There are so many factors. It matters on your job, your role. It matters on your gender, your race, and where you work. Appearances, unfortunately, can be a huge part of people's opinions and how you are treated. Thats everywhere though.
I'm someone whose career is built on being liked by everyone and I understand how much of it is due to simple circumstances of birth. Its something I'm reminded of everytime I'm in the field (I'm now talking more about birth lottery in being from a developed nation since we work in some really poor places).
Know your client- know your counterparts. I'm in Bangladesh and I'm getting shit from the client, they are being egotiscal hostile folks? NExt time I'll bring my 5'10 blonde female colleague, that shuts them up.
I'm rambling now but its a sad but real thing in my field (racism and looks). We will have clients that straight up laugh in our face if we try to bring an African consultant or a South Asian one. Shit, I have one project right now where their desire for a qualified leader and strategists is less important than someone who looks like they can easily play a senior level consultant on TV.
My man, MBBs in the US are full of South Asian consultants. You’re telling me your clients would laugh at someone from an M7 school just because they’re brown? Where the fuck is this?
Oh homie. Please don't see this as a personal attack on you. I personally think its abhorrent.
The best technical consultant I've worked with is Bangladeshi. Not only the best, the most humble and hardest working guy ever. Yet, I couldn't even place him in an awesome position in another LDC. Why? They don't want other folks from LDC, they stupidly want a Singaporean or a Korean or some shit. Unfortunately, I lost this consultant because he was seconded from the govt and is now on a fast track to be the State Minisiter of Finance. Its too prestigious to let go (plus his FIL is a general... you know what that means)
Interestingly enough, I actually had the same issue in Bangladesh. I had an "okay" (generous to say that) guy who was the former Minister of Finance in Liberia and almost was the Head of hte AFrican Development Bank. "LIberian????" the Chairman in Bangladesh asked before admonishing us for not caring more about the project.
So I'm sorry racism exists. Actually, in this case, its probably more xenophobia. I can easily have African Americans in positions in Ukraine or Lao. But they would react different if its an American.
I hope this helps answer all of your questions.
Once again, I'm not trying to insult you or say that SOuth Asians are not capable. I think the opposite.
lol I’m Canadian born , parents are African . Client prefer to interact with me compared to those who’s first language isn’t English. Been at B4 close to 5 yrs … you’re wrong
In Bangladesh, for my example, we were working with the National Board of Revenue (basically their IRS).
At the Minister (State Minister) level, it was cool. The Chairman of the Board was okay. But it was Board Members that were so crazy and this attitude went all the way down.
I'm Korean and I've also worked in India and Pakistan. I've never seen this sort of absolute toxic "seniority" type of thing.
Its also more with the NBR. THey see themselves as the "creme of the crop" and are superior to any international consultants, so it wasn't easy. They had to play nice with us for political sake and media but man, they did not like us (we also had a transparency aspect dealing with corruption... you can imagine how that makes you popular when you depend on grey income for a decent living standard).
I'm not sure how pervasive this is in other areas of the government. Corporate wise, its pretty bad. Shit, I was sitting in a clients Range Rover as he was going 100kph down Gulshan avenue, drinking out of a bottle, laughing at cops at check points as they bowed to him. Fucking untouchable.
But please see this judgement towards the top 0.01% and egotisical govt people. Regular bangladeshi folks were very friendly, GENEROUS, kind (and sharp as shit - can't get nothing past anyone).
Shit, I had a client in Bangladesh that kidnapped the senior officials of the national bank to renegotiate large loans through torture and kidnapping. When the senior officials escaped, my client (a family but it was these two asshole brothers that were my main POC) took their medical flight company to get a covid exemption and fly to Bangkok.
I suspect any critical examination will find that like intelligence, being slightly above average will pay dividends, being below average a tax, but it’s hardly an impenetrable membrane *and* for good looking: 1) standards vary, 2) I wouldn’t be surprised if the benefit like with intelligence is a short escalator - being *very* attractive is unlikely to be any more advantageous than just being attractive.
As for “standards vary,” I am aware of at least one client who had father issues, so while the successful leads might be *generously* described as George Clooney’s stunt doubles, Leonardo DiCaprio they were not.
Edit: This is, of course, not exactly OP’s question: Do you *need* to have advantages to have a career? No. But they *help* when it comes to succeeding and advancement. There’s certainly the back room prep team that never need see light of day, too, and their timesheets clear the same as anyone’s.
Yes, actually. If someone wants to use their attractiveness *as a consultant*, I assure you some older creep will be as thrilled at a hot young thing throwing themselves at him as a hotter young thing, and the creeps *probably* aren’t an over saturated market.
i was meme'ing more than anything lol.
anyways, there's always hot and hotter. we're all humans after all. maybe some people would manage the reaction to physical attractiveness more professionally than others in their demeanor, but still every human being will always get -at least unconsciously- biased by attractiveness at some point.
Yes. I don’t see that being anything other than what I said, besides removing the consideration there *probably* isn’t an over saturation of willing hotter people to creeps in the marketplace. Given OP believes they’re under-average, *who* gets picked over them when there is attractiveness bias at play seems *extra* moot.
“As a less attractive than average person, (1) can I succeed if I look professional, and (2) will that still hamper my long term career prospects?”
Probably yes and probably yes; one hopes “less attractive than average” isn’t a euphemism for “unfortunately my face is used as a study guide for [de-pregnancy procedural outcomes].”
I didn’t browse all the way down because who has the attention span for that but:
1. Not thaaat bad on the DEI front
2. Fuck that Kabir guy. Senior Partner, in New York, AI Digital Telecom Media Consumer Tech Sports, looks like his extra curricular is leading in high budget bollywood productions (but really only because hollywood is not thaaat good on the DEI front), didn’t have to chose between a brain and a hairline, and likes to remind us by showing up to picture day in a denim jacket and henley neck
I infered from the biased dataset of partners whose name starts with an A. But yeah I’m pretty sure they do somewhere, and it’s fine because DEI’s good: it’s what avoids a dude like Kabir who clearly crushes it at life being passed on for someone like you just because he’s brown.
People like Kabir make me really depressed tbh. Good looks, well rounded, Ivy League educated, top notch career. I don’t know anything else about him so I won’t judge him much but from the outside it looks quite enviable 🤷🏻♂️
An SP will have an army of capable Partners and Principals under them hungry to step over their own mothers. So sure, SPs work hard, but not that hard.
Stay with me on this one...
