I've also heard that the viewpoint that successful consultants don't "look like" permies. Doing otherwise might increase the perception that their work is something which could instead be done by a permanent employee.
No axe to grind, worked both sides of that fence. Not sure if I think there is much truth to it. I do know some odd-looking consultants though :-)
"... Where this knowledge becomes really useful is when you decide that you want to be promoted to one of these levels. When that happens, in order to achieve that, you must ensure that you adopt the same patterns of behaviour as that of your target group. If you fail to do that, you'll be putting yourself at a huge disadvantage compared to someone who does. .... This is a lesson that was regularly drummed into me in the consulting corporation where I used to work ..."
Aping the grooming and characteristics for the sake of advancement and favour, sans improvement. In a way this is an adaption tactic. A chameleon-like adaption. Great article inclusion btw.
Hell yeah. Over here (in England), people will make a pretty quick negative judgment about you if your shoes look wrong, in the typical office environment. A lot of people (none of them managers) walk around wearing shoes that look like they've been wearing them since A-levels (pre-university school). You can't get away with that in this country.
I felt vaguely ridiculous as an American traveling in London for this exact reason. I have decent shoes that I wear all over the place: they are made of leather, they are (I guess?) relatively stylish. But in England I felt like I was a homeless person wandering around with cardboard boxes on my feet. It's always interesting transitioning from a country where no one cares what you look like to nearly any place in Europe, where Appearance Matters(tm)!
On the whole I like the European model a little less since I always feel a little outclassed, even just going to a market or something. But Europeans traveling in America are probably in a constant state of disgust at the disheveled state of most of us...
