Can Looks Land You a Job?

Beauty versus Brains. It's a debate that Americans still haven't pinpointed the answer to.

Economists have been familiar with this idea for a long time, calling it the "beauty premium." This concept supports the theory that attractive people, in any field of work, tend to do better in almost everything that affects wages—even in occupations where appearance is irrelevant to the job performance.

The results of a survey completed by Newsweek unveiled somewhat disturbing findings. After surveying 202 corporate hiring managers and 964 members of the public, the results showed that when it comes to job hiring, office politics and promotions, looks matter.

Sixty-one percent of managers in that same survey even said it was beneficial for a woman to show off her figure in the workplace.

But men, you aren't off the hook. Research shows that women's looks have a greater impact in relationships, but men's looks have bigger impacts at his workplace.

In another survey of important characteristics, the emphasis on looks shined through. Looks came in at third place, while experience and confidence were ranked as being the two most important character attributes.

And, if you think your educational credentials will outweigh your appearance, think again. Surprisingly, looks were ranked only .3 above where a candidate went to school.

"This survey doesn't surprise me," said junior legal studies major Alyssa Vesco. "People these days are so obsessed with how they look."

As college students, we need to be prepared to join this appearance-driven society.

Since appearance will probably always influence the workforce, whether high profile or not, there's only one option: learn to deal with it. How so? Remain confident, strongly promote your credentials and carry yourself with pride—you'll automatically enter situations with pizzazz.

"You just have to put your best qualities out there in a job interview and show that you know you are competent for the job," Vesco said.

It's clear that this behavior is unfair, especially concerning the years of schooling and tuition money spent towards an education, while "prettier" females and "chiseled" males snag the job on the basis of appearance alone.

In fact, privileging "more attractive" people can be regarded as a type of prejudice, as someone else who is considered "less attractive" may be more qualified for the position.

But, these judgments are something we're all guilty of.

It may be difficult to admit, but as students we'd rather learn from better-looking professors, as lovers we'd rather date more attractive mates and as customers we'd rather purchase goods from appealing salespeople.

Can we do anything to change the way beauty impacts the employer? Probably not, but we can try to overcome this issue by promoting our educational merits and labor experience.

Don't let this appearance driven society discourage or hinder your job search. If a candidate is relying on his or her looks to land a gig, remember that looks fade over time and beauty may only be skin deep.

You, on the other hand, are using your brain; a constantly evolving tool that will only grow and expand with time.