The rules for sales are... different, but sales (and to a lesser extent, consulting, at least the "make the customer feel special" part of consulting) exists in

The rules for sales are... different, but sales (and to a lesser extent, consulting, at least the "make the customer feel special" part of consulting) exists in what most of us consider to be a kind of ethical gray area. You're trying to tell the customer "I'm one of you" Most technical jobs are not like that. Most have pretty minimal social requirements. If you can't work with a programmer who doesn't look like you, I'd argue that the problem is with you, not with the person who looks different. Every time I argue that competency should be more important than 'cultural fit' people bring up the example of the asshole. But the asshole isn't usually the one rejected for 'cultural fit' - assholes usually do fairly well during the interview.