I was sad when I heard this, but agree we know it matters more than it should. I did wonder if she had the interview in person (vs. zoom) would it have gone differently?
Other - when you have a capability based model looks should not matter. However there are jobs that require the individual to be groomed/polished (in client facing roles). Make up shouldn’t be important though. Just make sure you don’t wear a crop top and jeans with holes for a client- facing position.
I have certainly seen a large number of unkept, not in prime physical condition, men in VP roles, but I have only ever seen 1 makeup-less female equivalent. This can be easily verified by a quick scroll through the exec team page of most corporate websites. There is a definite expectation that women have to look attractive, be fit and well dressed. Men can wear ill-fitting cheap suits, have bad haircuts, a beer gut and be considered brilliant, whereas women need to be coiffed at all times just to gain a seat at the table. In interviews and on the job, women are judged first for their appearance and then if they pass that test, maybe their qualifications and expertise will be considered.
Women are expected to have their hair, nails, eyebrows, and makeup done at all times which takes time and a significant financial burden that men do not incur. This time and the expenitures are often overlooked when evaluating the wage differential between men and women as employment can be challenging without it. When the pink tax is layered on all of this as well as the clothing expense, the discrepancy only widens. Heaven forbid, a women shows up in last year's style yet some men haven't ever updated their wardrobe.
Women are generally paid less, have to do more to even be considered eligible in the job market and then if successful, they incur ongoing time and financial expenses that men don't, and still carry the bulk of the burden at home. And a woman would be chastised if she even mentioned any of these issues at the boardroom table. Interestingly, TikTok is doing a better job of increasing awareness of these issues than most DEI initiatives. Maybe it's time to switch up the delivery mechanism to increase awareness and understanding.
Unfortunately, the Halo effect or the physical attractiveness bias is kind of a deep-rooted/natural tendency in humans. There is a lot of scientific literature that explains why we have this tendency. I think as Recruiters / Talent Partners we have a huge responsibility to build awareness in our companies since is something that you cannot remove it 100%. I have read a lot about this specific cognitive bias since it's one of the most common biases during interviews and from my experience, I have noticed that in most of the cases, interviewers are not even aware that they have this bias. Of course, the culture of a company could either eliminate as much as possible this bias or strengthen it.
I’m ready to be outraged by this but I’m concerned that the candidate has click baited us. From the information in the video, it wasn’t the recruiter who said makeup was the issue, the comment was about her preparation and how she physically presented herself. She drew the conclusion that what she was missing was makeup but the issue could have been posture, focus or other factors that detracted from the substance of her answers. For all we know, she had her feet up on the desk.
I have been in recruitment for 20 years and this is something that has been happening since the dawn of time. “We will overlook your appearance and just focus on your skills and experience” said no hiring manager ever!! Humans are physical beings and make decisions based on sight without even realising it. This is not something that is gender specific either. I had a male candidate turn up for a senior level interview in a t-shirt and he was dismissed instantly as the hiring manager said that he did not take the role seriously enough! I was hoping that by 2024 we would somehow be able to move past appearance bias, but the truth of the matter is that as long as we possess a physical body, it will always matter. It shouldn’t and to answer her question she asked at the end, not wearing make up has absolutely no relevance whatsoever as to whether she can perform the job or not, but once again PERCEPTIONS matter! We live in a world where we are and always will be judged on our appearance, no matter how uncomfortable that is to acknowledge or admit. Bit of brainfood for thought.
Everyone is biased, I once had the situation of hiring a support engineer where the best candidate was covered in tatoos visible in the neck, had one coloured eye, and a haircut/colour that stood out quite a bit. It was a visual explosion to be completely fair.
In all honesty, it was really hard to ignore that bias and purely focus on the skills and experience. Up to a point that I ignored the video (zoom call interview) as much as I could.
Knowing this could become an issue, I did give the team a small heads up as I was sincerely worried about bias coming to play.
To my surprise, they all said ‘wow, she looks very different but she is amazing’, and they did not act on that bias as they saw it.
However, I have seen the beauty bias heavily amd more often in HR teams, up to a point that is was hard to distinguish some new recruiters as they truly looked like eachother.
