Seriously:
Fifty-seven percent of hiring managers told NEWSWEEK that qualified but unattractive candidates are likely to have a harder time landing a job, while more than half advised spending as much time and money on “making sure they look attractive” as on perfecting a résumé. When it comes to women, apparently, flaunting our assets works: 61 percent of managers (the majority of them men) said it would be an advantage for a woman to wear clothing showing off her figure at work.
Your education, skills and experience are great and all, but what really matters is how you look in a dress.
But wait! There's more.
Asked to rank employee attributes in order of importance, meanwhile, managers placed looks above education: of nine character traits, it came in third, below experience (No. 1) and confidence (No. 2) but above “where a candidate went to school” (No. 4).
Right. So education, skills and experience are, you know, sort of relevant, but not as relevant as how you look in a dress.
But at least it's not just straight up sexism because unattractive men get screwed too.
[O]ver his career, a good-looking man will make some $250,000 more than his least-attractive counterpart, according to economist Daniel Hamermesh...
So if you're one of the millions of Americans having a hard time finding a job in today's economy, don't waste your time padding your résumé. Instead, get yourself to the salon, the gym, the shoe store -- whatever it takes to make sure you're the best looking job applicant. Because apparently, that's what really matters.