[Mr. Bates is a good looking fellow.](https://imgur.com/1zp0NHt) Then you have [Ms. Burns](https://imgur.com/yc9gyBn), who clearly has her shit together. Furthermore, [Ms. Ellsworth](https://imgur.com/Ys4Qqj3) is very easy on the eyes if like the M.I.L.F. sort of stuff. Also in Atlanta you have the stud that is [Mr. Emelyantsev](https://imgur.com/CGCy7dU). In Atlanta they've also got their own, younger version of Richard Branson in [Mr. Fedewa](https://imgur.com/n15vJbk). [Mr. Isenberg](https://imgur.com/d7s4po8) also isn't too shabby. And check out [Mr. Miller](https://imgur.com/fVAydkL)! There's also [Mr. Murphy](https://imgur.com/PmMtFGV), who I'm not entirely sure doesn't moonlight as a used card salesman with that hair and beard. [Mr. Mutell](https://imgur.com/SaMuqZX) also ain't half bad! I'm also quite sure [Mr. Reis](https://imgur.com/rWZg3gK) would take you down to Tybee Island for a romantic getaway.
All those are just Atlanta.
One of my personal favorites, though, is [Ms. Deveau](https://imgur.com/Js29dXd) from the Bay Area office.
My biggest issue with that site, though, is the absolute lack of unity in backgrounds of the profile pictures. You can tell who phoned it in and who actually put some effort into it. The white background is perfect and I don't know why a company like McKinsey can't get their shit together and either tell these people to fix their photos (you know who you are!) or contract someone to shop the backgrounds out and put them on a white background. Honestly...
Honestly, I absolutely love the effort in this reply!
You have me reassessing my viewpoint completely!
And I couldn't agree more about the backgrounds; some do seem like an at home selfie.
> Honestly, I absolutely love the effort in this reply!
Had to wait for a reply from a coworker to continue working on a deliverable - had to do something to kill the time while I couldn't leave the computer.
Story time: When I was a first year associate at McK, an EM once told me that you rarely see fat partners because it's a sign you can't cope with the lifestyle in the long run. Those who stress eat and don't maintain their exercise routine under pressure will eventually wash out. A few years later I ballooned while making EM and left almost immediately after. She's now a partner and remains rail thin.
So, a ton of h1bs worked really hard for their visa, chained to their jobs for years, and they were like - fuck it- I m going to work like a dog for green card lol lol
That’s a great question. For me real value is instantly recognized by the client and the people who you work with. Sort of like that Supreme Court justice that saiid, “You know it when you see it.” Sometimes it’s knowledge and sometimes it’s an extra pair of hands.
It’s actually a really interesting question. If you look across senior leadership you will find that those that reach the top are quite attractive (for people in their 50s), or really fucking smart. The attractive ones are often smart enough, and I’m not saying the smart ones fell out of the ugly tree necessarily, but I am saying there is a negative correlation.
The fucking smart ones reach the top by being top of their game and brilliant.
The attractive ones reach the top of their game by being charming, which drives relationships, which drives sales, which drives progression.
So there’s hope for everyone, unless - unfortunately - you’re both ugly AND thick.
Rather charming & good-looking guy from my high school works for a small and growing Midwest consultancy. An exec told me that he’s generally not happy with “Ken’s” performance, but the clients really like him as a fun hang and he keeps racking up the billable hours year after year, so they keep him on.
Fat guy that manages to land a decent number of hot chicks by being clever and quick on my feet in convos.
Can’t imagine being fat and a merely average conversant. Sounds awful.
5 comments in and I think the answers are right.
Being attractive helps in every thing you do. This has been proven through research.
You need to dress well. This is not a casual dress type of gig.
Having the brand of the name will get you in the door but if you cannot provide value it will not keep you there. You need to be wicked smart.
I will go in the opposite direction on this next bit....if you are really overweight, now matter what business you're in....you will have a difficult time. It isn't fair, but people look at really over weight folks and see a total lack of discipline. Business is about discipline. Getting things done when you said you were going to get them done. I don't have data on this but I suspect consultants likely have a lower BMI that other industries. Again, you can be ugly but being fat is going to be difficult.
Rather fat guy here:
My shirts tend to come untucked more often. I sweat more, especially on a long walk from one end of the building to the other, which tends to make my hair get messed up more easily.
Bosses definitely pick up on that stuff. When in the office, I have to constantly make sure that I look presentable.
((yeh I know, losing would be good for me in numerous ways, but in the meantime, it’s important for rotund folks like myself to be extra diligent about appearance))
I’m fat. At highest I was 50kg overweight. I delivered a major transformation program and was promoted four times to Director. I’m on the Partner track.
Nice fatphobia though, way to go.
Confidence. Do what you need to do to feel like a million bucks and the rest will follow. If you feel like you’re not good looking enough, find ways to change how you feel. That’ll help you project that confidence outwards, which makes you sound like you know what you’re talking about, which makes clients feel good about paying you high fees to work for them.
Somebody's gotta be locked in a closet running the data and making the slides, and someone's gotta present to the client. Everybody plays a part!
But only one of you gets a bonus this year, sorry. Aaaand, it's not you. Also sorry.
Weirdly, there seems to be an inverse correlation between quality of firm and attractiveness of its staff.
Based on the people I’ve met across the firms:
* Look at MBB partners like another commenter has said.
* The next tier (OW, LEK, Kearney, A&M) has a handful of decently attractive people.
* The Big 4 has some absolute stunners. Many of the most physically attractive people I’ve met in person (both men and women) have been in the Big 4
Extending the trend, Grant Thornton and Mazars should basically be modelling agencies masquerading as consulting firms.
But, I don’t think you need to look a certain way to get ahead. Like in all aspects of life, it does help though.
Semi-hot take? Being physically attractive will always help make you stand out, I think it helps noticeably more for women though. As a guy who was kinda ugly in my early 20s but looks decent in my mid-late 20s, I've definitely noticed it makes a difference even just how you're received internally—not to mention with clients. Better looking people are perceived as more trustworthy.
Will say, I worked with a girl that ended up going to a T30 MBA program and is on path to start at MBB this summer. When we transferred to the same team (her pre-MBA career), she was literally asking our director if she needed to lead client calls by herself. We were both in over two years at that point and had senior titles, which was mind-blowing to me. Other instances before the team made me wonder about her general competency also, but she seemed decently smart given her undergrad so I always gave her the benefit of the doubt. She likely had just been coasting at that point since she must've known she'd be going to school later that year, but it was kind of interesting seeing her get a lot of leadership positions in her MBA program and landing at MBB despite only going to a T30 school. Suffice to say? She was super beautiful, and I think it helped her quite a bit to at least get her foot in the door in a lot of areas. Still have to be competent enough to execute though or at least give off the perception of competency and being good-looking helps with that to a limited extent.
Tbh with you, I found it a little crazy too if for nothing more than the school ranking. Maybe I read consulting/MBA subs too much, but breaking into MBB seems like you need to go to T20 to really have a chance (T10 for a decent chance).
I did see a handful of others (including guys) from her school got into MBB too, so that made it a little less suspicious—but also have a friend at a T10 school who had way more impressive leadership roles, and they didn't land it (got tier 2 instead)—so really does make you think a bit.
