Goldman Sachs 2028 phone screen guide

For
2028 summer analysts
Sources
7 cited

Got a call booked with Goldman Sachs before your superday? Most processes go from the HireVue straight to the superday, but some add a phone screen. Here is which teams have, who calls, what they ask and how to prepare.

A student standing by the window of a dorm room at night, a phone held to one ear, a desk lamp lighting an open notebook and a printed resume on the desk behind them.
Goldman Sachs runs the HireVue, then the superday; some teams, such as Private Wealth Management in Dallas (Feb 2026, summer 2027), add a phone screen in between.

Key facts

  • Is there one?: Not as standard: Goldman Sachs names the HireVue, then the superday. San Francisco investment banking (Feb 2025, summer 2026) and Private Wealth Management in Dallas (Feb 2026, summer 2027) added a phone screen; Equity Capital Markets in New York (Jan 2025, summer 2026) went straight to the superday.1,3,4,6
  • Who calls: A VP ran the San Francisco investment banking screen. Engineering phone interviews are with one or more members of the engineering team.3,2
  • Format: A phone call. In Engineering, you share a CoderPad screen with an engineer and code while you talk the problems through by phone.3,4,2
  • Length: Engineering's CoderPad interview generally takes 45 to 60 minutes; Goldman Sachs says to allow longer.2
  • How it comes: In San Francisco investment banking the screen followed networking with two analysts. In Private Wealth Management it followed an online application, and in Engineering a recruiter made contact.3,4,5
  • After it: The Private Wealth Management superday came about a month after the screen (Feb 2026, summer 2027). In San Francisco, screen, superday and offer took under a month (Feb 2025, summer 2026).4,3

Goldman Sachs' own route for students is the video interview, then the superday. The phone screen is what some teams add between them, so treat it as a short first interview with the same questions you would expect later.1,3,4

What the Goldman Sachs interview looks like

  1. Where it sits

    Goldman Sachs' stated route is the application, a video interview of about 30 minutes, then a superday of two to five interviews. A phone screen, where there is one, sits between the HireVue and the superday. Equity Capital Markets in New York went from the HireVue straight to a virtual superday (Jan 2025, summer 2026).1,6

  2. Who gets one

    Investment banking in San Francisco invited an applicant to a phone screen with a VP after they had networked with two analysts (Feb 2025, summer 2026). Private Wealth Management in Dallas ran a phone screening interview after an online application (Feb 2026, summer 2027). Engineering assesses applicants through phone interviews as well as onsite rounds, and a Dallas Engineering process began with a recruiter screening (Feb 2024, summer 2025).3,4,2,5

  3. The format

    Expect a phone call with one person. In Engineering the call runs alongside CoderPad: you share a screen with one of the engineers, write and run code, and talk through your approach by phone, usually in at least two languages of your choice.3,4,2

  4. What they ask

    Goldman Sachs says its interviews focus on real-world problems and on how you have handled, or would handle, work situations, shaped by the role. In investment banking, expect DCF technicals, M&A trends and a recent deal. Wealth Management asked what the hardest part of the job is. Engineering is data structures and algorithms, with time and space complexity.2,3,4,5,7

  5. How to answer

    Treat the call as a two-way conversation, as Goldman Sachs asks: learn the firm, its business principles and recent results first, and have a few questions ready for each stage. In Engineering, explain your thinking as you code and aim for an optimal answer, not just one that works.2

  6. After it

    Next is the superday. In Private Wealth Management it came about a month after the screen; in San Francisco investment banking the whole process, screen, in-person superday and offer, took less than a month. After an Engineering CoderPad round, the recruiting team gets in touch with any next steps.4,3,2

Before your phone screen

  • A quiet room, your phone charged, and your resume in front of you.
  • A two-minute answer to "walk me through your resume" and to "why Goldman Sachs and why this team".
  • For investment banking: a DCF, how the tax rate runs through it, and one recent deal you can explain end to end.
  • A view on M&A trends this quarter, in two or three sentences.
  • For Wealth Management: what the job is day to day, and what you think is hardest about it.
  • For Engineering: CoderPad's free demo tried once, and two languages you can code in live.
  • Two questions for the person calling, ideally about something from your networking calls.

