Brown shoes could mean you fail a job interview
University graduates hoping to get a job as an investment banker in London could be disappointed if they wear brown shoes to their job interview. A new report highlights how the investment banking industry in the UK follows centuries-old, unwritten rules about how bankers should conduct themselves. The study was undertaken by the British government's Social Mobility Commission. Researchers looked at how the industry selected people in job interviews. They found that the industry was governed by "relatively opaque" codes of conduct. They wrote: "For men, the wearing of brown shoes with a business suit is generally considered unacceptable…within investment banking."
The survey suggested that people from working class backgrounds had to change their behaviour to fit in with bankers who were from middle and upper classes. One newly-appointed banker said: "I felt like my accent was a bit out of place, so I changed it." The study also said the industry discriminated against those who did not go to elite universities. The Commission's chairman said: "Bright, working-class kids are being systematically locked out of top jobs in investment banking because they did not attend a small handful of elite universities." He added: "It is shocking…that some investment bank managers still judge candidates on whether they wear brown shoes with a suit, rather than on their skills and potential."
Article Source: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1609/160906-job-interview.html
Image Source: http://blog.jobtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Job-Interview-3-1-800x416.jpg
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Opaque (adj.) ~ not able to be seen through not transparent
2. Discriminate (v.) ~ make an unjust or prejudicial distinction in the treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, sex, or age
3. Elite (adj.) ~ a select part of a group that is superior to the rest in terms of ability or qualities
4. Potential (adj.) ~ having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1.What kind of graduates could be disappointed?
2.How old are the unwritten rules the investment banking industry follows?
3.Who looked at how the industry selected people in interviews?
4.What was described as being 'relatively opaque'?
5.What is considered unacceptable in the investment baking industry?
6.What did working class people have to change to fit in?
7.What did one banker have to change to not feel out of place?
8.What kind of universities do investment bankers usually come from?
9.Who is being systematically locked out of top investment banking jobs?
10.What are candidates not being judged on?
