Just over two thirds of employers would be more inclined to hire good-looking candidates, with a scary 9% admitting that they had in the past recruited someone purely because of their appearance.
According to a poll of 1,256 bosses undertaken by recruitment agency review web site HireScores.com, 67% admitted that, all being equal in terms of qualifications, their employment decision would be swayed by looks. About half of this sample said that this was because they felt attractive candidates were the most likely to be confident in the workplace.
Lisette Howlett, managing director of HireScores, said: “It’s very important to look at all the factors when you’re looking to employ someone, regardless of what job it is for. The hiring decision needs to take everything into account – motivation, attitude, short and longer-term business needs and whether the candidate has the best ability to do the job.”
Reassuringly, however, just over four out of five respondents said that they believed that just such an ability to do the job was the most important factor when hiring a candidate. Some 73% also valued qualifications, 71% social skills and 61% hygiene.
A second study by the organisation likewise revealed that UK employees found US companies the most appealing to work for. Some 76% of those questioned cited Coca-Cola as their ‘dream workplace’, with 42% attributing this to salary and 23% to potential freebies.
Next on the list was Microsoft (69%), followed by Google (66%) and Apple (61%). Only two UK companies made it onto the list – Virgin ranked number five at 57%, while British Airways was tenth at 41%.
A mere 16% of respondents ever expected to achieve their goal, however, with 38% seeing it merely as a pipedream and 21% believing it was ‘unachievable’. The study also indicated that women were particularly keen to work abroad. Some 56% said that their dream job would be located outside of the UK compared with 39% of men.
