Teetotalism affecting SA conversion chances?
Hi monkeys,
Curious as to whether my habit of not drinking (without having any religious requirements to do so) will affect my chances of SA conversion at a firm in London.
This is a serious post because I am from Asia and was quite shocked at the drinking culture when I moved to the UK, so any insights would be appreciated.
Hey Intern in RE - Comm, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I'm here since nobody responded to your thread! Bummer...could just be time of day or unlucky (or the question/topci is too vague or too specific). Maybe one of these topics will help:
More suggestions...
Hope that helps.
Bump
Hey man - can you not drink at all? You will be out with the team a lot and that's the time where you need to create an actual bond. I had the same issue but got around it by nursing a pint all night long. No one really cares and if someone is being a dick you can just say you don't want to drink alot due to an early meeting ,work etc. If you really want to avoid drinking in general, then your best route would be to blame a non-existent disease/medical condition and say you cant drink because of it
No.1 is the better option in general as people get more comfortable with someone who does similar things to them, but it's not the most important thing. Performance and personality come first, so just make sure to nail your performance and be a social, nice person with a good learning attitude and that will be more than enough to land the offer.
Good luck!
Thanks bro, appreciate the advice. It's not that I can't drink, just that I choose not to because I don't like the feeling and feel as if it negatively affected other aspects of my life (used to drink lightly in the past). I don't mind going to bars etc with the team, in fact, I'd even enjoy it, it's just that I'd rather remain sober. The medical condition thing is a good idea and I have thought of it, especially since one of my friends in IB actually has a legit condition like that. But looks like light drinking will the best option here
Yep - just choose a beer that has a low % and nurse it all night long. You wont get drunk even if you dont drink at all as long as you have food in your system. GL
Just don’t be weird about it. When you’re younger it feels like a big deal but you quickly realize that no one who matters actually cares if you’re drinking. If someone is constantly harassing you about not drinking it’s usually because they’re trying to normalize their own over indulgence.
One other I wanted to add. Maybe don’t refer to yourself as a teetotaler should anyone ask why you’re not drinking. That particular choice of words isn’t going to do you any favors.
The only people I’ve met that won’t even have one small drink all turned out to be tools.
Or alcoholism runs in their family; or maybe they're already a recovering alcoholic; or really into fitness, or suffering from depression. Basically, fuck off. If you don't want to drink, don't drink, but don't judge others who are and don't make remarks about it. Just act as normal as possible and you'll be fine. Some people may respect the discipline. I agree, nurse a single beer for the night is a good option too if you're not completely sober.
I’d prefer not to hire someone who can’t handle one drink. And certainly prefer not to hire someone like you with anger issues.
OK I guess this portfolio manager isn't going to get an Analyst job at your bank...shucks.
This guy has some of the worst takes on the forum. Definitely was bullied in high school and has insecurities that carried over
The only people I've met called Smoke Frog on WSO all turned out to be tools too
At least I can have one drink without being a cry baby about it.
Genuinely no one cares as long as you can match the vibe of everyone else (met plenty of non-drinkers who do this fine, you barely even realise they don't drink).
Haha thanks that's a relief
This is a legit concern, OP.
I had the same issue during my analyst years, because I was in a group with a hard drinking culture, and I did not drink alcohol. My solution was simply exchanging my drink with Diet Coke after I got my drink. Usually nobody said anything about it, but if they did, I said it was because I was on medication.
A bit of banter always helps. The first time someone made a comment, I said I was abstaining in honour of his pregnant mum. Since I wanted to greet my bastard sober.
If I couldn't exchange the alcoholic drink for whatever reason, I discreetly emptied it on the floor when nobody was looking.
Be warned that if you do what I did, you will still pay for these alcoholic drinks that you didn't consume. Unfair, but that's life.
One last advice for any fellow non-drinkers reading this is to never say you're abstaining for religious reasons. They will outwardly say that they "respect" your decision, but they will judge you for it. Just accept that this is the way things are, and say that you're on medication, even if the real reason is that you're Muslim.
Don't get pressured into doing anything that you don't want to do. There are a lot of fuckwits who say that people who don't drink are boring, stiff, etc. To their credit, I will admit that a lot of people are boring before getting a few drinks in them. But that is because these people never took the time to develop an interesting personality and just replaced it with drunk confidence. Hence the phrase, "I need a drink".
Just look at the most famous teetotaler in recent memory - Donald Trump. You can say many things about President Trump, but even his haters will concede that he's not boring.
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