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Ugly Ducklings Need Not Apply
Eve Tahmincioglu | CareerDiva.net
May 04, 2010
We’ve all probably heard it before — if you’re attractive you’re more likely to get the gig.
Most of us tend to disregard this assumption and emphasize the importance of skills, experience and drive. If beauty trumped all, we think, then the world would be doomed. A civilized society focuses on good character not good looks, right? But what if we embraced the idea that attractiveness will always win out? What if we just accepted it as the norm and even propped this idea up, pushing aside all common decency?
That’s what one guy did. Say hello to BeautifulJobSeekers.com.
I get a lot of wacky, over-the-top press releases. And some public relations folks think the more extreme the more coverage they’ll get from us gullible reporters.
And in this case, it worked. Why? Because I think the site plays up what is the worst about people, and every chance I can to discuss society’s underbelly the better for us all. Understanding our dark side is the first step in overcoming it, I always say.
Basically, the site is for attractive job seekers. Exactly what constitutes attractive or not is unclear. It’s left up to the people who visit the site and vote, according to the PR guy Darren Shuster.
This from the release about the site:
The Ugly Truth – As current unemployment rates spike ‘through the roof’, the competition in the job market has also increased. ‘Standing out from the crowd’ has become even more important for job seekers than ever before. In turn, employers may put a greater emphasis on beauty, attractiveness and good looks. Gone are the days, where ‘having skills and talent’ alone was sufficient.
A Beautiful Solution – BeautifulJobSeekers.com is an employment website which helps beautiful, skilled and talented job seekers, to stand out from the competition in the job market. At the same time it helps employers, looking to hire beautiful, skilled and talented people, to speed up their recruitment process. BeautifulJobSeekers.com does this by providing an online platform, which caters exclusively to the afore-mentioned parties.
I know, many of you are recoiling right now. But hey, there is something to this assumption if you look at the endless studies on the impact of beauty on careers.
Numbers Don’t Lie →
Featured Author: Career Diva
CareerDiva is a blog maintained by Eve Tahmincioglu, journalist, author, and columnist. As a career and workplace expert, Eve is also the author of From the Sandbox to the Corner Office: Lessons Learned on the Journey to the Top, and the Your Career columnist for MSNBC.com. Eve is also the Starting Up columnist for MSN’s BusinessOnMain website.
shiznit
almost 3 years ago
2 comments
To ABG's comment : It IS!!!! YOUR fault totally that you are "plain." Now that it's pointed out to our attention, and to yours...you obviously do not fit into the category of attractive job-seekers!!! What some consider to be pretty or attractive is one who's... "Image-Conscious."
Plain is just a nice way of saying...for lack of better words...U.G.L.Y.
"Image", is the key word here, and if you don't care about yours, then why should they? A company who values beautiful people in their work environment, isn't going to hide their exclusive search category.
They should be ashamed right? Maybe even be made to apologize to the offended...
Nope. They just know what works to create them a successful work environment for their staff.
"Image is everything"!!!! Today, alot of businesses strive to maintain a great image. Who they hire on can boost image and pretty also means less office--politics in the long run. Less jealousy & less gossip. And company policy...should be up to the owner.
Businesses can find, and hire talented, skilled jobseekers who are dependable, attractive or beautiful, even gorgeous.
If you're not in this exclusive category..."Prettier than the Rest"... do something about it. Get prettier in the face, less ugly--on the inside....AND stop bein' a freakin-HATER!!!!!
P.S.
Gone are the days when ...those who have beauty as the biggest thing going for them need to keep hiding their beautiful bods!! You no longer have to wait to be recognized as ..."prettier."
To help the pretty & attractive stand out from the rest, www beautifuljobseekers.com, an employment website, is putting an emphasis on good looks. It's an on-line platform catering exclusively to the beautiful.
ABG
about 3 years ago
36 comments
Is that site serious? That enrages me. How can they have the right to say who is beautiful (and therefore get the job) and who isn't (and won't)? It's not my fault I'm plain, I should not be punished for it! I don't want to have to drastically change the way I look just to get a job...Granted, I could probably do with losing a little weight, but...other than that...the fact that I have glasses, and my hair is nothing but unruly should not be a deciding factor in getting a job! I don't want to have to spend countless hours putting on a superficial face! If people can't accept me for who I am, that's their problem! The only make-up I ever wear is nail-polish, and that only because my nails would split without it.
The prejudice in a site like BeautifulJobSeekers.com just sickens me.
And then there's the thing...what if it's just a pretense for somebody finding beautiful people they can stalk?
Account Removed
about 3 years ago
amen joyce!
joycebarron
about 3 years ago
2 comments
Now I have a handy-dandy list of companies too shallow to receive my consumer dollars. Thanks for showing me where NOT to spend my money.
bradley7
about 3 years ago
10 comments
if hire on looks alone you are making a big mistake. you can not tell how well a person will do a job based on looks alone
Maxine21
about 3 years ago
78 comments
This is nuts (unethical and poor business). What company is going to go on here and post jobs and not get skewered publicly for doing so? Talent and hardwork are what make companies succeed, not looks. This site will go down in flames.
songwriter
about 3 years ago
78 comments
The idea of beauty in this country all boils down to race and ethnicity, especially for women. This is the reason why women in the media (even newscasters) dye their hair a lighter color (or at least add highlights), straighten their hair, wear colored contacts, and pluck their eyebrows (to some degree, also why women wear heeled shoes). On top of this, women are expected to wear make-up in order to "look presentable." The only make-up I wear is lipstick, and I think that people judge me negatively as a result of that. I have also found that those who do fit into the mold of American beauty are quick to judge others less fortunate as "obsessed with looks," when the reality is that most people are obsessed with looks because it does make a difference in the way you are treated by others, and that those who have it easier don't know how much better they have it. If I was 5'9" and had blond straight hair and blue eyes (even with the ugliest of faces and the lowest level of education), I am sure that I would not be underemployed right now!