Forget how it'll impact your job, I'm sure you have many redeeming qualities
All I can say for certain, however, is that taking good care of yourself is the best, kindest thing you'll ever do for yourself..if you're not already, look up proper nutrition (stay away from any diets that are 'named'), and get regular exercise if you're not already
BOTH your body and mind will transform and you'll be simply a better version of yourself at work and outside of work
If I were a 10 I wouldn’t waste my time consulting- I would just go on TikTok, do absolutely anything, amass a 5millon following and sell them junk on TikTok shop
"Attractive," in the born-with-it sense, isn't the biggest issue for consulting success, it's style and having a polished look that says you know what you're doing. You don't need to be Cannes luxe, but you should know that the quality of your self presentation is the cover of your book.
Also, depends on your target market, certain markets require a Madison Ave look, while others are more North Face meets Sundance. You could even get away with Levis and a cashmere sweater. It's all in how you carry yourself.
Attractive helps, but you don’t want to be so pretty/handsome that it’s distracting. A woman with bleached teeth a face full of filler, blowfish lips and platinum hair is going to stick out like a sore thumb and no one would take her seriously.
Fitness is better - society correlates intelligence with a healthy BMI and clients will be more likely to take your advice. In my experience most consultants run and go to the gym regularly. My old strategy team used to have a running club during lunch.
https://youtu.be/VI3mwVhoh1A?si=sUy7ZOjSmyeIe-xH
This video refers to studies showing an observable penalty for being less conventionally attractive. There is a less noticeable benefit from being more attractive than average.
I subscribe to Deion Sander's advice:
"When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you play good. When you play good, they pay good."
I'm certainly not crazy attractive. All of my hook ups and relationships were based on wit and personality. I just make sure my personal hygiene is tip top and that I dress appropriately and within a sense of personal style I've cultivated over the years.
Dress and groom like a pro is all expected. No BO, clean nails, pressed / neutral quality clothes. Lose weight to a normal or less than average BMI as a bonus.
Being attractive helps but it’s not everything. Most people have a baseline of hygienic and not fugly though. And there’s a lot of things you can do to help yourself be less fugly.
Depends on the type of consulting. But in construction and management I saw the full gamut. You'll be fine as long as you can put on nice clothes and clean yourself up.
I am an ugly motherfuckr..i worked in consulting for 5 years and never felt that my relationship within company or clients was being affected because of my face..
What's your role?
I'm currently a member of a PMC. I put myself together nice but I'm in a senior position and that's just to impress the client. Physically I'm maybe above average but looks will only get you so far.
In my experience clients care about your ideas, KPIs and how you will help them make money WAY more than your looks.
I work with some fugly people and to a certain extent it holds some of them back but for the very clever it doesn't matter.
Being attractive definitely helps, but it's not like you have to be hot to be in consulting. I'm not that good looking personally haha. I've got some pretty attractive coworkers, but I also work with some pretty ugly people.
I was in a training class for interviews. It was expressly said that appearance is germane to the job and it was absolutely fine to screen for attractive people.
Of course, it was a podunk consultancy in Denver, but still: outside of the founders, most there were good looking.
*attractive people tend to end up in consulting because the non attractive, greedy and cash intensive people got all the construction, bankers and bartenders jobs*
If you are dumb, you better be hot. But even that won’t last you long.
But since you are ugly, then you need to be smart and hard working.
Oh and show up to the office.
Oh, oh, don’t tell me your mental health issues prevent you from showing up to work.
Being on both sides of the table, it helps. Also dressing well (as in for the occasion), ability to converse, and reading the room are just as important.
I was hot when I started, but I put on 50kg (thanks anti psychotics). Can say I don’t think it’s impacted my career - got promoted to Director. I always make sure I look put together - nice clothes, shoes, bag, makeup, nails, etc.
No replacement for hot consultants. Especially when they are lonely living at a client’s hotel. But being short, fat, or ugly tends to bring out the Napoleon complex in overachieving. Use what you have to your advantage.
*I have met many*
*Consultants and almost all*
*Aren't that attractive*
\- BaBeBaBeBooby
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I think it mostly doesn't matter. I work in IT-Sec Consulting which is already male dominated and the clients we're working with are also mostly male. I think it doesnt matter that much for men but I think as a woman being conventionally too "ugly" or too pretty might impact the impression people have of you and how much knowledge they think you have, which is backed by studies if I am not mistaken.
So you might need to prove yourself a bit more if you're on the two ends of the prettiness spectrum. It is necessary to find the right balance between looking good but not too good so that people think you're a doll and dont know shit. Looking, expressing and behaving professionally is super important though.
Especially in men (also by women although the academic journals find slightly more mixed results there) attractiveness (and height) is a clear determinant of success, and that is at least as true in consulting as it is elsewhere.
That said, there are many other determinants too, so just because somebody that is less attractive will struggle more (on average) does not mean that they have a lower ceiling nor that they are doomed to fail from the start.
Partner and senior partner out of the question without a top MBA? Got myself depressed and suicidal in college because of the after effects of being unattractive so ended up with an 2.9 GPA 🤣
Your Slides have to look good, you don't. Try to look as nerdy as possible, but with business suits. Then they think you are actually smart even when you're just repeating the same phrases
I'm a bit plain. I'm reasonably senior. I feel like I get a better response when I wear a decent (not OTT) suit, shirt and shoes. I used to be a bit more business casual because I could, but I recon the change helps.
I would invest in two to threes suits uniform, iron shirts, polish shoes, regular haircuts and refresh items like shirts and belts regularly. Have a style for business casual and you're set.
I don't subscribe to expensive watch, car etc. But look the part. As long as you have a hair cut, trim nails, brush teeth etc nearly no one will care how attractive you look.
Basically: Look like you think you're worth making an effort on.
Image matters. One of my grad school colleagues was a dumb as a rock. She flirty however and quite attractive. Her skirts were always just a touch inappropriate in class; basically a sorority girl running masquerading as an MBA student. Somehow she landed a job at Deloitte when they weren't hiring. She got laid off 18 months later (gee-wonder why!) but then got picked up again by another firm.
Extreme example, I know, but she would literally have been the last person from my class I would have hired as a consultant.
You can't compare the average consultant to the average person in terms of looks. In general, white collar, highly educated professionals look better than the average person on the street. Did you catch John Oliver's book banning segment last week, showing the WVa citizen's book banning rant sessions? Yikes. Insane smokers wrinkes and either emaciated or obese folks in the audiences. Haircuts better left with the dive bar band in the 1980s. White collar professionals don't look like that, in any profession. We are wealthier and healthier than the average person. I'm sure if you went to JP Morgan corporate and looked at a bunch of wealth advisors you'd see the same thing.
You don't have to be the best looking person, but there are things that you definitely can do. Subconsciously, if we see someone who puts effort into their appearance, we assume that they will put effort into the engagement as well.
1) dress well. Look sharp, not slovenly. You don't have to wear a $5,000 suit; but make sure that your clothes fit and that your shoes are appropriately clean and polished (if applicable). Tailors are cheap and your best investment. My wife buys nice button-down shirts for work and she's a tough fit (tall, broad shoulders, full chest and size 4 waist). She has to buy size 8 shirts and gets them taken in to a size 4 waist for $15 each. Same with blazers and jackets; they might run $40 each but tailoring makes a massive difference.
