Reactions to appearances

8 Nov 2012: A few days ago a friend was sharing a story about a mutual friend who had an interview to work in an Apple Store. This man was very knowledgeable of Apple products but he still didn't get the job. The person telling me this story felt our friend did not get the job because he is blind in one eye and it goggles out at people like a lazy eye.

My friend went on to share how another guy he knew that had no Apple experience went to the same interview and got the job.

My friend felt that the mutual friend was judged on appearance not ability and that he wasn't given the job because of how customers would react to him.

A sad truth is that people make decisions without the proof that customers are going to react in certain ways when this is not always the case.

I work as a job coach where I get to meet new clients all the time. A question I often get asked is how my clients respond to me when they first meet me? It's surprising that so far all my clients have been totally accepting and I think it's about me being really organised for the classes I run and I have a sense of humour and my clients realise I can relate with where they are at.

So I guess in some instances people may assume that appearances will cause a negative reaction but in actual fact showing skills, knowledge and professionalism can overcome appearances.