Looking Good and Sounding Right: Style Counselling and the Aesthetics of the New Economy

Suggests that bosses choose staff for their self-presentational skills rather than technical skills or experience. The authors, Chris Warhurst and Dennis Nickson of Strathclyde University, believe that government training policy should try and help staff meet these needs. Everyone, not only middle-class professionals and politicians, should be prepared to make use of the image-makers. The survey was carried out in the Glasgow region but its findings are almost certainly applicable elsewhere in these islands. The authors asked employers about the things they looked for when hiring new employees. Key findings include a high ranking for personal presentation and appearance (above even initiative and communications skills), and very low ranking for technical skills.