9 ms·

Attractive People Have a Big Advantage in the Job Interview

36 points by mgh2 3y ago

Havoc 3y ago
And damn near everything else too.
- hulitu 3y ago
  This reminds me of this video: https://youtu.be/PxuUkYiaUc8 https://youtu.be/PxuUkYiaUc8
  - michaelteter 3y ago
    Haha, that really flips the script. But it's also true... one can get away with many incorrect or inappropriate behaviors if they are attractive (or especially charismatic).
- heyheyhey 3y ago
  As they say, the 3 biggest advantages one can have in life are money, power and attractiveness.
mensetmanusman 3y ago
Evolution could explain as beauty is often highly correlated with health.
- rf15 3y ago
  But we have very shifting and at times unhealthy beauty standards? I don't think it's that absolute.
  - elemos 3y ago
    Definitely isn’t. You don’t have to go that far back to find that obesity was considered ideal. Beauty is generally more socially constructed then biological.
michaelteter 3y ago
At one company I worked at, most of our tech/finance staff was male. When we interviewed for a junior data science position, we had one female candidate who many would consider to be very attractive. Most or all of the other interviewees were male. That became a matter of some consideration, because there were arguments that she would be too disruptive within the office because of her age, appearance, and gender. What's fascinating is that the "right" answer was not clear here. Should we consider those factors, effectively making her personal characteristics a negative, or should we continue with the knowledge that she would likely get too much attention (some of which she might find uncomfortable)? In the end, we chose a male candidate who seemed to be a better fit based on skills and academic focus. But had it been an equal match based on background alone, I think we still would have chosen the man. FWIW, I was providing only analysis of the candidates based on their in-person interview performance primarily related to general problem solving, so I did not affect the selection based on those personal factors.
- Planktonne 3y ago
  > What's fascinating is that the "right" answer was not clear here. I think you've misidentified the problem. The issue has nothing to do with the applicant, and everything to do with a team culture that would find it 'disruptive' to have a member who was young/female/attractive. The right answer is to work on fixing that culture.
  - version_five 3y ago
    Maybe. Fixing the culture in that way is not obviously the company's biggest priority. We can agree that it's an ideal, but it also takes resources away from other things and may involve other tradeoffs (even firing some people) that could be worse for the business and employees overall. It's not the kind of decision that can just be made in a vacuum.
    - Planktonne 3y ago
      It might not be a short term priority, but it should definitely be a long term one. Currently, the company is restricted to only a subset of potential applicants (male, mid-to-late career, ugly-to-average) for any future hiring needs; that's quite limiting. There's also the possibility of lawsuits for various kinds of discrimination in the future.
0gravitas 3y ago
A takeaway of the article might be: Be beautiful, or employ nifty psychological tricks. See also: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_effect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_attractiveness_stereotype https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_attractiveness_stereo... - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patter
- version_five 3y ago
  Name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking a handshake.
  - 0gravitas 3y ago
    "What can I do to get you in this car today?"
5350-uiop-1130 3y ago
I recently asked chatGPT and Bard if life was fair. chatGPT lectured me condescendingly on biases and intentions, as it does. Bard just said No, life isn't fair.
aaroninsf 3y ago
ITT: the effects of conservative propaganda, which conflates "natural" with "necessary, unavoidable, and acceptable," particularly in matters of sexual instinct The foundation of human society is subjugating (evolved animal) instinct, to evolved cultural expectations and behavioral norms. It is fundamental in functional societies that instinct is not "denied," it is recognized as exactly that thing which society erects constructs and behavioral expectations around to manage. Instinct may in most cases be unavoidable and inevitable. Healthy participation in a healthy society means asserting will and cultivating habits which correct for, guard against, and render unproblematic, these things. NB I say "propaganda" because there is a relentless subtext (now, often overtly stated and championed, especially among shills for toxic masculinity) that "men are unable to control themselves, and it is not just inappropriate but immoral to expect them to." Ask any seventh grade boy you know about Tate and his ilk... then educate and push back.
- freejazz 3y ago
  Very Freudian and also, spot-on.

