I shows keenness and will be noticed,later it will give you leeway if you are late as you will allready have a good reputation for time keeping so they will think not your fault.Originally Posted by ben4watches
We HAD to be 10 minutes early so the officers could be 10 minutes late,it sticks with you.
Jeezoh - this chat about oxfords and brogues is a bit much given the lad is on his first day of his first job. As long as they are clean and have heels it will be fine.
On timekeeping always try to be 10 minutes early to work or an interview. I recall a saying regarding meeting clients/customers that 5 minutes early is 5 minutes late. Bit excessive but not a bad rule of thumb.
Suit, no tie, eye contact and a firm handshake - all the best to your lad.
Congratulations for securing a position with The Bank of England. Your son will likely be offered a Bank of England bank account which entitles him to a Bank of England cheque book, debit card, and credit card. The cheque book will likely not be used but its scarcity will ensure it's a treasured family heirloom.
A decent wallet is a 'must' for any BoE employee ... as is a decent umbrella and a leather brief case ... latter not too 'old school'
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
That's about it.
I hate it when people arrive too early - usually I have a reason I've given someone a specific time. 5 minutes early is fine, but no more - and that's to walk into reception. "Hi, I'm Mr Longblackcoat, here for a 10.00 with Joanna Cheese." You arrive at 09.55, you're in the building, show that you've thought it might take a minute or two to get you booked in if you don't have a pass, then leave it to them. Anything earlier make you look like you can't read an instruction or have all the self-confidence of a Cream Cracker.
At least get to the building early, can always hang about outside.
Lots of good advice here already - Financial institutes I would suggest you want to be traditional - navy suit white shirt tie and smart (polished shoes) long term you should be mirroring your peers (however dress for the job you want is one of my favourite sayings and I dont think you can be over dressed if nothing else it will get you noticed) as others have said you can always take the tie off
I worked in recruitment for many years and if you are still concerned reach out to HR or your line manager for clarity - its not an unusual request
Also dont under estimate the importance of arriving early it shows enthusiasm and worst case you can sit in reception or outside (grab a coffee maybe) and get a feel for others as they come into the building and I would encourage him to try and build rapport with the receptionists - they know everyone in a company md to the cleaners so have a great understanding of the culture and the charachters and they are often overlooked but get them onside and they have a wealth of information and knowledge and when most people frown at them Ive often found that they know way more than most people give them credit for
Above all enthusiasm is key - take notes ask lots of questions and above all enjoy it!!!!
Good luck
Last edited by R0bertb00th; 3rd July 2023 at 17:05.
I worked in the city from 2006-2021. Age 26- 41 . Never owned a leather brief case . Majority of people use rack sacks !
Do rack sacks = bras?
Oops ruck sacks!
Rack sacks entirely optional at this time of year...
I'm not a City veteran, but what I've noticed from the past 4 years in the St Pauls and Cannon Street area is that the standard attire for anyone under 40 (or above too?) are chinos, business/smart/formal trainers, white shirt, a Patagonia gilet, a Pampeano belt and a hair cut that says I'm too busy to get a hair cut.
I was wandering that area at lunchtime a few weeks ago, and concur 100%. It has become the uniform for sure.
When I used to commute to London I originally laughed at the arcteryx crowd of commuters. Before discovering it was rather good for light weight travel and layering!
I had to Google the belt brand but the design looks about right.
Now I know how to keep up with the youngsters.
For more city attire japes (USA style) follow @midtownuniform on Instagram
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Overly formal for my taste, but I agree with the last statement.
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
I agree, I guess there's a reason all the smart city people wear them. I prefer cheap Uniqlo gilets!
You can be overdressed but it's generally much less of a problem than being underdressed...
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I agree. I went to a meeting in Lyon recently with a colleague who doesn't get to travel much and he turned up in a tuxedo complete with an ascot.
For a few years now I’ve thought that suits and ties are only for funerals and court appearances, and I think even funerals can be deleted from that short list now.
