When Looks Matter

A recent post on a career industry association e-list sparked quite a discussion about job-seeker appearance and hiring standards. An association member came across a job board that caters to “beautiful, skilled and talented people looking for employment” and “employers who are looking to hire beautiful, skilled and talented people.” To access job leads, candidates must first register and upload their photo, which is then rated by visitors and members to determine if their account should be activated or rejected.

Is there no end to the limits some individuals will go to in exploiting the tight job market while making candidates feel less than worthy?

Okay, I will admit that appearance has always been a factor in how candidates are evaluated during the interview. After all, don’t we advise candidates to “look their best” when approaching an employer? We coach clients on what to wear, how to fix their hair and make-up, and what subtle things such as facial hair and fingernail length communicate to an employer. And we talk to clients about how they need “to look the part” to “get the part” – which is what makes some job titles, such as librarian or construction worker immediately conjure up images that even the most diplomatic employer has to shake.

Set aside the audaciousness of BeautifulJobSeekers.com and we are still faced with reconciling the impact one’s photo has on their success in landing a job. With the widespread use of social media to match candidates to jobs, are employers - who are trying to comply with EEO regulations - feeling like they need to cover their eyes when reviewing candidate credentials on Facebook, LinkedIn and other online networking sites? Are hungry lawyers lining up to pursue action against employers on behalf of candidates who feel they have been rejected because of their apparent age, race, ethnic background – or heaven forbid, height, weight and eye color!?

I don’t know the answer, but it all makes me a little nervous. As a professional résumé writer, I have always scoffed at competitors who advised clients to include a photo on their résumé, but now I am wondering if I should rethink my position. In a country that seems to have lost its senses to reality TV, entertainment magazines, and viewer-cast ballots for who should be the next “American Idol,” maybe it’s time that employers and career services professionals have some serious conversations about how these trends are impacting the job market – and come up with some realistic solutions.

Comments

[Donna Svei]

Hi Louise,

It all makes me a little nervous too. None the less, how we present ourselves says a lot about us to others. Thus, your advice to look your best makes a lot of sense to me. There's a great book from Charla Krupp on little changes we can make to our appearance, on every budget, that can make big differences in how we look. See http://bit.ly/9SsymY for more information. The good news is that looking better gives most of more self-confidence and a little self-esteem boost. Job search or not, that's a win!

Cheers,

Donna

[Serena Neeley]

I think that is the most discriminatory thing I have ever read/seen.As a new student it scares me to think that I may be denied a job because my eye color or heaven forbid,my height(I'm shorter than most). I have seen so much discrimination over things like skin color or disability but this is a new all time low for anyone who chooses to use that site to hire or even to post thier resume,Personally, I would like to see the hungry lawyers aforementioned, devour them in court.I don't think your looks,other than the fact that you are neat,clean and presentable matter in a career setting.But just like everyone else,this is just my opinion,I hope others feel the same way about this site,because the only way to heal is to know that there is a problem.

[Norine Dagliano]

Thank you for your comments, Serena. I was equally appalled when I saw the site and would love to see someone shut it down. I can't image anyone choosing to use the site - especially employers. I was surprised to see our local hospital with a listing on there; it makes me think that maybe they are just trolling the web and randomly grabbing and posting things. I can't believe any small city hospital would actually stoop that low to find candidates.