Q&A with Steve Strongin, Global Investment Research Division

10 APR 2017

Steve Strongin, head of the Global Investment Research (GIR) Division, shares his thoughts on the role of research, the importance of recruiting, and the necessity of having a diversity of experiences.

Can you describe the importance of recruiting to you?

The most important part of recruiting is helping candidates understand Goldman Sachs and for us to identify those who have the potential to be successful long-term. Most of our applicants have the credentials and skills required to do the job. The real question for us is finding people who will thrive in the firm’s culture and environment – people who think creatively, work well with others and adapt quickly to change. Our internship programs have become an essential part of building our pipeline and helping candidates understand the firm.

How do you think about GIR’s competitive advantage?

We have a more integrated global structure than many of our competitors, which allows us to collaborate more easily across different regions, markets and sectors. As a result, we’re able to produce differentiated thematic content, which our clients place a high value on. The complexity of the world is continually changing, so it’s incumbent on all of our research analysts to have a global perspective and understand how other markets affect the sector they cover. Collaborating across a diversity of viewpoints is essential to answering complex research questions.

What are your views and advice on career mobility?

Crossing any type of boundary – whether it’s changing regions, functions or divisions – will always benefit your career in the long-term, but it’s important to keep in mind that there  could be short-term costs.  In the long run, you’ll end up with a wider range of skills, a deeper understanding of content and more organizational awareness relative to your peers who haven’t crossed those boundaries. Your career progression  could slow down in the near-term, as you put in the time and effort to get up to speed in a new role.  So career changes should be viewed as long-term investments, and evaluated in terms of both the long-term benefits and short-term costs involved.

 

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