It’s been a long time since I was in high school (disclosure: I barely passed many classes, and was not in competition for a prestigious university, though I did manage to get 20 AP credits and aced the math SAT), but I don’t recall that the version of “groomed and dressed” then was a particularly different requirement than my current employment as a principal engineer at a large tech company.
Showing up on time for appointments remains rather important. Behaving compatibly with a range of others likewise. Truly bad grooming is, in fact, a hindrance. Formal coiffure and sartorial prowess isn’t particularly helpful, but is less of a hindrance than aggressively-casual (stained sweats and flip-flops).
If it was “show up acceptably groomed and dressed, and with a base level of politeness in behavior to people around you”, would you be happier with the description?
I don’t dispute that being able to meet middle-class social norms of dress and grooming is helpful. What I said is that I think it’s overrated (conditional on high IQ). Looking like everyone else is useful but not that useful.
It’s been a long time since I was in high school (disclosure: I barely passed many classes, and was not in competition for a prestigious university, though I did manage to get 20 AP credits and aced the math SAT), but I don’t recall that the version of “groomed and dressed” then was a particularly different requirement than my current employment as a principal engineer at a large tech company.
Showing up on time for appointments remains rather important. Behaving compatibly with a range of others likewise. Truly bad grooming is, in fact, a hindrance. Formal coiffure and sartorial prowess isn’t particularly helpful, but is less of a hindrance than aggressively-casual (stained sweats and flip-flops).
If it was “show up acceptably groomed and dressed, and with a base level of politeness in behavior to people around you”, would you be happier with the description?
I don’t dispute that being able to meet middle-class social norms of dress and grooming is helpful. What I said is that I think it’s overrated (conditional on high IQ). Looking like everyone else is useful but not that useful.