While good-looking individuals typically enjoy an edge in hiring, a new study shows they may be overlooked for less appealing roles, such as low-paying or uninteresting positions.
"Our research indicates that attractive candidates can face discrimination when applying for relatively less desirable jobs," the lead researcher noted. "This contrasts with broader evidence showing attractiveness generally boosts hiring chances."
Drawing from four rigorous experiments involving over 750 participants—including university students and real-world managers—researchers presented profiles of two job candidates: one attractive and one less so (photos pre-validated for attractiveness in prior studies). Participants evaluated the candidates and, in three experiments, decided on hires for less desirable jobs (e.g., warehouse worker, housekeeper, customer service representative) versus more desirable ones (e.g., manager, project director, IT internship). Consistently, attractive candidates were selected less often for low-appeal roles and more frequently for high-appeal positions.