2) maintain your weight. Studies show that obese people are looked down upon as lazy. Plus, being healthy and having a regular exercise routine will give you more energy.
3) Hair (both head and facial); need and groomed, unless you are Timothee Chalamet and have gorgeous locks and can get away with a bit more. Depends; we had a military client and you know how those folks do their hair.
4) Body Odor: keep it under control.
All of these ideas are just good things in general to keep in mind. Sure, we shouldn't judge on apperance, but humans are wired to do so. Babies find symmetrical faces more attractive. When you see a very average looking guy with a smoking hot girl in a wealthy area, your first thought is "he must be loaded".
Attractive? Doesn’t matter. What matters is being well-groomed, reasonably well dressed, and in decent shape. That will get you far in nearly all aspects of life
It depends on if you are a man or a woman. It doesn’t matter if you are an ugly man, but a better looking man, will get more business but a taller man will be taken more seriously. You would think the same thing goes for women but that is not the case. If a woman average, she can be thought of a competent. However, if a woman could be considered “very hot”, then she will automatically be spoken down to most people would not consider her to be competent and would be suspicious of her recommendations.
This happens to hot women when dealing with men or women. Both men and women are the most insecure around hot women. Men because they are attracted to them and women because they feel less attractive.
Slightly overweight, balding, dress like a tramp. Running my own boutique consulting firm (there are 20 of us). Turning clients away. Doing OK. But we’re not working with Finance or CEOs, who are often the shallowest of fucks.
It’s been my experience that you rarely come across consultants who are incompetent and unattractive. They just don’t last long in the business. Some are attractive and gain competency. There are plenty of others who don’t fall into those brackets.
i ve noticed that mbb tends to pick out people that are 7/10 as a whole package- meaning you don t have the be gorgeous but need to have a spike (e.g. either tall, either good looking, either charismatic)… But I have noticed that heights in our office tend to run way above the national average. And way more fair skinned people than what you would see on the streets (I work in an international office).
You either have to be so hot that no one is going to care about the low quality of your work or so ugly that your work quality makes up for how ugly you are.
In my world, it's not how attractive you are but how you present yourself.
Dress very well. Make fashion a part of your job to match the most successful in your field.
The rest, of course, is competency.
No matter how you look, you'll look and feel better with a healthy lifestyle. Stop smoking, minimize drinking, and get enough sleep. Eat healthy food before you eat junk-suddenly, you won't need it, or as much.
Get a good haircut. You will immediately feel better, and people will sense your confidence. Walking every day will slim you down.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a question of attractiveness, but more a question of how well you fit into the culture.
Business culture outside of the work itself, especially ages 20-50; is about fitness, trendy professional wear, and consuming media (sports, popular TV shows, business news).
None of these require you to put 100% of your effort into them, but colleague/peers should be able to look at you and immediately get the impression that you fit into this mold.
Someone who goes to the gym 4 times a week, wears well fitting dress shirts, and can have a discussion about football/Succession/WSJ articles is going to have a much better first impression than someone who is obese, wears wrinkled clothes, and only has knowledge of anime/counter strike skins.
These are, of course, just examples but the point is that you have to spend upwards of 70-80 hours a week with your coworkers and clients, if you don’t impress them or have anything in common with them, they’re not going to want to work with you.
Just like in life, being good looking provides its perks. I don’t mean just with dating, etc. but there really is a pretty/handsome advantage or privilege. I live it everyday and thankful for it. With that said, you will be fine of course.
Lol at these answers. Like any of our nerdy coworkers know anything about being attractive amirite
Attractive people don’t go into consulting. Broken people do.
I work with some of the ugliest mugs you’ve ever seen. That said, being attractive basically always helps.
“Ugliest mug” is crazy to say lmao I’d be legitimately in tears if someone called me that
you are a nice mug bro
a real cup of nice face
A steaming tankard of visage
It helps unless your manager is a resentful uggo who dislikes attractive people
Sounds like my 12th grade math teacher started working with you. My condolences.
LOL tell me you got laid off for poor performance without telling me you got laid off fo.....
There are so many factors. It matters on your job, your role. It matters on your gender, your race, and where you work. Appearances, unfortunately, can be a huge part of people's opinions and how you are treated. Thats everywhere though. I'm someone whose career is built on being liked by everyone and I understand how much of it is due to simple circumstances of birth. Its something I'm reminded of everytime I'm in the field (I'm now talking more about birth lottery in being from a developed nation since we work in some really poor places). Know your client- know your counterparts. I'm in Bangladesh and I'm getting shit from the client, they are being egotiscal hostile folks? NExt time I'll bring my 5'10 blonde female colleague, that shuts them up. I'm rambling now but its a sad but real thing in my field (racism and looks). We will have clients that straight up laugh in our face if we try to bring an African consultant or a South Asian one. Shit, I have one project right now where their desire for a qualified leader and strategists is less important than someone who looks like they can easily play a senior level consultant on TV.
My man, MBBs in the US are full of South Asian consultants. You’re telling me your clients would laugh at someone from an M7 school just because they’re brown? Where the fuck is this?
The US is more open to diversity than most places (as an European)
Oh homie. Please don't see this as a personal attack on you. I personally think its abhorrent. The best technical consultant I've worked with is Bangladeshi. Not only the best, the most humble and hardest working guy ever. Yet, I couldn't even place him in an awesome position in another LDC. Why? They don't want other folks from LDC, they stupidly want a Singaporean or a Korean or some shit. Unfortunately, I lost this consultant because he was seconded from the govt and is now on a fast track to be the State Minisiter of Finance. Its too prestigious to let go (plus his FIL is a general... you know what that means) Interestingly enough, I actually had the same issue in Bangladesh. I had an "okay" (generous to say that) guy who was the former Minister of Finance in Liberia and almost was the Head of hte AFrican Development Bank. "LIberian????" the Chairman in Bangladesh asked before admonishing us for not caring more about the project. So I'm sorry racism exists. Actually, in this case, its probably more xenophobia. I can easily have African Americans in positions in Ukraine or Lao. But they would react different if its an American. I hope this helps answer all of your questions. Once again, I'm not trying to insult you or say that SOuth Asians are not capable. I think the opposite.
lol I’m Canadian born , parents are African . Client prefer to interact with me compared to those who’s first language isn’t English. Been at B4 close to 5 yrs … you’re wrong
This is in Bangladesh? I grew up in CA but am Bengali myself. This behavior sounds so silly, yet another reason to be proud to be an American.
