One Of Goldman Sachs' Veteran Recruiting Execs Explains What It Takes To Get Hired
Edith Hunt, Chief Diversity Officer and former Head of Talent Management at Goldman Sachs has been helping the bank figure out who gets to join its ranks since the 1990s.
In an interview for Open Door, a video series from leading finance career site OneWire, Hunt explains how she creates a diverse work environment and what it takes to make it at one of Wall Street's top firms.
“Understand what the job entails, find a job match that you’re going to enjoy, because any of these jobs—particularly those at Goldman Sachs or Wall Street—require a lot. They’re demanding roles…So it better be something you like, because if you like it, you have a chance at being good at it.”
Hunt was part of the first generation in her family to receive a college education, ultimately graduating from the University of Pennsylvania.
“I’m very mindful of the fact that I would not have had this career if I hadn’t gone to the University of Pennsylvania, and the fact that I knew about the University of Pennsylvania was kind of a fluke.” She went on to earn her MBA from the University of Chicago, where she was one of merely ten female students in her class.
In the early days of her career, she recalls, “We knew [women] were a huge minority. We knew we were kind of pioneers, and it was kind of fun.”
Now, however, the role of women in finance is evolving.
“I think we’re looking for a point in time when senior management and boards of directors are coming to something that’s approaching 40% [female]. I think when you get over 30% you reach a tipping point where it’s really not the woman speaking; it’s just a person speaking—she happens to be female…We’ve made huge strides in terms of numbers but not as much as we need to get to.”
Check out the video for her full interview with OneWire, and for more on Hunt look below.
About Edith Hunt
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently earning her MBA at the University of Chicago, Edie Hunt began her impressive career at Citibank. After a series of promotions, she joined J. Aron, a small private commodities trading company, where she assumed the role of Personnel Director. Eleven months later, Goldman Sachs bought J. Aron, and as a result, Edie eventually became the Chief Administrative Officer for Goldman Sachs’ Fixed Income division. When the Fixed Income division merged with Currency and Commodities, she became increasingly involved in recruiting. She was named Co-COO for Human Capital Management and was promoted to Partner in 2004. From 2008 to 2011, Edie managed primarily diversity, recruitment, and training. In 2011, she retired as Partner. She continues to act as Advisory Director and Chief Diversity Officer at Goldman Sachs. Edie is actively involved in a number of charitable organizations—particularly those focused on education and the advancement of women. Such organizations include the mentoring program, New Jersey Needs You, and the Board of Trustees at St. Philip’s Academy.