When I quit corporate life around 2002 the dark suit and tie was still standard uniform, and I continued wearing it for a couple of years. But I found that when I met most private clients they were well (but comfortably) dressed in chinos or cords, tweed jackets, country shirt (with or without tie), brogues (often brown) and waistcoat or not depending on season. I liked the look and so adopted that as my business uniform. For a few years more I’d meet clients with representatives of their bank and or investment house who still wore the dark suit and tie; but it’s quite a few years now since that dress code went out of the window for client facing roles. Mostly whenever I visited other people’s offices in recent years the behind-the-scenes dress code was jeans or chinos and maybe a tailored shirt but often a polo shirt. More than once a 20-something would say to me how he liked my “old school” business attire.
Times have changed. Stand out if you want to but do it by choice and for your own reasons.
I’m going to answer this from a slightly different angle. Make sure he avoids stupid half mast narrow leg trousers, jackets that are “fashsionable” but clearly too short and don’t button.
Don’t use the bottom button of the jacket. The tip of the tie ( if worn ) should touch the middle to bottom of the belt buckle.
Don’t wear stupid patterned socks.
A rucksack is better than briefcase. Especially if avoiding being mugged for your laptop. Make sure the rucksack is marked in some way to show it’s yours but dont put your name on the outside.
Be very careful which pubs he goes into, a young person plus alcohol, BoE pass and the prostitutes (The Ned) and the watch spotters for thieves outside the Royal Exchange. What could possibly go wrong.
A marks and Spencer city suit is not expensive, and can easily buy the extra trousers. Need to be sensible not fashion or tailored.
Day one- take some comped plasters for ankles. Avoid constantly checking social media on the phone, don’t take selfies.
End of grumpy words of wisdom !
Time for a pre meeting/ interview fag maybe even a vodka sharpener.
lot of sense there, especially about short jackets and trousers!
Compeed plasters - accept no substitute!
As for silly Sunak-length trousers, avoid at all costs. It's the Bank of England after all, not a branch of Carphone Warehouse.
Funny. When I saw the “you can’t be overdressed” comments this is exact what I was thinking.
Not really overdressed as such but instead either trying too hard or evoking your inner Love Island contestant at work vibe.
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If in doubt then I'd say the safest bet is a suit with a shirt, and have a tie in his briefcase/satchel/man bag just in case. If everybody is just in a shirt and chinos he can take his jacket off and won't look much different.
I have meetings around the city and nearby places a couple of times a week and it's rare to see many people in a full suit and tie.
I'll politely disagree about having a tie in his bag. It's far easier and quicker to whip a tie off if no one else is wearing one than to put one on if they aren't.
From this FT article (mostly a non-story about women's dress code) https://archive.ph/OjxHi#selection-2089.755-2089.840
"Bank of England says the following: Like many organisations, the Bank simply expects staff to wear smart business attire."
I've just had a look at the BoE website at the researchers page (typically younger and cooler than les grandes fromages);
- Most are men
- Of them, the majority are wearing ties, mostly horrible (there's a guy called Andreas Joseph with a fabulously appalling orange number)
- Almost all are wearing jackets
- They all look like the kind of crazy guys who make actuaries* seem a bit frenetic
- None of them have tight-fit/short-leg Love Island suits
- There are a lot of ugly beards
Then again, they're all frighteningly clever and have PhDs on things like 'the implications of labour market financial frictions' so I'll not try to kick sand in their intellectual faces.
*We accountants always give actuaries a bit of a shoeing. Because we're all such fashion powerhouses
Update:
Get a haircut the week before not the day before.
Don’t drink alcohol days before you start.
Never drink alcohol at lunchtime
Several coffee shops near there sell high strength coffee - be careful with the caffeine if not used it.
Don’t drink energy drinks.
Carry a small neutral deodorant, wet wipes.
Don’t use teenager deodorant like Lynx.
Don’t carry a green coloured pen or the old boys will bore you with their stories.
Don’t use a pen where the ink can be erased.
Don’t use a fountain pen until you run the place and especially don’t use an expensive one.
Don’t wear amusing cuff links ( masturbating monkeys are frowned upon these days ).
When leaving the building avoid the myriad of nearby small passageways until you know your way around.
Careful of pickpockets at the entrance to Bank tube station ( Royal exchange and in front of the Ned)
Don’t engage with the protestors outside the building.
Be careful if you choose to donate to a homeless person via their tap to donate device as the amount can be greater than you wanted to give.
Enjoy !
