In a time of economic struggle in which millions of Americans are actively searching for jobs, the competition to gain employment can seem fiercer than a swarm of angry bees. Employers relish the fact that they are able to carefully pick and choose who they want to hire from an already well-qualified applicant pool. Thus, we slave endlessly away, sculpting our resumes in order to put us in the most positive light. But is it possible that employers are looking at more than just our resume?
Recently, a study conducted by the University of Colorado Denver Business School showed participants individual photos of male and female job applicants. The participants were then asked to sort the applicants’ job suitability based on a list of jobs that were provided. The study yielded that a person’s attractiveness may affect the likelihood of landing a job, but not always in a positive way.
Attractive women seemed to face more negative biases than their less attractive equivalents when applying for certain jobs that have been historically viewed as more masculine, such as a police guard, construction worker, or director of a research team. It is interesting how in these situations, a woman’s attractiveness can be seen as a detriment. However, attractive women experience a much more positive bias when applying for all other types of jobs.
Do men experience the same effect, wherein more attractive men are more likely to face negative biases when applying for a job that is traditionally viewed as more feminine? Not at all; it seems that men are immune to this weird gender conundrum that woman face. In fact, a more attractive man is more likely to be hired for all jobs than his less attractive equivalent.
But is this a conscious choice? Many researchers believe that people do not even realize that they are using such biases in everyday life, let alone during hiring decisions. Guess this proves that one should always try to look their best during a job interview.
