Nicole Associate, Financing Group Investment Banking division, New York

Every day I am amazed by the new things I learn and the new responsibilities and opportunities I am given.

My Work

I work in the Leveraged Finance Group of the Investment Banking division of Goldman Sachs. Within Leveraged Finance, I work with healthcare companies.

My group advises both corporate issuers and financial sponsors on acquisition financing, leveraged buyout, refinancing and restructuring initiatives. Our job is very market-driven; on a daily basis, we interact with members of the fixed income, syndicate and investment banking teams.

I perform a variety of tasks ranging from participating in due diligence on a company to preparing internal documents, to working with teams to prepare marketing materials for meetings with rating agencies and investors.

The most interesting aspect of my job is all the different people I get to meet. I have gained exposure to different industries and have had the opportunity to hear and learn from very distinguished professionals. Goldman Sachs’ footprint in terms of clients, businesses and geography is such that I see new things on an almost daily basis.

My Day

On a day-to-day basis, I work closely with a small team of colleagues. However, in the financing group we are usually part of a larger team. Despite the size of teams, I am responsible for my share and contribution of the larger project. Goldman Sachs fosters an atmosphere where those more senior respect and value the opinions of those that work below them.

Right now, I am working on an investment idea for a financial sponsor. We are preparing a detailed analysis of the deal and are looking at a variety of financial structures. When I am running the model and dealing with the details of the financials, I work very closely with the investment banking team, which has broader industry knowledge. Together we will come up with a structure that suits both the company and the sponsor.

The most rewarding part of my job is seeing a transaction through to completion. It’s a great feeling to see all of our hard work finally materialize. Being able to defend a credit and speak to investors about why they should invest in a deal is rewarding because it shows me how much I learned throughout the process.

My Path

I found out about careers at Goldman Sachs both from friends who worked here and from campus recruiting. I also applied to many other firms, as I was unsure of exactly what I was looking for.

When I started at Goldman Sachs, I was amazed by the diversity and collegiality of my colleagues. With an incredible spectrum of backgrounds, personalities and experiences, it seemed everyone had a niche and contributed to an excellent, comprehensive product. I was also amazed by the large amount of responsibility that people entrusted me with after only a few days on the job.

The firm does a wonderful job of making sure that everybody is working in the job for which they are best suited. Given the emphasis Goldman Sachs places on team work, they make sure that you like your job and that you fit in well with the people you work with.

Myself

I thought I would graduate from college and be in medical school. While my job today is extremely different from what I thought I would be doing, I am happy I made the decision I did. Goldman Sachs is a great place to learn a lot and to meet many wonderful and talented people. Even if I decide one day that I want to go to medical school, I will know that Goldman Sachs has been a great platform from which I can do many different things.

My advice for anyone seeking a career in finance would be to keep an open mind. When I was applying for jobs, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Every day I am amazed by the new things I learn and the new responsibilities and opportunities I am given. There are things I’ve tried that I thought I would hate or not excel at, and those have turned out to be some of my favorite things about my job