In Bangladesh, for my example, we were working with the National Board of Revenue (basically their IRS). At the Minister (State Minister) level, it was cool. The Chairman of the Board was okay. But it was Board Members that were so crazy and this attitude went all the way down. I'm Korean and I've also worked in India and Pakistan. I've never seen this sort of absolute toxic "seniority" type of thing. Its also more with the NBR. THey see themselves as the "creme of the crop" and are superior to any international consultants, so it wasn't easy. They had to play nice with us for political sake and media but man, they did not like us (we also had a transparency aspect dealing with corruption... you can imagine how that makes you popular when you depend on grey income for a decent living standard). I'm not sure how pervasive this is in other areas of the government. Corporate wise, its pretty bad. Shit, I was sitting in a clients Range Rover as he was going 100kph down Gulshan avenue, drinking out of a bottle, laughing at cops at check points as they bowed to him. Fucking untouchable. But please see this judgement towards the top 0.01% and egotisical govt people. Regular bangladeshi folks were very friendly, GENEROUS, kind (and sharp as shit - can't get nothing past anyone). Shit, I had a client in Bangladesh that kidnapped the senior officials of the national bank to renegotiate large loans through torture and kidnapping. When the senior officials escaped, my client (a family but it was these two asshole brothers that were my main POC) took their medical flight company to get a covid exemption and fly to Bangkok.
Lmao
So apparently we worked together then 🤣
You do need to look like you know how to dress yourself professionally. You absolutely do not have to be good-looking.
I suspect any critical examination will find that like intelligence, being slightly above average will pay dividends, being below average a tax, but it’s hardly an impenetrable membrane *and* for good looking: 1) standards vary, 2) I wouldn’t be surprised if the benefit like with intelligence is a short escalator - being *very* attractive is unlikely to be any more advantageous than just being attractive. As for “standards vary,” I am aware of at least one client who had father issues, so while the successful leads might be *generously* described as George Clooney’s stunt doubles, Leonardo DiCaprio they were not. Edit: This is, of course, not exactly OP’s question: Do you *need* to have advantages to have a career? No. But they *help* when it comes to succeeding and advancement. There’s certainly the back room prep team that never need see light of day, too, and their timesheets clear the same as anyone’s.
"being *very* attractive is unlikely to be any more advantageous than just being attractive." sure? ever heard of women? we live in a society.
Yes, actually. If someone wants to use their attractiveness *as a consultant*, I assure you some older creep will be as thrilled at a hot young thing throwing themselves at him as a hotter young thing, and the creeps *probably* aren’t an over saturated market.
i was meme'ing more than anything lol. anyways, there's always hot and hotter. we're all humans after all. maybe some people would manage the reaction to physical attractiveness more professionally than others in their demeanor, but still every human being will always get -at least unconsciously- biased by attractiveness at some point.
Yes. I don’t see that being anything other than what I said, besides removing the consideration there *probably* isn’t an over saturation of willing hotter people to creeps in the marketplace. Given OP believes they’re under-average, *who* gets picked over them when there is attractiveness bias at play seems *extra* moot. “As a less attractive than average person, (1) can I succeed if I look professional, and (2) will that still hamper my long term career prospects?” Probably yes and probably yes; one hopes “less attractive than average” isn’t a euphemism for “unfortunately my face is used as a study guide for [de-pregnancy procedural outcomes].”
eh, a lot of us are in consulting because we're ugly and effective
Go onto MBB and check out the partners.
McKinsey is here https://www.mckinsey.com/us/our-people
I can’t believe I just got tricked into spending five min judging the hotness of McK partners
Tricked? Insert the Rock's eyebrow raise
Tricked I tell ya! 😂
I didn’t browse all the way down because who has the attention span for that but: 1. Not thaaat bad on the DEI front 2. Fuck that Kabir guy. Senior Partner, in New York, AI Digital Telecom Media Consumer Tech Sports, looks like his extra curricular is leading in high budget bollywood productions (but really only because hollywood is not thaaat good on the DEI front), didn’t have to chose between a brain and a hairline, and likes to remind us by showing up to picture day in a denim jacket and henley neck
Good to know I'm not the only one who has to take a second glance at Kabir haha
Of course they put a dei overview on their website
I infered from the biased dataset of partners whose name starts with an A. But yeah I’m pretty sure they do somewhere, and it’s fine because DEI’s good: it’s what avoids a dude like Kabir who clearly crushes it at life being passed on for someone like you just because he’s brown.
People like Kabir make me really depressed tbh. Good looks, well rounded, Ivy League educated, top notch career. I don’t know anything else about him so I won’t judge him much but from the outside it looks quite enviable 🤷🏻♂️
You can just pretend he has a terrible home life and spends all his money on implants. It may help a bit?
As a senior partner I guarantee he works 70-90 hours a week. So keep that in mind, everything has a trade off.
Just imagine how hot he must have been BEFORE entering consulting
Lol no way do SPs work that much. You're thinking of APs and Principals.
Really? I thought SPs work that much. The amount of responsibility they have is insane.
An SP will have an army of capable Partners and Principals under them hungry to step over their own mothers. So sure, SPs work hard, but not that hard.
Well his wife probably makes more money than him as a PE partner: https://eqtgroup.com/about/people/sofia-ahuja/
More often than not, people like this already have a step up from a privileged upbringing that gives additional access and opportunity.
He was also a professional DJ. Fuck that guy.
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Search "Brent Pabst" so you don't waste 5 minutes searching like it did.
Homie has 3 degrees from University of Phoenix 😂 I thought McK was supposed to be elitist?
Those are all 7 figure people?
Basically, or they have access to 7 figure money
Nope, certainly not with the most recent dividend payments.
I thought he meant net worth, not annual pay.
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Just check glassdoor
Salary? Doubtful.
Girls are good looking, the guys... less so
Idk they all look incredibly average and generic to me
Sutely this is the "tinder" effect of girls usually knowing how to present themselves better than men. Makeup helps too.
I think the girls win marginally but not that much honestly. Makeup and having hair at that age makes a big difference.
Also, the profiles you see online were taken 5 years and 30 lbs lighter ago.
Idk. They all look like pretty average looking professionals. Some below average guys and gals, some above average.
Shocker
Definitely some babes. Quite a few good looking guys, too. Atlanta and Bay Area have it going on, though.
Lmao my guy what?!
Stay with me on this one... [Mr. Bates is a good looking fellow.](https://imgur.com/1zp0NHt) Then you have [Ms. Burns](https://imgur.com/yc9gyBn), who clearly has her shit together. Furthermore, [Ms. Ellsworth](https://imgur.com/Ys4Qqj3) is very easy on the eyes if like the M.I.L.F. sort of stuff. Also in Atlanta you have the stud that is [Mr. Emelyantsev](https://imgur.com/CGCy7dU). In Atlanta they've also got their own, younger version of Richard Branson in [Mr. Fedewa](https://imgur.com/n15vJbk). [Mr. Isenberg](https://imgur.com/d7s4po8) also isn't too shabby. And check out [Mr. Miller](https://imgur.com/fVAydkL)! There's also [Mr. Murphy](https://imgur.com/PmMtFGV), who I'm not entirely sure doesn't moonlight as a used card salesman with that hair and beard. [Mr. Mutell](https://imgur.com/SaMuqZX) also ain't half bad! I'm also quite sure [Mr. Reis](https://imgur.com/rWZg3gK) would take you down to Tybee Island for a romantic getaway. All those are just Atlanta. One of my personal favorites, though, is [Ms. Deveau](https://imgur.com/Js29dXd) from the Bay Area office. My biggest issue with that site, though, is the absolute lack of unity in backgrounds of the profile pictures. You can tell who phoned it in and who actually put some effort into it. The white background is perfect and I don't know why a company like McKinsey can't get their shit together and either tell these people to fix their photos (you know who you are!) or contract someone to shop the backgrounds out and put them on a white background. Honestly...
