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Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

reuters.com

141–150 of 232 posts

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worked there for 7 years, can confirm.

Can if I ask what makes you stay there? Also for perspective what type of role do you have their.

Started family, needed stable income and insurance, salary was still plenty to finance savings and a comfortable life in NYC. They also let me go remote without a second thought when I asked.

I quit last year to look after my kids and do my own thing, although the decision was driven more by boredom than any desire for more pay.

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way you think is very dangerous.

Observing established patterns is dangerous?

Taking small similarities between 95% of society vs a specific entity designed to manage dangerous crisis to justify anything. In that case dress code, which is also overkill.

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#143
post #27

Odd, I worked at Goldman Sachs in London in approx. 1999-2001 and visited the New York office a few times and remember it being the usual "smart/casual" (veering to very casual). When did it smarten up?

Tech never did smarten up. I wore business casual every day to work from 2008 onward, no one ever said a damned thing.

Did put on a tie when making presentations to the desk, though.

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny must be an American thing I bet in many of the clubs in London not wearing cufflinks would almost be as bad as wearing brown shoes in town.

> brown shoes in town What's the story here? All I know about dress shoes is that they're hideously uncomfortable and generally not blue suede.

As the old saying goes "no brown in town"....

It's an old UK social class signalling thing.

Only really applies to particularly stuffy organisations these days - but the do exist in the finance/legal worlds.

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#146

If you view human beings as perfectly rational machines then dress codes make no sense, but that's not what we are. Dressing formally puts you in a different frame of mind. It reminds you that your work is serious and that different standards apply to how you act and talk than in your casual personal life. If you dress to work the way you'd show up to a dive bar, then you're that much closer to behaving like you do a…

> Dressing formally puts you in a different frame of mind. It reminds you that your work is serious and that different standards apply I wonder, if appearances matter that much, would your staff believe that they can be publicly wrong, admit mistakes, or take any risks that would lead to either scenario? Would they ever ask a question, when it signals they don't already know everything? It seems like once you take on…

>Ideally, social mobility shouldn't rely on the promoting the richest person up to managers and executives.

I think we agree 100% on this point, no?

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#147
post #84
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good to keep your boss on his or her toes too

Ehh. Every boss I've ever worked for after my initial out-of-college gig has known that I interview regularly, once every quarter at least; it was never anything personal or because of dissatisfaction, just "I like networking and I like seeing how the trends in the market are evolving". I usually didn't wear a suit to those, though, for the other reason: tech people get weird about well-dressed people and think they'…

> tech people get weird about well-dressed people and think they're "fakes" or whatever.

There's some historical precedence there. Up until ~10-15 years ago the fakers and know-nothings used to always wear suits. They were the guys who pulled the purse strings, but had no clue.

Unfortunately, since then they've learnt to mimic the dress of their prey. So now instead of the "empty suit" you have an "empty hoodie".

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#148
post #36

I never got the point of dress codes. When everyone dress (boringly) alike I tend to view them as mindless drones and my respect for them drops to near zero. Show up in some unusual or creative outfit however and I'm so much more willing to believe you are an intelligent and interresting human being.

Totally agree. I mean, look at all these dull, uncreative, mindless drones http://www.uh.edu/engines/Solvay-1927.jpg .

Well, for one thing, Einstein never wore socks.

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#149
Goldman Sachs might get more traction with tech talent if they drop their proprietary in-house language and database; Slang and SecDB. See 'Confessions of a Slang coder at Goldman Sachs' [1], and 'The hidden weakness inside Goldman Sachs?' [2]. Of course, it is considered by some to be the secure sauce behind their secret source but I expect its a factor, especially if they are trying to hire from the Silicon Valley crowd.

[1] http://news.efinancialcareers.com/au-en/282097/slang-goldman...

[2] http://news.efinancialcareers.com/au-en/274853/secdb-goldman...

Re: Goldman Sachs relaxes dress code for techs in fight for talent

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny must be an American thing I bet in many of the clubs in London not wearing cufflinks would almost be as bad as wearing brown shoes in town.

Yeah, in the US cufflinks can come across as elitist or as a flaunting of wealth.

at a top tier investment bank isn't working their elitist enough all ready
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