Goldman Sachs' new oaths apply to junior bankers who can be fired without warning
Don't call it an "oath," call it an "attestation." And don't presume that having attested that you haven't accepted another job offer while you work for Goldman Sachs that you'll then be stuck at Goldman. You can still find a new job. Or maybe you will even be fired.
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Bloomberg reported today that Goldman Sachs will ask its new analysts to "certify" every three months that they haven't accepted new jobs elsewhere. It's understood that the "attestations," which Bloomberg describes as "oaths" haven't yet been introduced but are coming soon. They're only for juniors in the investment banking division.
Goldman's attestations are a response to JPMorgan's threat to fire its own junior bankers if they accept job offers elsewhere within 18 months of joining. Both are a response to US-based private equity firms' tendency to recruit associates from pools of incoming junior bankers 18 months ahead of the dates the private equity firms actually need them. Young people have therefore been starting their banking jobs already equipped with offers to leave them again.
Private equity firms Apollo, General Atlantic and TPG have said they won't engage in this practice this year and the Financial Times said yesterday there's no sign of other private equity firms doing so either, but headhunters tell us the private equity hiring war may still break out. If it does, failure to participate will be "career limiting" for junior bankers said one headhunter.
Goldman's attestations will make it difficult for its junior bankers to accept jobs more than three months in advance. But jobs with start dates sooner than this are still fair game. Headhunters say the firm usually operates a notice period of up to one month for its juniors. Nonetheless, Goldman people who plan to move might want to turn their quarterly attestation meetings into quarterly opportunities to resign.
While Goldman is demanding regular swearing-in sessions from juniors, it has also been known to let go of them abruptly when it's cutting costs. In 2022, for example, associates at Goldman Sachs in London received unexpected meeting invitations and were then informed that they were no longer needed.
Goldman's new oaths come as the employment market has shifted back in favour of banks, many of which might find themselves overstaffed if deals don't return after the summer. In the circumstances, it would be nice if Goldman would return the favour and commit to continue employing juniors for the following three months at each attestation meeting too.
A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs said: “We are committed to a culture where our employees act with integrity, consistent with all of our policies.”
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