corporate Finance internship. Continuing this steep learning curve, I now also take a formally assessed module on Corporate Finance at LSE to enhance this technical foundation by next summer. Beside financial-related experiences, I am a well-rounded person who has participated in many different non-banking activities, such as volunteering for the Olympics, working for NGO, teaching in Summer Schools, working in media editing position and working for Pearson Plc. on improving students’ learning experiences. These participations not only gave me personal enjoyment, a greater horizon outside the financial world, but also a great network of colleagues and friends who enrich my knowledge and provide me with many opportunities. Besides academia and all the responsibilities I have taken, I exercise a balanced lifestyle with practising dancing and watching performing arts, as well as my hobby of making the video, for which I won the first prize of British Council's competition.

I am eager to work for Goldman as a summer intern and embark on my long-term career path here. I would, therefore, welcome an opportunity to meet you and discuss my candidacy in more details.

Yours faithfully,

<Name Redacted>