36 points by mgh2 3y ago

Havoc 3y ago

And damn near everything else too.

hulitu 3y ago
This reminds me of this video: https://youtu.be/PxuUkYiaUc8 https://youtu.be/PxuUkYiaUc8
- michaelteter 3y ago
  Haha, that really flips the script. But it's also true... one can get away with many incorrect or inappropriate behaviors if they are attractive (or especially charismatic).
heyheyhey 3y ago
As they say, the 3 biggest advantages one can have in life are money, power and attractiveness.

mensetmanusman 3y ago

Evolution could explain as beauty is often highly correlated with health.

rf15 3y ago
But we have very shifting and at times unhealthy beauty standards? I don't think it's that absolute.
- elemos 3y ago
  Definitely isn’t. You don’t have to go that far back to find that obesity was considered ideal. Beauty is generally more socially constructed then biological.

michaelteter 3y ago

At one company I worked at, most of our tech/finance staff was male. When we interviewed for a junior data science position, we had one female candidate who many would consider to be very attractive. Most or all of the other interviewees were male. That became a matter of some consideration, because there were arguments that she would be too disruptive within the office because of her age, appearance, and gender. What's fascinating is that the "right" answer was not clear here. Should we consider those factors, effectively making her personal characteristics a negative, or should we continue with the knowledge that she would likely get too much attention (some of which she might find uncomfortable)? In the end, we chose a male candidate who seemed to be a better fit based on skills and academic focus. But had it been an equal match based on background alone, I think we still would have chosen the man. FWIW, I was providing only analysis of the candidates based on their in-person interview performance primarily related to general problem solving, so I did not affect the selection based on those personal factors.

Planktonne 3y ago
> What's fascinating is that the "right" answer was not clear here. I think you've misidentified the problem. The issue has nothing to do with the applicant, and everything to do with a team culture that would find it 'disruptive' to have a member who was young/female/attractive. The right answer is to work on fixing that culture.
- version_five 3y ago
  Maybe. Fixing the culture in that way is not obviously the company's biggest priority. We can agree that it's an ideal, but it also takes resources away from other things and may involve other tradeoffs (even firing some people) that could be worse for the business and employees overall. It's not the kind of decision that can just be made in a vacuum.
  - Planktonne 3y ago
    It might not be a short term priority, but it should definitely be a long term one. Currently, the company is restricted to only a subset of potential applicants (male, mid-to-late career, ugly-to-average) for any future hiring needs; that's quite limiting. There's also the possibility of lawsuits for various kinds of discrimination in the future.

0gravitas 3y ago

A takeaway of the article might be: Be beautiful, or employ nifty psychological tricks. See also: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_effect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_attractiveness_stereotype https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_attractiveness_stereo... - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_in_advertising - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patter

version_five 3y ago
Name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking a handshake.
- 0gravitas 3y ago
  "What can I do to get you in this car today?"

5350-uiop-1130 3y ago

I recently asked chatGPT and Bard if life was fair. chatGPT lectured me condescendingly on biases and intentions, as it does. Bard just said No, life isn't fair.

aaroninsf 3y ago

ITT: the effects of conservative propaganda, which conflates "natural" with "necessary, unavoidable, and acceptable," particularly in matters of sexual instinct The foundation of human society is subjugating (evolved animal) instinct, to evolved cultural expectations and behavioral norms. It is fundamental in functional societies that instinct is not "denied," it is recognized as exactly that thing which society erects constructs and behavioral expectations around to manage. Instinct may in most cases be unavoidable and inevitable. Healthy participation in a healthy society means asserting will and cultivating habits which correct for, guard against, and render unproblematic, these things. NB I say "propaganda" because there is a relentless subtext (now, often overtly stated and championed, especially among shills for toxic masculinity) that "men are unable to control themselves, and it is not just inappropriate but immoral to expect them to." Ask any seventh grade boy you know about Tate and his ilk... then educate and push back.

freejazz 3y ago
Very Freudian and also, spot-on.