Study Shows That Being Good Looking Is Hurting Your Career | Men's Health Magazine Australia

The Way You Look Might Be Hurting Your Career

Struggling to find work? Can’t quite get that promotion? Turns out you could be too good-looking. According to research carried out in the US and the UK, hiring managers see attractive men as a threat to their position. Conducted by the University College London’s School of Management and the University of Maryland, researchers carried out […]

Struggling to find work? Can’t quite get that promotion? Turns out you could be too good-looking.

According to research carried out in the US and the UK, hiring managers see attractive men as a threat to their position.

Conducted by the University College London’s School of Management and the University of Maryland, researchers carried out four separate experiments. 

The findings? Apparently, ” handsome men are more likely to be seen as a threat by their bosses and are hence less likely to score equally powerful positions…”. 

RELATED: Communication Can Make Or Break Your Career

Unfortunately for us good-sorts, the hiring process includes representatives from the division you’re trying to move to. And that means managers are conscious of who might be a threat to them. 

“Managers are affected by stereotypes and make hiring decisions to serve their own self-interests so [organisations] may not get the most competent candidates,” says Professor Sun Young Lee, lead researcher at the University of Maryland. 

“With more companies involving employees in recruitment processes, this important point needs attention. Awareness that hiring is affected by potential work relationships and stereotyping tendencies can help [organisations] improve their selection processes.”

So if you’re looking to get the gig, you might want to skip a beauty sleep or five…

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