"Don't worry your pretty little head..."

[Ashley_Price]

Okay, so now I've made you look (and probably have the female members fuming), here's a question for you - which is very controversial:

Do you think attractiveness helps or hinders in business?

(Obviously, I'm not including jobs like being a model)

I mean I've always found being a hunk has worked for me, but what about others?

Do you think if someone is attractive/handsome they will get further, or do you think it can go against them (being considered as all looks and no brains)? Do you think an attractive person will get away with things that anyone else would probably be slated for? (E.g. if someone spams lots of people, they get a lot of complaints and abuse, but if the profile pic shows the sender as being attractive they are "forgiven" or even get lots of "good luck" messages?)

 

[Andrew Chambers]

Re the spam it's all down to what you are selling. If it's the latest violent computer game aimed at teenage spotty Herberts then a Selena Gomez avatar in a bikini will probably help. Just as in "traditional" advertising that lovely Michael Parkinson will give you free pen if you die with his advertiser. Would Justin Bieber giving away a free pen work?!

In the real world it works the same, I would say.

As for the work place, I would say a pretty face is no substitution for work ethic and experience, and will only get you so far.

 

[boring-friday]

ofcourse, they can automatically start a business selling absolutely anything on instagram and if all else fails they have a guaranteed £500 a hour on cam sites

 

[RPower]

Attractiveness is subjective. What one person might think is pretty or handsome, another might not think so. And sometimes it may not even be taken into account - in fact, in the majority of workplaces, I would hope it isn't taken into account. Someone's ability to do their job should be based on skills, aptitude, experience and personality and not genetics or physical appearance.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Someone's ability to do their job should be based on skills, aptitude, experience and personality and not genetics or physical appearance.

Very true... but, when you meet someone for the first time, or receiving a mailing from them, you don't know anything about their ability to do the job, etc., so then how do you base your decision?

 

[RPower]

@Ashley_Price The same way I always make decisions - if it's a business decision, read reviews of that business. If it's someone wanting a job, check out their experience and put them through the interview process. If it's an email, consider whether you're interested in the content.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

A Lot of big company MD's have attractive secretaries, and most lady sales people on the road seem to be attractive

Guess it depends so much on the position people are hire for, I don't think many would hire a ugly person for front of house duties and meeting the public apart from fast food

 

[estwig]

Up until just over 3 years ago I was 7 stone, yes 7 stone heavier than I am now, I was drinking and smoking too much, had no idea what a gym was and a No.4 was my standard haircut.

I now train regularly, eat well , leave the booze alone, dress well and take care of my appearance. I'm 6ft tall, in great shape with blue eyes.

I am attractive, if slightly narcissistic and perhaps over confident.

Being attractive has massive advantages, especially as a large part of what I do involves dealing with people.

 

[simon field]

Why do you keep starting these threads?

 

[john1989]

If you have two equal candidates in terms of skills, experience, qualifications and fit, how do you choose between the two?
You have to be somewhat discriminatory.

You would go for the better looking secretary.
You would pick the customer service representative that doesn't sound like a Jeremy Kyle guest.
You'd pick the bricklayer that doesn't limp.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

You'd pick the bricklayer that doesn't limp.

?????????

 

[john1989]

?????????

?????????

 

[Thermodynamic Man]

I'd get into bed with a hot chick anytime ( assuming her figures matched up and there was a strong chance of a positive and mutually beneficial outcome)

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

It depends on your perspective.

For example, if a woman is very beautiful, but she's constantly harassed by male co-workers who are more interested in flirting, it could well be more of a hindrance than a help.

Being attractive does help in most situations. After all, it all boils down to the concept of finding the characteristics of a person appealing, whether that is what they say, what they do or how they look. The more you find appealing about a person, the easier it is to feel rapport with them.

However, whilst it may help, it certainly doesn't over-rule the main attributes of knowledge, skills and experience which make someone good at their job. If you look at all of the world's most successful businesspeople, few are exactly renowned for their good looks. The ability to do the job well will always trump physical appearance overall.

 

[Mr A P Davies]

I guess it depends if the person knows how to use their looks, or not.
People are often shallow, and easily manipulated.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Why do you keep starting these threads?

You'd rather I didn't start any threads?

 

[john1989]

You'd rather I didn't start any threads?

Ignore the naysayers.

We need people to start threads that engage people.

 

[serendipitybusiness]

When I was a young blonde, with a lancashire accent, in my early 20s and in the digital sector it had both it's advantages and dissadvantages. However, it is down to how you handle the cards you are dealt with. For instance, I would not be taken seriously as a geek and would often be approached in a romantic manner rather than a business manner. In fact many of my fellow geeks and other business collegues were completly inappropiate. The propositions I recieved, even before this, in business, regarding favours, were downright insulting. Instead of getting angry and fustrated I found a way to use it to my advantage.

I learn't how to deal with inappropiate comments through banter and turned it into a bonding experiance, to the point where the collegues that knew me, would sit back and watch the entertainment, ready to step in if it ever got out of hand (which it never did). It diffused the situation and I gained respect from the inapproiate party that first entered into this tone of communication, whilst also putting them firmly in their place.

I would happily let the geeks think I was a dizzy blonde, they would relax and boast about their geekdom exploits infront of me, thinking I wouldn't have the intelligence to understand it, let alone do anything about it. Therefore, I got the REAL information that they would not tell anyone that they actually considered clever.

