Internship Spotlight: Ava McLachlan, Goldman Sachs
Ava McLachlan '23 (BSBA Finance) is an Asset Management Summer Analyst Intern at Goldman Sachs in New York, NY.
What was the process for getting this internship/job? The process was no doubt rigorous. I would say it really started in May of 2020 when I joined Arizona’s Wall Street Scholars Program. Through that, I built my technical knowledge early on and began to network with NYC alumni and professionals at Goldman Sachs for the entirety of my sophomore year. In July 2021, I submitted my application and completed a Hirevue a few weeks later. In early September, I was notified I had a final superday with the firm and then about a week and a half later I was asked to hop on one more brief superday interview the next morning. I got the call with an offer to join the intern class the next day!
What type of projects do you work on? I sit in a role that is commonly referred to across the division as “in-between”; meaning that we face both the technical investing side as well as the sales side. In my rotation, I worked first on the Public Capital Markets desk within the Equity vertical. Here, I mainly focused on retail client portfolio optimization modeling and material creation. On my second team, Client Solutions Group, I ran models on strategic asset allocation for institutional clients. One of our focuses was also in the nature-based solutions space, which was exciting to learn about the firm’s unique climate solution offering. Overall, they were definitely technical roles that also faced clients, so it was the best of both worlds in my opinion.
What is your favorite part of the experience? Easily the people. The firm exposed us to a lot of professionals and speakers across teams and divisions to help us develop a holistic understanding of the business. Because of that, and the “catch-up” culture that is very popular, I was always meeting new analysts, associates, VPs, and MDs with all different perspectives and backgrounds. I was very grateful to get to spend my days surrounded by incredibly intelligent thought-leaders in the industry.
What do you find most challenging? I think our two overall intern projects have been the most difficult. For context, the assigned topics are very broad, so knowing what steps to take to narrow in on an industry or product and then effectively building out a story that meets the requirements of the assignment has been a challenge. With that said, all of the full-time employees have made significant efforts to guide us and provide constructive criticism so that we can ultimately be successful when we are standing in the auditorium presenting to senior management.
What are you learning? I have learned so much I would not know where to begin. Overall, gaining an understanding of the language that is common in this industry, meaning being able to “talk-the-talk” like the professionals you’re sitting next to, has definitely developed drastically if I were to compare it to the beginning of the process. In terms of technical topics, the list would be infinite. I think most importantly, I have deepened my critical thinking skills and ability to synthesize information efficiently.
What advice do you have for other students looking for similar experiences? The recruiting process is difficult and unforgiving , I can now say from experience, it is so worth it. I would encourage anyone who thinks they want to work on Wall Street, or any industry for that matter, to put themselves out there by getting in front of professionals who work where you want to be via email and phone calls, apply to every opening you can find, and leverage the resources that Arizona provides.
How has Eller prepared you for this experience? Following my first divisional presentation, I received feedback from multiple sources regarding my “stand-out” presentation skills. I attribute my ability to impress my colleagues and set myself apart from my peers in terms of presenting solely to Eller’s first semester BCOM class and my professor, Mikel.
Anything else you would like to share? Best of luck to everyone that is starting to prospect different firms and industries. I am always happy to talk about my experience more- feel free to reach out!