Drinking in Sales

I know drinking is a big part of banking in general. I’m personally against heavy drinking. My family has issues with alcohol, and I personally am into longevity and such - meaning my diet is nailed in and alcohol is a no go for me.

I understand that most, especially in trading, drink as a vice. It’s a good way to wind down on a bad day, and a good activity whilst meeting with colleagues (happy hours and such). Whilst these are potentially significant for personal sanity, and potentially politics, there is definitely room to wiggle around it.

However, I’m interested to see how this holds with clients in a sales role. Obviously as a salesman, your goal is basically to suck up with clients as much as possible and entertain them. A lot of this will come from bars / restaurants - is it feasible at all to not drink alcohol at these events?

In the UK specifically. And before I get bombarded with alcoholics (as I’ve seen before on similar threads), I would like to point out I enjoy drinking on special occasions e.g. birthdays, farewells. I’d just rather not ‘because it’s Friday’.

thank you!

2 Comments
 

Can't speak from personal experience but even ordering sprite/odouls will about half the time prompt some smart aleck to make a joke. That said, you can either get used to playing it off casually or just sip a light beer (if, like you said, you don't have a religious etc reason to not drink a drop)

 
Most Helpful

Natus non accusamus quas beatae iure. Voluptas deserunt aut reiciendis laborum ab. Quae ipsa dolorum porro rerum aut. Aliquam facilis ut et repellendus et rem cum. Ea voluptatem sequi error deleniti consequatur sint est. Voluptatem tempora cupiditate pariatur unde et.

Est facilis dolores reprehenderit officia voluptatem magnam cumque distinctio. Doloremque nobis voluptatem dolores rerum.

Sit asperiores laudantium assumenda ea expedita dolor. Qui deleniti voluptates fuga quas perferendis dolorem inventore. Facere ipsum rem aperiam ut ut autem. Quam assumenda voluptates autem voluptatum est quam cum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”