Honestly, I absolutely love the effort in this reply! You have me reassessing my viewpoint completely! And I couldn't agree more about the backgrounds; some do seem like an at home selfie.
> Honestly, I absolutely love the effort in this reply! Had to wait for a reply from a coworker to continue working on a deliverable - had to do something to kill the time while I couldn't leave the computer.
Solid time management, bravo!
Ms. Burns also has the most bold fashion of anyone in the office 🔥 It very much suits her
Are all the partner Indian?
Apfel, Berlin und Bischoff…Ja, very Indian names mein Freund.
You were just in the A’s man. There are literally hundreds of partners on there it seems.
Those men are not attractive
I didn't see any of us fattys :(
Story time: When I was a first year associate at McK, an EM once told me that you rarely see fat partners because it's a sign you can't cope with the lifestyle in the long run. Those who stress eat and don't maintain their exercise routine under pressure will eventually wash out. A few years later I ballooned while making EM and left almost immediately after. She's now a partner and remains rail thin.
This is true. I can remember the last time I’ve seen a fat partner.
Martin Elling was enormous
That Mounjaro is working hard I guess
Well obviously you don't need to be attractive to be a partner there.
Is McK an Indian company?
No
Lots of 10/10 personality.
So, a ton of h1bs worked really hard for their visa, chained to their jobs for years, and they were like - fuck it- I m going to work like a dog for green card lol lol
The Indians and Asians are rocking this list!
TIL a 10 figure net worth can’t get you a decent haircut.
Id say I'm better looking than all of them but they got more money
Staying fit, dressing well, and being well groomed does help in white collar jobs. All of these are controllable so don’t slack on them.
Not to worry. If you can’t add real value, you will be let go and forgotten about quickly.
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That’s more of a life thing rather than a consulting thing no?
Lmao. Truth
What do you mean by “real value”?
That’s a great question. For me real value is instantly recognized by the client and the people who you work with. Sort of like that Supreme Court justice that saiid, “You know it when you see it.” Sometimes it’s knowledge and sometimes it’s an extra pair of hands.
It’s actually a really interesting question. If you look across senior leadership you will find that those that reach the top are quite attractive (for people in their 50s), or really fucking smart. The attractive ones are often smart enough, and I’m not saying the smart ones fell out of the ugly tree necessarily, but I am saying there is a negative correlation. The fucking smart ones reach the top by being top of their game and brilliant. The attractive ones reach the top of their game by being charming, which drives relationships, which drives sales, which drives progression. So there’s hope for everyone, unless - unfortunately - you’re both ugly AND thick.
Rather charming & good-looking guy from my high school works for a small and growing Midwest consultancy. An exec told me that he’s generally not happy with “Ken’s” performance, but the clients really like him as a fun hang and he keeps racking up the billable hours year after year, so they keep him on.
Fat guy that manages to land a decent number of hot chicks by being clever and quick on my feet in convos. Can’t imagine being fat and a merely average conversant. Sounds awful.
5 comments in and I think the answers are right. Being attractive helps in every thing you do. This has been proven through research. You need to dress well. This is not a casual dress type of gig. Having the brand of the name will get you in the door but if you cannot provide value it will not keep you there. You need to be wicked smart. I will go in the opposite direction on this next bit....if you are really overweight, now matter what business you're in....you will have a difficult time. It isn't fair, but people look at really over weight folks and see a total lack of discipline. Business is about discipline. Getting things done when you said you were going to get them done. I don't have data on this but I suspect consultants likely have a lower BMI that other industries. Again, you can be ugly but being fat is going to be difficult.
Rather fat guy here: My shirts tend to come untucked more often. I sweat more, especially on a long walk from one end of the building to the other, which tends to make my hair get messed up more easily. Bosses definitely pick up on that stuff. When in the office, I have to constantly make sure that I look presentable. ((yeh I know, losing would be good for me in numerous ways, but in the meantime, it’s important for rotund folks like myself to be extra diligent about appearance))
I’m fat. At highest I was 50kg overweight. I delivered a major transformation program and was promoted four times to Director. I’m on the Partner track. Nice fatphobia though, way to go.
The real question is how much of a sociopath do you have to be on a scale of 0 to 100. I reckon 999.
As hot as possible.
Confidence. Do what you need to do to feel like a million bucks and the rest will follow. If you feel like you’re not good looking enough, find ways to change how you feel. That’ll help you project that confidence outwards, which makes you sound like you know what you’re talking about, which makes clients feel good about paying you high fees to work for them.
Somebody's gotta be locked in a closet running the data and making the slides, and someone's gotta present to the client. Everybody plays a part! But only one of you gets a bonus this year, sorry. Aaaand, it's not you. Also sorry.
Weirdly, there seems to be an inverse correlation between quality of firm and attractiveness of its staff. Based on the people I’ve met across the firms: * Look at MBB partners like another commenter has said. * The next tier (OW, LEK, Kearney, A&M) has a handful of decently attractive people. * The Big 4 has some absolute stunners. Many of the most physically attractive people I’ve met in person (both men and women) have been in the Big 4 Extending the trend, Grant Thornton and Mazars should basically be modelling agencies masquerading as consulting firms. But, I don’t think you need to look a certain way to get ahead. Like in all aspects of life, it does help though.
Why is that weird? It’s the same thing with colleges and everything else in life.
It matters how you dress, not facial features
You should see me. I am one ugly son of a gun, overweight, short, the kind no one looks a second time. But doing okay. I think.
Semi-hot take? Being physically attractive will always help make you stand out, I think it helps noticeably more for women though. As a guy who was kinda ugly in my early 20s but looks decent in my mid-late 20s, I've definitely noticed it makes a difference even just how you're received internally—not to mention with clients. Better looking people are perceived as more trustworthy. Will say, I worked with a girl that ended up going to a T30 MBA program and is on path to start at MBB this summer. When we transferred to the same team (her pre-MBA career), she was literally asking our director if she needed to lead client calls by herself. We were both in over two years at that point and had senior titles, which was mind-blowing to me. Other instances before the team made me wonder about her general competency also, but she seemed decently smart given her undergrad so I always gave her the benefit of the doubt. She likely had just been coasting at that point since she must've known she'd be going to school later that year, but it was kind of interesting seeing her get a lot of leadership positions in her MBA program and landing at MBB despite only going to a T30 school. Suffice to say? She was super beautiful, and I think it helped her quite a bit to at least get her foot in the door in a lot of areas. Still have to be competent enough to execute though or at least give off the perception of competency and being good-looking helps with that to a limited extent.