In client meetings, I would find that the client would address my male counterparts and overlook me for the majority of the meeting. Which was fine, this didn't bother me because what would happen, at some point during the meeting, one of my male associates would look over to me to answer a techical question, which I would answer. The strangest thing would happen at this point, the clients would then tend to refer to me mostly for rest of meeting. I found that when you change someones initial perceptions of you, it makes a much bigger impact. This gave me an advantage and I took what could have been a huge negative and turned it into a secret weapon.

Now as I have grown older, fatter and darker, I find people take me seriously on first impression. I realised this when I was in group settings, where I would be talking and all of a sudden, I would turn round and the room had stopped to listen to what I was saying. That was very disconcerting as it was completly different to what I was used to. So I had to start curling my hair to look more girly, in the end I actually liked being underestimated at first, it gave me time to evaluate the situation before speaking up!

Life is what you make it, you simply have to accept the cards that you are dealt with and find a way to play them as best as you can. Don't get mad, get smart.

 

[Alex_T]

In an ideal world it shouldn't matter but there is no doubt it can help to be 'attractive' in certain industries.

 

[paulears]

Well I work in entertainment and can tell you that appearance is the primary feature for many jobs. Also age, and even hair colour. "why did you book her, she's ancient, short and ginger?" True, she was 34, she was short and extremely red headed. She was also a qualified physiotherapist which I figured outweighed the other traits (weight, in our business is also hugely important), I can't cure the height, but makeup and wigs work on the rest.

In my world, you audition, and they get it, or don't. Nobody ever knows why. You never see a fat, spotty, balding grey haired guy playing the love interest, do you? yet if somebody comes for a backstage production role, nobody cares remotely what they look like or how old they are or if they are gay or straight - can they do the job, and will they not annoy you?

 

[AllUpHere]

Lots of studies have been carried out by many highly qualified researchers. The long and the short of it is that 'traditionally attractive' people are looked upon favorably in many circumstances you wouldn't even think about. There have been meticulously well executed studies conducted which have shown that we look at attractive people not only as better looking, but also as more intelligent, kinder , and also more capable than less attractive counterparts.

It's a complicated (but very interesting) area of study, but one that shouldn't be underestimated.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

My two best ever sales agents were referred to by my customers as "The short fat ugly one" and the "tall fat ugly one." When they retired they were genuinely missed by the customers.

The only pretty female sales agent I had was a disaster. Her CV was a bunch of lies and she managed to drop £60,000 turnover in a year.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Well I work in entertainment and can tell you that appearance is the primary feature for many jobs. Also age, and even hair colour. "why did you book her, she's ancient, short and ginger?" True, she was 34, she was short and extremely red headed. She was also a qualified physiotherapist which I figured outweighed the other traits (weight, in our business is also hugely important), I can't cure the height, but makeup and wigs work on the rest.

In my world, you audition, and they get it, or don't. Nobody ever knows why. You never see a fat, spotty, balding grey haired guy playing the love interest, do you? yet if somebody comes for a backstage production role, nobody cares remotely what they look like or how old they are or if they are gay or straight - can they do the job, and will they not annoy you?

Well I work in entertainment and can tell you that appearance is the primary feature for many jobs. Also age, and even hair colour. "why did you book her, she's ancient, short and ginger?" True, she was 34, she was short and extremely red headed. She was also a qualified physiotherapist which I figured outweighed the other traits (weight, in our business is also hugely important), I can't cure the height, but makeup and wigs work on the rest.

In my world, you audition, and they get it, or don't. Nobody ever knows why. You never see a fat, spotty, balding grey haired guy playing the love interest, do you? yet if somebody comes for a backstage production role, nobody cares remotely what they look like or how old they are or if they are gay or straight - can they do the job, and will they not annoy you?

Guess you never heard of a guy called Sid James or Donald Pleasence

 

[Davek0974]

Interesting thought really, never paid too much attention to looks when interviewing.

I guess front-of-house would tend to go for attractive people (skills being equal of course), having the hunch-back of Notre Dame as a customer assistant in a swanky hotel might not be prudent

It also joins with a chat I had last week about the growing presence of body art or tattoos - does it affect hire-ability?

My view was, yes it might, depending on the job. Personally I dislike mega tattoos - the sort that cannot be covered by normal clothing, I can't see why people go to the extremes that some do, don't get me started on those that have dinner plates fitted in their ear lobes either!

 

[Ashley_Price]

It also joins with a chat I had last week about the growing presence of body art or tattoos - does it affect hire-ability?

I guess the thing with tattoos and piercings is they are a lifestyle choice and if you decide to have these done you must surely have thought of the affect it's going to have on your future job prospects. I watch Professional Masterchef, and it is surprising the number of chefs that do have tattoos, piercings or lobe-stretchers.

But I sometimes think the way employers try to make the person cover up their piercing or tattoo can draw more attention to it. There used to be a young lady on the check outs at our local Safeway (when we still had Safeway) who had an eyebrow piercing. It was quite discreet (well, as much as these can be) as it was just a little bar. But when she was on check-out she was made to wear a blue plaster over it. So instead of just thinking "Oh, she's got a piercing", and then carrying on with packing your bags, if you didn't know the reason for the plaster you'd think "Has she been in a fight?"