At 5 pm on the Friday before Memorial Day, a group investment banker rookies from top MBA schools were requested to go to a conference room. The subject of the meeting was not given to the young recruits. The summoning itself meant that the partner in charge was effectively ordering them to cancel any and all Memorial Day plans. No apology would be made nor any formal statement that they would have to cancel their plans because a client’s engagement is going to need them for the weekend. Human courtesy does not exist in environments at Goldman Sachs or the other bulge brackets.
You think that’s bad? The partner who setup the meeting did not even show up until 10 p.m. Nothing required him to be late. He simply was performing a test of attitude. He told the group that the wait was a test to see if they had the right attitude. Wtf?! Before 10 pm (5 hours after the meeting time) three analysts took off assuming the partner bailed. I for sure would have bailed by 7 or 8. Those that left before 10 pm were fired immediately.
Failing to wait 5 hours for an impromptu meeting on a Friday evening before a holiday weekend is enough to have you fired according to Goldman Sachs. If you still think you want to head to Wall Street to work for the bulge brackets, then be ready to give up any sense of character or pride. You will have to subordinate yourself to your superiors’ unreasonable demands with NO questions asked.