In his 15 years as an image consultant, he has encountered too many career stoppers, from husbands or wives with abysmal table manners to those who show up for social weekends with five suitcases. They point to the growing diversity in executive suites. More women are breaking through the glass ceiling, for example, meaning that husbands as well as wives need help. And more power couples with modest economic backgrounds are sailing up the corporate ladder together, meaning that sometimes both spouses could use a little enhancement of their social graces. Moreover, the consultants say, with the line between work and home increasingly blurring, more corporate mates are getting caught in the limelight than ever.
Spouses now receive more attention than in the past during the recruitment process.
Mr. Sacarello thinks the key often is simply to bolster a spouse's self-esteem. As an example, he cited a client who held a blue-collar job and who, in the past, had made virtually no effort to provide support for his executive wife, who worked for a company that required her to socialize a lot. Now his attitude is completely different, and he and his wife come across as a couple. Our goal is that when two people walk into a room, nobody needs to know who the highflier is or isn't. This survey was created by Inc. Magazine focusing on what keeps customers happy.