While good-looking people generally have the advantage in the hiring process, when it comes to applying for less attractive jobs, such as those with low pay or uninteresting work, attractiveness can be at a disadvantage, according to a new study.
“Our research suggests that attractive people may be discriminated against in selection for relatively less desirable jobs,” the researcher said. “This is in contrast to a large study that concludes that attractiveness, in general, aids candidates in the selection process.”
The researchers conducted a series of four experiments with more than 750 participants, including university students and managers who make their decisions in the real world. Participants were shown profiles of two potential job candidates with photos, one attractive and one unattractive (the photos were tested by previous research to test attractiveness). The participants were then asked a series of questions to measure their perceptions of the candidates and in three of the experiments, whether they would hire these candidates for a less desirable job (e.g., warehouse worker, housekeeper, customer service representative) or a more desirable job (e.g. manager, project director, IT internship). In all three experiments, participants chose the attractive candidate for the less desirable job significantly less often and more often for the attractive candidate for the more desirable job.
