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Goldman Sachs Apprenticeship Competencies: What They Test and How to Prepare
Goldman Sachstests school leavers against a specific set of competencies at every stage: from the online assessment through to the final interview. Here's exactly what they test and how to prepare for each one.
Goldman Sachs's Core Competencies
Analytical thinking
Assessed at: online assessments, video interview, and assessment centre.
What strong looks like:
A STAR story with a clear individual contribution, a specific outcome, and a genuine reflection on what you learned or would do differently.
Drive and ambition
Assessed at: online assessments, video interview, and assessment centre.
What strong looks like:
A STAR story with a clear individual contribution, a specific outcome, and a genuine reflection on what you learned or would do differently.
Collaboration
Assessed at: online assessments, video interview, and assessment centre.
What strong looks like:
A STAR story with a clear individual contribution, a specific outcome, and a genuine reflection on what you learned or would do differently.
Commercial awareness
Assessed at: online assessments, video interview, and assessment centre.
What strong looks like:
A STAR story with a clear individual contribution, a specific outcome, and a genuine reflection on what you learned or would do differently.
Resilience
Assessed at: online assessments, video interview, and assessment centre.
What strong looks like:
A STAR story with a clear individual contribution, a specific outcome, and a genuine reflection on what you learned or would do differently.
Integrity
Assessed at: online assessments, video interview, and assessment centre.
What strong looks like:
A STAR story with a clear individual contribution, a specific outcome, and a genuine reflection on what you learned or would do differently.
The STAR Framework
S · Situation: Set the scene briefly (1–2 sentences). Enough context, no more.
T · Task: What was your specific responsibility? What was expected of you?
A · Action: What YOU did, not "we". Be specific. This is 60% of the answer.
R · Result: Quantify if possible. What changed? What did you learn?
Where to Find Your Examples
You don't need impressive examples: you need specific ones. Strong STAR stories come from:
- Part-time jobs (customer complaints, covering a shift, managing a task alone)
- School projects or coursework (disagreements, tight deadlines, leading a presentation)
- Sport, volunteering, Duke of Edinburgh, clubs, or societies
- Any situation where something went wrong and you fixed it or learned from it
Free prep pack
Preparing for Goldman Sachs? Get a full pack free
The full PwC School Leaver pack is free: application stages, the competencies they score, real interview questions, commercial awareness, and a pre-submission checklist. The process it walks through is close enough to the other big schemes, Goldman Sachs included, to prep you for all of them.
Want the Goldman Sachs pack specifically?
Goldman Sachs Apprenticeship Prep Pack
Application stages, competencies, real interview questions, commercial awareness, and a pre-submission checklist: in one complete pack.