The business school I attended was overly traditional too. At the end of college, during interview practice sessions, I was told I would have to cut my shoulder-length hair if I wanted to get a job. I told them I’d be working in the music industry, and that it’s not like that in LA. Well, it wasn’t, and I got the job.
Now I work with a guy who once mentioned that he sometimes wishes he could grow out his beard and hair like mine, but can’t because of his job. We have the same employer—a company whose business it is to promote the values of long-haired, bearded, Jesus Christ—but my coworker’s responsibilities and contacts seem to dictate a different set of standards.
What are you sacrificing, and what opportunity costs have you shored up at some other expense? Are you willing to change? What’s it worth?