Beauty may be only skin deep, but 40 per cent of candidates think it will get them the job

Citation

(2003), "Beauty may be only skin deep, but 40 per cent of candidates think it will get them the job", Career Development International, Vol. 8 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/cdi.2003.13708fab.004

Beauty may be only skin deep, but 40 per cent of candidates think it will get them the job

Beauty may be only skin deep, but 40 per cent of candidates think it will get them the job

A survey of some 300 job seekers reveals that most still believe that making the right first impression is the vital ingredient to interview success.

Some 23 per cent of women believe that putting on a short skirt, wearing designer clothes and carrying a copy of The Financial Times represents the quickest way of gaining approval, while a further 43 per cent of women think that looking good will give them the upper hand. However, it appears that men place even greater importance on looking good. Of the men questioned, 46 per cent said that having a “good physique” with “attractive looks” is the key to securing the job offer.

The importance of attractiveness appears to rise, not fall, according to the age of the candidate. Some 45 per cent of respondents aged under 30 rated attractive looks and a good physique as a significant factor, with 46 per cent of 31-40 year olds and 47 per cent of 41-60 year olds.

Fred Hudson, chief executive of human-capital assessment company Profiles, which carried out the research, commented: “While two-thirds of British companies claim to use assessment tools when interviewing, the reality is that they have been designed for use only in the final stages of the recruitment process. By this stage, though, it is already too late – interviewers inevitably being swayed as much by their gut instinct on an individual as the findings of any psychometric test. For the true value of assessments to be gained, they must be applied at the pre-selection stage so that the right candidate short list is drawn up. Only then can a line manager’s gut instinct be allowed to come into play.”

Around 45 per cent of retail workers believe that designer clothes and a clean-shaven look are the way to an interviewer’s heart. Meanwhile, 20 per cent of office workers prefer to take the executive briefcase, rolled-up broadsheet and, if all else fails, show a bit of leg. Only 15 per cent of job applicants, however, thought that working out in the gym would increase their chances of success.