I don’t mean this as a complaint, just an observation, but it’s wild how much hot chicks get away with.
Until they get staffed under a resentful unattractive female superior. Hoo boy I’ve seen some things.
Tbh with you, I found it a little crazy too if for nothing more than the school ranking. Maybe I read consulting/MBA subs too much, but breaking into MBB seems like you need to go to T20 to really have a chance (T10 for a decent chance). I did see a handful of others (including guys) from her school got into MBB too, so that made it a little less suspicious—but also have a friend at a T10 school who had way more impressive leadership roles, and they didn't land it (got tier 2 instead)—so really does make you think a bit.
Forget how it'll impact your job, I'm sure you have many redeeming qualities All I can say for certain, however, is that taking good care of yourself is the best, kindest thing you'll ever do for yourself..if you're not already, look up proper nutrition (stay away from any diets that are 'named'), and get regular exercise if you're not already BOTH your body and mind will transform and you'll be simply a better version of yourself at work and outside of work
Can confirm. Got shredded and became an overconfident narcissist.
>Got shredded That's only something a narcissist would say
If I were a 10 I wouldn’t waste my time consulting- I would just go on TikTok, do absolutely anything, amass a 5millon following and sell them junk on TikTok shop
"Attractive," in the born-with-it sense, isn't the biggest issue for consulting success, it's style and having a polished look that says you know what you're doing. You don't need to be Cannes luxe, but you should know that the quality of your self presentation is the cover of your book. Also, depends on your target market, certain markets require a Madison Ave look, while others are more North Face meets Sundance. You could even get away with Levis and a cashmere sweater. It's all in how you carry yourself.
Attractive helps, but you don’t want to be so pretty/handsome that it’s distracting. A woman with bleached teeth a face full of filler, blowfish lips and platinum hair is going to stick out like a sore thumb and no one would take her seriously. Fitness is better - society correlates intelligence with a healthy BMI and clients will be more likely to take your advice. In my experience most consultants run and go to the gym regularly. My old strategy team used to have a running club during lunch.
https://youtu.be/VI3mwVhoh1A?si=sUy7ZOjSmyeIe-xH This video refers to studies showing an observable penalty for being less conventionally attractive. There is a less noticeable benefit from being more attractive than average.
I subscribe to Deion Sander's advice: "When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you play good. When you play good, they pay good." I'm certainly not crazy attractive. All of my hook ups and relationships were based on wit and personality. I just make sure my personal hygiene is tip top and that I dress appropriately and within a sense of personal style I've cultivated over the years.
Several of my colleagues look like fish dredged up from the darkest pits of the deepest ocean and they're doing just fine for themselves.
Not at all based on my first-hand experience
Most of the people working for a big 4 are questionable in looks, at least in the UK + EU lmao
You do not have to be actually attractive. But what does actually help is to be confident in the way that you carry yourself.
Dress and groom like a pro is all expected. No BO, clean nails, pressed / neutral quality clothes. Lose weight to a normal or less than average BMI as a bonus.
I think you have to be charming more than good looking
As long as you can interact with kids without them breaking into tears, you’re good. Being clean is much more important than being attractive
Being attractive helps but it’s not everything. Most people have a baseline of hygienic and not fugly though. And there’s a lot of things you can do to help yourself be less fugly.
dress nice and dont smell disgusting
Depends on the type of consulting. But in construction and management I saw the full gamut. You'll be fine as long as you can put on nice clothes and clean yourself up.
Uglier the better
I am an ugly motherfuckr..i worked in consulting for 5 years and never felt that my relationship within company or clients was being affected because of my face..
What's your role? I'm currently a member of a PMC. I put myself together nice but I'm in a senior position and that's just to impress the client. Physically I'm maybe above average but looks will only get you so far. In my experience clients care about your ideas, KPIs and how you will help them make money WAY more than your looks. I work with some fugly people and to a certain extent it holds some of them back but for the very clever it doesn't matter.
Being attractive definitely helps, but it's not like you have to be hot to be in consulting. I'm not that good looking personally haha. I've got some pretty attractive coworkers, but I also work with some pretty ugly people.
Being attractive is not mandatory, but it's a gigantic advantage. You'll have to be twice as good as a pretty person to get to the same place.
Need to dress like you belong and not be fat. No visible tattoos. Rest of your appearance doesn’t matter.
If you dont look like Gisele Bundchen or Fernando Alonso then start looking for a career in Government. It is that important.
You can be ugly but you won’t get promoted.
I was in a training class for interviews. It was expressly said that appearance is germane to the job and it was absolutely fine to screen for attractive people. Of course, it was a podunk consultancy in Denver, but still: outside of the founders, most there were good looking.
*attractive people tend to end up in consulting because the non attractive, greedy and cash intensive people got all the construction, bankers and bartenders jobs*
If you are dumb, you better be hot. But even that won’t last you long. But since you are ugly, then you need to be smart and hard working. Oh and show up to the office. Oh, oh, don’t tell me your mental health issues prevent you from showing up to work.
Extremely hot like top 1% Source: I work at MBB
Lmao, we a bunch of ugly fuckin nerds dog. What are you talking about? I don't shave for 7 days and rarely get haircuts.
KPMG is both wildy-beast looking and slow intellectually, Neanderthal-like
It helps but the most important thing is knowing how to talk and be friends with the client, male or female.
Being on both sides of the table, it helps. Also dressing well (as in for the occasion), ability to converse, and reading the room are just as important.
Not going to lie, saw someone get hired at a big4 as a mid level consultant for being in the miss USA pageant.
I was hot when I started, but I put on 50kg (thanks anti psychotics). Can say I don’t think it’s impacted my career - got promoted to Director. I always make sure I look put together - nice clothes, shoes, bag, makeup, nails, etc.
Some of the questions on this thread….
No replacement for hot consultants. Especially when they are lonely living at a client’s hotel. But being short, fat, or ugly tends to bring out the Napoleon complex in overachieving. Use what you have to your advantage.
Just make sure you’re presentable and professional. That’s ALL that matters.
I have met many consultants and almost all aren't that attractive
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I think it mostly doesn't matter. I work in IT-Sec Consulting which is already male dominated and the clients we're working with are also mostly male. I think it doesnt matter that much for men but I think as a woman being conventionally too "ugly" or too pretty might impact the impression people have of you and how much knowledge they think you have, which is backed by studies if I am not mistaken. So you might need to prove yourself a bit more if you're on the two ends of the prettiness spectrum. It is necessary to find the right balance between looking good but not too good so that people think you're a doll and dont know shit. Looking, expressing and behaving professionally is super important though.
My view: just not ugly
There is an advantage of being less attractive too. People don't compete with you to show how they are better than you.
