Landing a job at Goldman Sachs is often described as harder than getting into Harvard University. For Sharran Srivatsaa, an Indian-origin entrepreneur and former wealth manager based in California, US, the process took 39 one-on-one interviews—and one that lasted less than a minute but changed everything.
Srivatsaa, now president of Acquisition.com and a four-time Inc. 500 entrepreneur, shared the story on TikTok and was later quoted by Fortune. Recalling his post-MBA job search, Srivatsaa described one interview in which a managing director tested him in an unconventional manner.
An unconventional test during a 46-second interview
“He shows up all frazzled. He puts, like, this big leather binder on the desk, and he says, ‘You’re a hotshot. I see hotshots come through here all the time. See if you can set me up a meeting,’” Srivatsaa said, adding that binder contained contact information, including names and phone numbers.
Most candidates, Srivatsaa said, would have jumped to make cold calls to prove their sales skills. Instead, he paused and asked: “I’m happy to call her. Do you have a script or something? Because I just want to represent you well.”
The managing director immediately packed up, shook his hand, said, "You'll do great, kid," and left. The encounter lasted about 46 seconds, Srivatsaa noted. He later learned the reason at a cocktail party when he came across the managing director again and asked him, "I am sorry, that interview was like 46 seconds. What did I do right or wrong?"
The Goldman Sachs managing partner reportedly replied: “You’re the first person that didn’t just pick up the phone and want to prove to me that you’re a hotshot. You asked for guidance. That made me believe you’re coachable.”
Srivatsaa joined the investment banking company in 2007 as an investment manager and stayed until 2010 before leaving to build businesses. His takeaway: humility and willingness to learn often outweigh bravado in high-stakes hiring.
Goldman Sachs’ notoriously selective process
The Wall Street firm’s hiring standards remain among the toughest globally. For its 2025 internship programme, Goldman Sachs received over 360,000 applications but selected only 2,500 candidates—an acceptance rate of about 0.7 percent, lower than Harvard’s.
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