The questions

A phone screen tests the same things as the superday in a shorter call: can you do the technicals for your team, why Goldman Sachs, and do you follow the markets. Engineering calls are coding problems throughout.2,3,4,5

  • Technical: A DCF and what moves it, such as the tax rate; for biotech, how the DCF changes.
  • Markets and deals: M&A trends now, and a recent deal you can explain.
  • Fit and motivation: Why Goldman Sachs, why this team, and what the job asks of you.
  • Behavioral: Real situations: a hard challenge, a teammate problem, how you would handle it.
  • Coding (Engineering): Data structures and algorithms on CoderPad, with complexity.

Which division question you get

Investment Banking, San Francisco
Feb 2025 (summer 2026): a VP phone screen after networking, then an in-person superday of three 30-minute interviews. Biotech DCF, three ways the tax rate affects a DCF, M&A trends, a recent deal, pessimist or optimist on a scale of 1 to 10, across the screen and superday.3,7
Private Wealth Management, Dallas
Feb 2026 (summer 2027): a phone screening interview, then a superday about a month later. Asked what the hardest part of wealth management is.4,7
Engineering
Phone interviews and CoderPad rounds of 45 to 60 minutes on data structures and algorithms. A Dallas process (Feb 2024, summer 2025) began with a recruiter screening; across the process it asked for the median of a stream of stock prices and a simple order matching system, without saying which round.2,5,7
Equity Capital Markets, New York
Jan 2025 (summer 2026): HireVue, then a virtual superday of three 20-minute interviews with an associate and two managing directors.6

Only some teams add a phone screen, so if your invite skips straight to a superday, that is the usual route.

Example questions and how to answer them

Technical"What are three ways the tax rate affects a DCF?"3,7
  1. 1Free cash flow: unlevered free cash flow starts from EBIT after tax, so a higher rate lowers every year's cash flow.
  2. 2Discount rate: interest is tax deductible, so the after-tax cost of debt, and with it WACC, falls as the rate rises.
  3. 3Terminal value: it rests on the last year's after-tax cash flow, so the rate carries into most of the value.
  4. 4Close with the net effect: lower cash flows usually outweigh the lower WACC, so value falls.

Tip: Asked in San Francisco investment banking in February 2025 (summer 2026); the account lists it across the phone screen and superday together. Give the three in a list, then offer to go deeper on any one.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Written by Intervyo as an example. First, through the cash flows: unlevered free cash flow starts from EBIT times one minus the tax rate, so a higher rate cuts free cash flow every year. Second, through the discount rate: interest is deductible, so the after-tax cost of debt is the pre-tax cost times one minus the tax rate, and a higher tax rate lowers WACC. Third, through the terminal value, which grows from the final year's after-tax cash flow, so the rate runs into most of the valuation. On balance the lower cash flows usually matter more than the cheaper debt, so a higher tax rate lowers the value.

Markets"Walk me through a recent deal."3,7
  1. 1Who bought whom, for how much, and how it was paid for: cash, stock or debt.
  2. 2Why: the strategic logic, such as growth, cost savings or a new market.
  3. 3Was the price fair: the multiple paid against peers, and the premium.
  4. 4Your view: one risk, and what you would watch next.

Tip: Asked in San Francisco investment banking (Feb 2025, summer 2026), in the screen or the superday, next to "current thoughts on M&A trends". Pick a deal in the sector of the team you are calling with.

Fit"What do you think is the hardest part about wealth management?"4,7
  1. 1Name one real difficulty, such as keeping client trust through a falling market.
  2. 2Show you know the job: client relationships, advice across many asset types, long-term goals.
  3. 3Say how you would handle it, from something you have done.
  4. 4Close on why that challenge draws you to the role.

