The president of Goldman Sachs says the perfect résumé won't get you the job — here's what will (GS)

REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

A perfect resume isn't enough to find career success, according to one of the most powerful men on Wall Street.

David Solomon, the president and co-COO of Goldman Sachs, recently shared his best career advice on the firm's podcast, "Exchanges at Goldman Sachs."

He told host Jake Siewert that the resume is not the be-all and end-all.

"I see some incredible resumes that over the years come across my desk," he said. "But when you start to sit down and talk with them, they can't really communicate or articulate in a way that backs up just the raw academic performance."

People with poor communication skills, he says, are not doomed for failure. But they could face more barriers.

"Take public speaking," he said. "Take some writing classes. Think about how you can develop communication skills, because it will help you in anything you do."

Solomon also shared the career advice his father gave him when he was younger. It's a tidbit Solomon passed on to his daughters, although he says they didn't heed it.

"Everyone should take a semester of accounting," Solomon said. "Just understanding basic accounting really helps you understand how a lot of the world works from an economic perspective."

Accounting, according to Solomon, can help people understand how to run everything from a home to a giant company. That said, however, he think it's important students get their full degree in a subject matter in which they can find a true interest.

"And when you dig into things that you have some passion about or some interest in, you go a little deeper, you work a little bit harder," he said. 

Solomon joined Goldman in 1999, according to his company profile. Prior to his role as co-COO and president, which he took on at the beginning of the year, he was cohead of investment banking from July 2006 to the end of 2016. 

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