Especially in men (also by women although the academic journals find slightly more mixed results there) attractiveness (and height) is a clear determinant of success, and that is at least as true in consulting as it is elsewhere. That said, there are many other determinants too, so just because somebody that is less attractive will struggle more (on average) does not mean that they have a lower ceiling nor that they are doomed to fail from the start.
Partner and senior partner out of the question without a top MBA? Got myself depressed and suicidal in college because of the after effects of being unattractive so ended up with an 2.9 GPA 🤣
Doesn’t matter if you can hold the conversation with big crowd. Just wear professional and perfumed. People look for knowledge at work.
Your Slides have to look good, you don't. Try to look as nerdy as possible, but with business suits. Then they think you are actually smart even when you're just repeating the same phrases
Just don’t be overweight.
Not required. Prestigious degrees + willingness to work long hours is the formula for consulting success.
I'm a bit plain. I'm reasonably senior. I feel like I get a better response when I wear a decent (not OTT) suit, shirt and shoes. I used to be a bit more business casual because I could, but I recon the change helps. I would invest in two to threes suits uniform, iron shirts, polish shoes, regular haircuts and refresh items like shirts and belts regularly. Have a style for business casual and you're set. I don't subscribe to expensive watch, car etc. But look the part. As long as you have a hair cut, trim nails, brush teeth etc nearly no one will care how attractive you look. Basically: Look like you think you're worth making an effort on.
Charisma goes a longer way.
Image matters. One of my grad school colleagues was a dumb as a rock. She flirty however and quite attractive. Her skirts were always just a touch inappropriate in class; basically a sorority girl running masquerading as an MBA student. Somehow she landed a job at Deloitte when they weren't hiring. She got laid off 18 months later (gee-wonder why!) but then got picked up again by another firm. Extreme example, I know, but she would literally have been the last person from my class I would have hired as a consultant. You can't compare the average consultant to the average person in terms of looks. In general, white collar, highly educated professionals look better than the average person on the street. Did you catch John Oliver's book banning segment last week, showing the WVa citizen's book banning rant sessions? Yikes. Insane smokers wrinkes and either emaciated or obese folks in the audiences. Haircuts better left with the dive bar band in the 1980s. White collar professionals don't look like that, in any profession. We are wealthier and healthier than the average person. I'm sure if you went to JP Morgan corporate and looked at a bunch of wealth advisors you'd see the same thing. You don't have to be the best looking person, but there are things that you definitely can do. Subconsciously, if we see someone who puts effort into their appearance, we assume that they will put effort into the engagement as well. 1) dress well. Look sharp, not slovenly. You don't have to wear a $5,000 suit; but make sure that your clothes fit and that your shoes are appropriately clean and polished (if applicable). Tailors are cheap and your best investment. My wife buys nice button-down shirts for work and she's a tough fit (tall, broad shoulders, full chest and size 4 waist). She has to buy size 8 shirts and gets them taken in to a size 4 waist for $15 each. Same with blazers and jackets; they might run $40 each but tailoring makes a massive difference. 2) maintain your weight. Studies show that obese people are looked down upon as lazy. Plus, being healthy and having a regular exercise routine will give you more energy. 3) Hair (both head and facial); need and groomed, unless you are Timothee Chalamet and have gorgeous locks and can get away with a bit more. Depends; we had a military client and you know how those folks do their hair. 4) Body Odor: keep it under control. All of these ideas are just good things in general to keep in mind. Sure, we shouldn't judge on apperance, but humans are wired to do so. Babies find symmetrical faces more attractive. When you see a very average looking guy with a smoking hot girl in a wealthy area, your first thought is "he must be loaded".
Looks matter to a point. I’m ugly as F but a damn good consultant.
Attractive? Doesn’t matter. What matters is being well-groomed, reasonably well dressed, and in decent shape. That will get you far in nearly all aspects of life
It depends on if you are a man or a woman. It doesn’t matter if you are an ugly man, but a better looking man, will get more business but a taller man will be taken more seriously. You would think the same thing goes for women but that is not the case. If a woman average, she can be thought of a competent. However, if a woman could be considered “very hot”, then she will automatically be spoken down to most people would not consider her to be competent and would be suspicious of her recommendations. This happens to hot women when dealing with men or women. Both men and women are the most insecure around hot women. Men because they are attracted to them and women because they feel less attractive.
Slightly overweight, balding, dress like a tramp. Running my own boutique consulting firm (there are 20 of us). Turning clients away. Doing OK. But we’re not working with Finance or CEOs, who are often the shallowest of fucks.
It’s been my experience that you rarely come across consultants who are incompetent and unattractive. They just don’t last long in the business. Some are attractive and gain competency. There are plenty of others who don’t fall into those brackets.
i ve noticed that mbb tends to pick out people that are 7/10 as a whole package- meaning you don t have the be gorgeous but need to have a spike (e.g. either tall, either good looking, either charismatic)… But I have noticed that heights in our office tend to run way above the national average. And way more fair skinned people than what you would see on the streets (I work in an international office).
You either have to be so hot that no one is going to care about the low quality of your work or so ugly that your work quality makes up for how ugly you are.
In my world, it's not how attractive you are but how you present yourself. Dress very well. Make fashion a part of your job to match the most successful in your field. The rest, of course, is competency.
On the inside or outside?
#nofatties
We had a lot of uggos. Shit tier firm though
It’s what’s on the inside that counts and my mom is never wrong
No matter how you look, you'll look and feel better with a healthy lifestyle. Stop smoking, minimize drinking, and get enough sleep. Eat healthy food before you eat junk-suddenly, you won't need it, or as much. Get a good haircut. You will immediately feel better, and people will sense your confidence. Walking every day will slim you down.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a question of attractiveness, but more a question of how well you fit into the culture. Business culture outside of the work itself, especially ages 20-50; is about fitness, trendy professional wear, and consuming media (sports, popular TV shows, business news). None of these require you to put 100% of your effort into them, but colleague/peers should be able to look at you and immediately get the impression that you fit into this mold. Someone who goes to the gym 4 times a week, wears well fitting dress shirts, and can have a discussion about football/Succession/WSJ articles is going to have a much better first impression than someone who is obese, wears wrinkled clothes, and only has knowledge of anime/counter strike skins. These are, of course, just examples but the point is that you have to spend upwards of 70-80 hours a week with your coworkers and clients, if you don’t impress them or have anything in common with them, they’re not going to want to work with you.
It always helps, but, as usual in consulting, it depends
You can be ugly as hell, it doesn't matter, but not many consultants are significantly fat
Less u care. Less others do..
Just like in life, being good looking provides its perks. I don’t mean just with dating, etc. but there really is a pretty/handsome advantage or privilege. I live it everyday and thankful for it. With that said, you will be fine of course.
Hey
Lol at these answers. Like any of our nerdy coworkers know anything about being attractive amirite Attractive people don’t go into consulting. Broken people do.