Success story: Mike Sutton gets full-time job at Goldman Sachs
Finance Success Stories | May 07, 2013 | Nicole Gesualdo
Getting the job you really want can take persistence.
Michael Sutton (GSB ’13) never gave up on his primary goal, and with graduation less than two weeks away, he has it.
It’s at Goldman Sachs, in sales and trading.
Mike will be an analyst in the firm’s newly formed institutional client group. This is a great result for a student who kept after sales and trading with a passion. Mike has held a series of finance internships: at Credit Suisse, at an investor relations and strategic advisory firm called the Trout Group and at a boutique investment bank called Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
The road to Goldman was not without its bumps. With sales and trading definitively in his sights, Mike actively followed leads for full-time positions at large investment banks and some hedge funds. He interviewed twice at Goldman Sachs but didn’t receive an offer; still, he continued his search. That decision turned out to be worthwhile in an exciting way: Goldman eventually called him. There was an analyst spot open in a new group, and Mike was invited to interview. Three rounds later, he received his offer.
The institutional client group that Mike will join was created less than a year ago to be a central contact point for sales and trading’s largest clients. Mike will be one of only eight staff members, giving him a unique opportunity to step up.
“I have a great desire to understand all different groups within the securities division,” he said. “Becoming a part of this group will help me achieve a broader view of the firm and the market as a whole.”
Mike is grateful to his Fordham education in three ways for helping him to land this job.
First, he said, is the quality of his coursework. He offers this advice to underclassmen in finance: “Take courses in the value investing or alternative investments specializations, and get involved in programs like the Finance Scholars, the Alternative Investment Club and the Student Managed Investment Fund.”
Next is Fordham’s core values: “Honesty and following Fordham’s mission of ‘being men and women for others’ led me to Goldman Sachs, where they have a similar mission of putting clients’ interests first.”
Third is the university’s alumni network. Ask Mike whom he thanks for helping him to get where he’s going, and without hesitation, he’ll offer a string of names of allies at Credit Suisse: Tim, Mike, Bob, Brian, John and Tara. “The support and guidance of the Fordham alumni at Credit Suisse during the summer and throughout my senior year has made me even prouder of our school,” he said.
