Goldman CEO’s Job Advice STUNS

What if the job you dread accepting is the one that changes your life forever? Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon’s advice to the world’s most ambitious interns turns career wisdom upside down—and might just explain how Wall Street’s most coveted seats get filled.

Story Snapshot

Taking jobs outside your comfort zone can catalyze career leaps—even at the world’s most elite firms.
Goldman Sachs’ 2025 internship shattered records: 360,000 applicants for 2,600 spots, a 0.7% acceptance rate.
CEO David Solomon’s own rise began with an assignment he didn’t want—proof that embracing discomfort pays off.
The advice to interns is now shaping the culture of the next generation of financial leaders.

The Reluctant Assignment That Sparked a CEO’s Rise

David Solomon didn’t always want to run equity capital markets. In fact, when the assignment landed on his desk, it was the last thing he wanted. Yet he accepted, plunged into the unknown, and—years later—stood before Goldman Sachs’ freshly inducted interns as CEO, urging them to do the same. Solomon’s message is deceptively simple: The job you want least may be the one that accelerates you most. He frames his own trajectory as living proof, a narrative that turns Wall Street’s obsession with calculated moves on its head. If the CEO’s journey began with a step outside his comfort zone, what could that mean for the 2,600 interns who made it past 357,400 others?

Goldman Sachs CEO shares a vital tip for interns to get ahead in their careers https://t.co/oW8rpsjq1w

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) July 31, 2025

The numbers are staggering. The 2025 Goldman Sachs summer internship shattered the firm’s own records, drawing more than 360,000 applications for just 2,600 seats. Acceptance rates dipped to 0.7%, making admission harder than getting into any Ivy League university. Interns, handpicked from over 500 universities, are not just competing for a paycheck—they’re vying for a future in global finance. Against this backdrop, Solomon’s advice lands with the weight of experience and the urgency of a man who understands how rare and fleeting these opportunities can be.

The Internship Gauntlet: A Test of Ambition and Adaptability

Every summer, Goldman Sachs interns are thrown into a high-stakes trial by fire. The internship isn’t just a resume builder; it’s the primary pipeline for full-time analyst roles, with the summer’s performance often determining whether a coveted return offer materializes. The stakes are not lost on anyone. Interns are paid at the level of first-year analysts, their compensation prorated for the summer—a nod to the gravity of their work and the intensity of their competition.

The 2025 class entered the program during a time of market turbulence and technological upheaval, with Goldman just unveiling a firmwide AI assistant. This is not the finance world of twenty years ago. Adaptability, Solomon argues, is now as essential as technical prowess. His advice—embrace discomfort, build relationships, stay informed—has become a mantra, echoing through annual CEO letters and town halls. For many interns, these sessions are not just pep talks but roadmaps for survival and growth in an industry that rewards those who thrive on challenge.

Beyond Comfort: Why Unwanted Jobs Forge Uncommon Leaders

Solomon’s philosophy resonates beyond his own story. Former interns and current executives at Goldman echo the same refrain: The assignments that seemed least appealing at first often delivered the most growth. Humility, openness, and a willingness to tackle the unfamiliar have become informal prerequisites for advancement. Wall Street has long lionized technical mastery, but the new gospel at Goldman is adaptability—being able to learn quickly, build trust, and reinvent your skills as the market evolves.

Professional coaches and career experts outside the firm agree. Research shows that “stretch” assignments, where employees operate outside their expertise, drive accelerated learning and leadership potential. While cynics might argue that taking unwanted jobs risks disengagement, the prevailing wisdom inside Goldman is that true engagement comes from overcoming adversity—and building the relationships that sustain you along the way.

The Ripple Effect: How Elite Advice Redefines Industry Norms

Solomon’s advice doesn’t just shape the future of 2,600 interns. It ripples outward, influencing how other Wall Street firms structure their own internship programs and how early-career professionals across the industry perceive risk and opportunity. Goldman’s fierce selectivity—and the compensation that matches their demands—raise the bar for competitors, while the firm’s emphasis on adaptability and networking sets a cultural tone that others can’t ignore.

The impact goes beyond economics. As interns carry Solomon’s message into their first jobs and beyond, they bring with them a mindset that values resilience over comfort, growth over predictability. For Goldman Sachs, the payoff is a talent pipeline primed for volatility and change. For the rest of Wall Street, the message is clear: In the age of AI, global markets, and relentless competition, it’s not just what you know or where you start—it’s how bravely you leap into the unknown.