Further update:
If he smokes, stop it !
If he vapes, stop it.
If he can’t stop it don’t be the person that keeps nipping out to vape, never vape in the building and don’t stink like a 3year olds fruits of the forest playdoh set .
Last edited by joe narvey; 6th July 2023 at 10:39.
^ that’s the first day in the office ruined 😂
I like to think set up for success ..
...and no doctor's appointments in the middle of the day...?
And always remember, you are paid to take a dump. So save it up for, and string it out at work.
Never use the middle trap if the outside ones are free.
Never wear shoes recognisable under the toilet stalls
If you walk into a stall and the seat is down use another stall, don’t even think about lifting the lid.
Turn off vibration on your phone or learn to use work mode or airplane mode. Same for any smart watch.
When taking notes for some reason an iPad/laptop looks bad but handwritten is universally accepted. Not taking notes is not acceptable.
Don’t cycle through posh watches at work with a different one everyday if you want a good bump come annual review time. Watches are usually seen as a display of wealth and no one will believe it’s a genuine hobby.
Think twice before going home with one of the girls in marketing. It will never be forgotten.
Don’t eat at your desk.
Don’t tell anyone how much you earn or what your parents do.
Absolutely never ever say anything that might be in any way be an opinion relating to lifestyle, how someone identifies, their gender, religious beliefs or politics.
Do not use the “- my pronouns are” -feature in any email correspondence.
Don’t use company email for personal stuff and don’t give your work email out to anyone except where required for work.
Don’t try to fix the printer - it’s a Lexmark and didn’t work before you arrived.
Agree with your boss how you should/ can describe your role when updating LinkedIn.
Last edited by joe narvey; 6th July 2023 at 18:57.
Never wear a bow tie to work. Especially not one of those hilarious flashing ones. Not even to the Christmas party
Talking of the Christmas party, don't attend. Honestly, it's so much better to not to be there when Maria from Accounts throws up on the dancefloor or Daz The Sales Legend starts a fight. The food is always shit. There is no good end to The Office Christmas Party; the best that you can hope for is that it's just a bit dull. You're far better at home with a glass of decent wine watching Love Actually.
If someone describes themselves as 'the wacky one' or says 'I'm a Marmite person, you either love me or you hate me', avoid them. Everyone hates them.
Don't talk about your membership of the Jehovah's Witnesses, your enthusiastic masturbatory habits or, worse, the fact that you're a Mackem
Talking excitedly about how many TikTok subscribers you have, Bitcoin mining or how you've always been inspired by Taylor Swift will make everyone conclude - rightly - that you're an intellectual lightweight and can either be ignored or treated like the muppet you are
Wearing an obviously expensive watch to work - particularly a blingy Rolex 16613 or the like - will get people's backs up. Sorry, but you'll be judged for being either (a) a total wide boy (b) an insensitive tosser who's wearing £20k on their wrist when you're talking to the receptionist who earns less than that in a year. If you must wear a watch like that, make sure it looks appropriately old and dirty so you can pass it off as 'just an old watch'
Avoid wanky language. If you ever hear the phrase 'hey, let's sidebar that' you know you're talking to tossers. Never, ever, ask whether 'we're all signing from the same hymn sheet'. And if you ever 'reach out' to people, consider suicide.
BSL?
All very good suggestions.
Let me run them past the boys at head and we can decide which to incorporate into our blue sky thinking.
Picking the low hanging fruits is always cool if you have your ducks lined up.
Thank Christ I got out of all that shit 10 years ago.
Yeah, that too.
Let's put that one in the ideas fridge and snack on it later...
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I had to nip to Delaware for a meeting once and my host said ‘ would you like to situatate, aclimate, internalise these ( passing documents to me) and then we can socialise it with the tribe. ‘
Sorry for being late to the party, I have a fried who is a senior bod at the BOE, this is what he advises;
- [COLOR=var(--color-text)]Haha it was suit and tie for a long time. Suit no tie fairly safe. Tie on for meetings with governors and senior externals is also safe. Albeit in don't suit up most days.... I have brought myself a bit of grace though by being modestly good at the job![/COLOR]
- [COLOR=var(--color-text)]Dress code post pandemic much less formal[/COLOR]
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