Tip: Asked in Private Wealth Management in Dallas (Feb 2026, summer 2027), a process that began with a phone screen. Pick a hard part you can speak to from experience, not a weakness of the firm.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Written by Intervyo as an example. I think the hardest part is keeping a client's trust when markets move against them. The plan may be right for their goals, but a bad quarter makes people want to act, and the adviser has to explain calmly why staying the course is right, or change course when it is not. I saw a small version of this running the budget for my student investment club: when our holdings fell 12 percent in a month, I walked members through why we had bought each position before we voted. We kept most of them. That mix of judgment and communication is what draws me to wealth management.

Technical (Engineering)"How would you find the median of a stream of incoming stock prices?"5,7,2
  1. 1Clarify: how often you need the median, and whether prices can repeat.
  2. 2Use two heaps: a max-heap for the lower half and a min-heap for the upper half.
  3. 3Insert each price into one heap, then rebalance so the sizes differ by at most one.
  4. 4The median is the top of the larger heap, or the mean of both tops; insertion is O(log n), the median O(1).

Tip: Asked in a Dallas Engineering process (Feb 2024, summer 2025); the account does not say which round. Goldman Sachs asks you to explain your thinking and aim for an optimal answer, so start with the simple sort, then improve it.

More Goldman Sachs interview questions

Technical

  • “How is a biotech DCF different from a traditional DCF?”3,7

    Investment Banking, San Francisco, Feb 2025 (summer 2026); the account does not say which round asked it

  • “What are your current thoughts on M&A trends?”3,7

    Investment Banking, San Francisco, Feb 2025 (summer 2026)

Fit and behavioral

  • “On a scale from 1 to 10, are you a pessimist or an optimist?”3,7

    Investment Banking, San Francisco, Feb 2025 (summer 2026)

  • “If you noticed a teammate consistently taking credit for your work, how would you handle it?”5,7

    Engineering, Dallas, Feb 2024 (summer 2025); the account does not say which round

  • “Why do you want to work at Goldman Sachs?”5,7

    Engineering, Dallas, Feb 2024 (summer 2025); the account does not say which round

Coding (Engineering)

  • “Design a simple order matching system.”5,7

    Engineering, Dallas, Feb 2024 (summer 2025); the account does not say which round

  • “What is the difference between an ArrayList and a LinkedList?”5,7

    Engineering, Dallas, Feb 2024 (summer 2025); the account does not say which round

  • “How would you identify duplicate transactions in a system processing a large volume of them?”5,7

    Engineering, Dallas, Feb 2024 (summer 2025); the account does not say which round

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How long to hear back after the interview

Goldman Sachs aims to be in touch within two weeks of an interview. Where there has been a phone screen, the superday followed within about a month.2,3,4

  1. Feb 2024 (summer 2025)

    Engineering analyst, Dallas

    A recruiter made contact and ran an initial screening, then superday interviews with the engineering team. One to two months in all.5

  2. Jan 2025 (summer 2026)

    Equity Capital Markets, New York

    No phone screen: from the HireVue to a virtual superday of three 20-minute interviews.6

  3. Feb 2025 (summer 2026)

    Investment Banking, San Francisco

    Networked with two analysts, a phone screen with a VP, then an in-person superday; offer a few days later, under a month in all.3

  4. Feb 2026 (summer 2027)

    Private Wealth Management, Dallas

    Applied online, a phone screening interview, then a superday about a month later.4

If two weeks pass after an interview with no news, Goldman Sachs asks you to check in with your recruiter.2

Best guessIf your screen came through networking, a short thank-you note to the person who called, and to the analysts who referred you, the same day is worth sending.

