"I am a French banker. I too cannot stand the culture of banks in Paris"
I am a French banker by nationality. But I do not work in Paris. I cannot. It is far too snobby and insular there.
I grew up in France, but not in Paris. My childhood was in the north - "the Liverpool of France." I have never been accepted by banks in Paris and yet I have had a successful career in London.
💥Follow us on WhatsApp for news alerts.💥
When I was a student, I applied for jobs with the biggest banks in Paris but I wasn't even invited to interview. Instead, it was the branch of a bank in London that accepted me.
I know precisely why I was rejected. I did not go to the right school. In Paris, banking jobs are dominated by graduates of the Grandes Écoles and their top preparatory schools. If you don't have these on your CV, you are no one. If you look at the French teams at the largest banks, you will see that they are comprised of these people.
It is all about "fit." I've had interviews in Paris as an experienced banker, too, but have been told that my interviewers just didn't "feel it" when they met me. I know that I'm not the only French banker who's had this experience - I regularly meet other Paris escapees in London who have been shunned.
If you haven't been to the top schools but are still highly competent, it's therefore easier to get a job outside France. The Paris banking cliques are very closed. They have their own snobbish culture and they will do anything to protect it. It's like this a bit everywhere, but Paris is extreme.
Gabriel Gaumont is a pseudonym
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Signal: sarahbutcher.22 Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: comments are moderated intermittently by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You must take sole responsibility for comments you post on this site. We will take reasonable steps to weed out anything that we consider to be offensive or inappropriate.
