Although we like to believe that beauty runs only skin deep, research shows that it pays to be good-looking. A survey by Newsweek concluded, "In all elements of the workplace, from hiring to politics to promotions … looks matter, and they matter hard." The research provided the following results:
- Favoritism Happens: 57 percent of hiring managers believe an unattractive (but qualified) job candidate will have a harder time getting hired.
- Favoritism Continues: 68 percent of hiring managers believe that, once hired, looks will affect the way managers rate an employee's job performance.
- Your Looks Matter More Than Your Resume: 59 percent of hiring managers advised spending as much time and money "making sure they look attractive" as on perfecting a resume.
- It's Worse for Women: 61 percent of hiring managers (and 60 percent of them were men) said that women would benefit from wearing clothes that show off their figure.
- We Judge Overweight People: Although 75 percent of Americans are overweight, about 66 percent of managers said they thought some managers would hesitate before hiring someone who is significantly overweight.
- We Also Judge Old People: 84 percent of managers said their bosses would hesitate before hiring a qualified candidate who looked much older than his or her co-workers.
- We Think Favoritism Based on Looks Is OK: 64 percent of hiring managers said they believe companies should be allowed to hire people based on looks.