What happens after the interview

  1. Online application

    Resume-based, on Goldman Sachs' portal, reviewed through the recruiting season.1

  2. HackerRank (Engineering, Quant Strats)

    Done, if you applied to Engineering: a HackerRank assessment alongside the video interview.1

  3. HireVue video interview

    Done. A recorded video interview of about 30 minutes.1

  4. Phone screen (sometimes)You are here

    This page. A call before the superday in some teams: a VP in San Francisco investment banking, a screening interview in Private Wealth Management, phone and CoderPad rounds in Engineering.3,4,2

  5. Superday

    Two to five interviews for campus hires, depending on the division: three back-to-back 30-minute interviews, in person, in San Francisco investment banking (Feb 2025, summer 2026).1,3

  6. Offer

    Goldman Sachs aims to be in touch within two weeks of an interview; in San Francisco investment banking, an offer came a few days after the superday.2,3

Phone screen vs superday

The phone screen is one call that some teams use to choose who reaches the superday. The superday is the final round: several interviews with people from the team.

Format

Phone screen

A phone call; in Engineering, a call with a shared CoderPad screen.3,4,2

Superday

Two to five interviews for campus hires, one-on-one or in pairs, in person or on Zoom.1,2

Who

Phone screen

A VP in San Francisco investment banking; engineers in Engineering.3,2

Superday

A cross-section of the team, senior to junior, not named in advance.1,2

Length

Phone screen

45 to 60 minutes for an Engineering CoderPad round.2

Superday

30 to 60 minutes each; three of 30 minutes in San Francisco investment banking (Feb 2025, summer 2026).2,3

Who gets it

Phone screen

Some teams only: San Francisco investment banking, Private Wealth Management in Dallas, Engineering.3,4,2

Superday

Everyone selected after the HireVue.1

FAQ

Does Goldman Sachs have a phone screen before the superday?

Sometimes. Goldman Sachs' stated route is the HireVue, then the superday, and Equity Capital Markets in New York followed it (Jan 2025, summer 2026). San Francisco investment banking (Feb 2025, summer 2026) and Private Wealth Management in Dallas (Feb 2026, summer 2027) added a phone screen, and Engineering runs phone interviews on CoderPad.1,6,3,4,2

Who runs the Goldman Sachs phone screen?

In San Francisco investment banking it was a VP, after the applicant had networked with two analysts. Engineering phone interviews are with one or more members of the engineering team, and a Dallas Engineering process (Feb 2024, summer 2025) began with a recruiter screening.3,2,5

What does Goldman Sachs ask on an investment banking phone screen?

Expect technicals and markets: a biotech DCF against a standard one, three ways the tax rate affects a DCF, M&A trends and a recent deal, plus whether you are a pessimist or an optimist. The San Francisco account (Feb 2025, summer 2026) lists these across the screen and the superday together.3,7

What is the Goldman Sachs Engineering phone interview like?

You share a CoderPad screen with an engineer and talk through data structures and algorithms problems by phone, in your choice of languages. It generally takes 45 to 60 minutes, and Goldman Sachs asks you not to look up or share CoderPad questions.2

How long after the phone screen is the superday?

About a month in Private Wealth Management in Dallas (Feb 2026, summer 2027). In San Francisco investment banking, the screen, superday and offer all came within a month (Feb 2025, summer 2026).4,3

How should I prepare for a Goldman Sachs phone screen?

Learn the firm first: its website, business principles and recent results, as Goldman Sachs suggests. Be ready to talk about your own experience, since the questions follow the role, and prepare a few questions of your own for each stage.2

Interview at other firms

Sources

Firm pages first, then dated candidate reports. Last checked Nov 9, 2026.

  1. 1Goldman Sachs: Prepare (students)
  2. 2Goldman Sachs: Interview Preparation
  3. 3Candidate report on a public forum: Investment Banking Summer Analyst interview, San Francisco (Feb 2025, summer 2026)
  4. 4Candidate report on a public forum: Private Wealth Management interview, Dallas (Feb 2026, summer 2027)
  5. 5Candidate report on a public forum: Engineering Analyst interview, Dallas (Feb 2024)
  6. 6Candidate report on a public forum: Summer Analyst interview, Equity Capital Markets, New York (Jan 2025, summer 2026)
  7. 7Candidate reports on a public forum: Goldman Sachs interview questions (company database)

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