Height and Race in Banking
5'2, 130 lb, male, two races non-white; college student majoring in CS - target school. I saw several papers and articles about how executives (especially in banking) tend to be relatively very tall (6' above); and I also experienced it through career fair especially in finance themed ones. Should I stop dreaming to go to banking and find another industry knowing that banking relatively more conservative and strict than other industries? I just don't want to fight on the field that I know I will be hindered.
Thanks
Lloyd Blankfein is a generous 5'5. Just crush it in interviews and you'll be fine.
There’s nothing you can do about your height now. Whether this is true or not, you should be focused on your interview.
Banking isn't the NBA, so unless you're planning to regularly windmill dunk on your coworkers during after-work hooping sessions, you don't need to be > 6'. Plenty of other ways to establish dominance... There's no such thing as too short. Don't have complexes about your height, you'll be fine.
I would worry more about a lack of confidence. Concerns about your height and race show that you are unsure about yourself. You control your own destiny, so keep your head down and stop worrying about other's perception of you.
bro banks love diversity and shit the shorter and more non-white you are the more they'll like you. you're gonna make it bro
Spent my time in IBD, retail banking, cards, payments, and consulting so far. First of all, the big corporates are way too large to generalize these things. Just because the "average" male is tall doesn't mean they all end up in leadership positions or that shorter men don't make it.
In one specific case I remember how a colleague managed to spin office politics, and back room talks in such a direction that pretty much 4 leading, white, tall male managers were handed the pink slip in the next round of layoffs. This colleague who managed to do this was female, relatively short, very smart, not white (her actual race doesn't matter here) and very tactical with her actions. She now runs the entire department (I believe she still does).
Life isn't necessarily about the hand you were dealt, it is about what you do with it.
Steve Schwarzman is 5’6, hasn’t stopped him. It doesn’t matter.
I do believe there is a slight inherent bias towards taller and more attractive people but that isn't specific to investment banking or even finance. It's specific to life.
With that said, be a likeable person, know your shit, and you'll be fine.
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