Attractiveness Associated With Job Success

Hiring

You can't be successful if you don't get hired, and attractive people seem to have a leg-up in this department. "How your face looks can significantly influence the success of an interview,” says Rice University's Mikki Hebi speaking to “Psychology Today.” Similarly, a 2013 study conducted by the College of Wooster found that a group playing the role of recruiting officers were more likely to predict positive job performance from attractive applicants.

Continued Success

A 2009 study of both men and women conducted by the University of Florida over the course of 14 years found that physical attractiveness had measurable positive impact not only on how much money people earned -- it also positively influenced their level of education and their self evaluation, reports "Science Daily." Similarly, a 2007 MSNBC and “Elle” magazine report shows that 58 percent of attractive female bosses were highly rated by their employees, compared to only 41 percent of average-looking bosses and 23 percent of those considered unattractive.

Intelligence and Beauty

"The Economist" speculates that the job interview advantage for good-looking people exists because people, including hiring managers, tend to project positive traits onto attractive people. While this type of correlation boils down to subjective human perception, some data exhibits concrete proof. "There is a clear monotonic positive association between physical attractiveness and intelligence," writes "Psychology Today" in 2009, based on information collected by the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

The Flip Side

The College of Wooster's study presents a less-predictable caveat: while physical attractiveness positively affected hiring probability, researchers found that this was only the case when attractiveness was coupled with a high-quality resume -- physical attractiveness had no impact on hiring evaluations when resumes were of low to average quality. Even Tim Judge, the PhD behind the University of Florida study, warns against relying solely on prettiness. In an interview with "Science Daily," he notes that overall, intelligence, education and relevant job skills can ultimately trump good looks when it comes to career success.