Is physical look more important than CV?
Forget polishing resume to find a
suitable job, for your looks are more than enough to do the trick, suggests a
new study, which has found that new employees are hired on the basis of their
‘personality or appearance’.
The study of nearly 200 fashion and jewellery retailers, conducted by
researchers at the University of Sydney, has revealed that ‘lookism’ is rife in
the rag trade, where physical appearance is more important than previous
experience.
However, experts have warned that the retail industry isn’t the only culprit,
with hospitality, tourism and telecommunication markets equally as guilty. The
survey of nearly all clothing retailers revealed that they hired new employees
based on ‘personality’ while 84 per cent said they relied on those who had the
‘right appearance’.
On the other hand, only 44 per cent took into account a prospective employee’s
qualifications and less than 80 per cent someone’s "previous
experience". Diane van den Broek, study co-author and senior lecturer in
work and organisational studies at the University of Sydney, said that the
findings suggest employers pay little attention to CVs.
"Beauty is big business – both for those achieving it and those exploiting
it. As such, we are all implicated in this phenomenon," News.com.au quoted
her as saying.
She said that it was extremely difficult to gauge how often retailers asked for
photographs with job applications. However, it was becoming increasingly
prevalent in the bar and hospitality industry, she said.
Talent2 director John Banks said looks were still a large part of the hiring
process. In some cases, it was the determining factor 90 per cent of the time. "People
like people who look good and first impressions count. (In jobs) where there is
a lot of exposure to the public, appearance is still an important factor,"
he said.
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