When confronted the excuse was ‘O we didn’t notice’ only to be followed bu ‘ however, they are the businesscard to the oitside’. While I agree that customer focussed role should be ‘decent’ I heavily disagree with the definition of decent being ‘have to look good’.
Mind is still blown by the VP HR video but I do believe this will be one of the last bias to be eradicated- if we can at all. Is the human race capable of being non-judgemental? In other news, yes the sun is out on this Sunday! Happy Brainfood Day ☀️
I was sad when I heard this, but agree we know it matters more than it should. I did wonder if she had the interview in person (vs. zoom) would it have gone differently?
Other - physical appearance should never be a contributor factor in hiring decisions, be it a leadership role or not!
Other - when you have a capability based model looks should not matter. However there are jobs that require the individual to be groomed/polished (in client facing roles). Make up shouldn’t be important though. Just make sure you don’t wear a crop top and jeans with holes for a client- facing position.
I have certainly seen a large number of unkept, not in prime physical condition, men in VP roles, but I have only ever seen 1 makeup-less female equivalent. This can be easily verified by a quick scroll through the exec team page of most corporate websites. There is a definite expectation that women have to look attractive, be fit and well dressed. Men can wear ill-fitting cheap suits, have bad haircuts, a beer gut and be considered brilliant, whereas women need to be coiffed at all times just to gain a seat at the table. In interviews and on the job, women are judged first for their appearance and then if they pass that test, maybe their qualifications and expertise will be considered.
Women are expected to have their hair, nails, eyebrows, and makeup done at all times which takes time and a significant financial burden that men do not incur. This time and the expenitures are often overlooked when evaluating the wage differential between men and women as employment can be challenging without it. When the pink tax is layered on all of this as well as the clothing expense, the discrepancy only widens. Heaven forbid, a women shows up in last year's style yet some men haven't ever updated their wardrobe.
Women are generally paid less, have to do more to even be considered eligible in the job market and then if successful, they incur ongoing time and financial expenses that men don't, and still carry the bulk of the burden at home. And a woman would be chastised if she even mentioned any of these issues at the boardroom table. Interestingly, TikTok is doing a better job of increasing awareness of these issues than most DEI initiatives. Maybe it's time to switch up the delivery mechanism to increase awareness and understanding.
Unfortunately, the Halo effect or the physical attractiveness bias is kind of a deep-rooted/natural tendency in humans. There is a lot of scientific literature that explains why we have this tendency. I think as Recruiters / Talent Partners we have a huge responsibility to build awareness in our companies since is something that you cannot remove it 100%. I have read a lot about this specific cognitive bias since it's one of the most common biases during interviews and from my experience, I have noticed that in most of the cases, interviewers are not even aware that they have this bias. Of course, the culture of a company could either eliminate as much as possible this bias or strengthen it.
While it's bullshit, looks and appearances do factor in to how humans evaluate others. Whether it's a social, professional, or interview situation.
I’m ready to be outraged by this but I’m concerned that the candidate has click baited us. From the information in the video, it wasn’t the recruiter who said makeup was the issue, the comment was about her preparation and how she physically presented herself. She drew the conclusion that what she was missing was makeup but the issue could have been posture, focus or other factors that detracted from the substance of her answers. For all we know, she had her feet up on the desk.
I have been in recruitment for 20 years and this is something that has been happening since the dawn of time. “We will overlook your appearance and just focus on your skills and experience” said no hiring manager ever!! Humans are physical beings and make decisions based on sight without even realising it. This is not something that is gender specific either. I had a male candidate turn up for a senior level interview in a t-shirt and he was dismissed instantly as the hiring manager said that he did not take the role seriously enough! I was hoping that by 2024 we would somehow be able to move past appearance bias, but the truth of the matter is that as long as we possess a physical body, it will always matter. It shouldn’t and to answer her question she asked at the end, not wearing make up has absolutely no relevance whatsoever as to whether she can perform the job or not, but once again PERCEPTIONS matter! We live in a world where we are and always will be judged on our appearance, no matter how uncomfortable that is to acknowledge or admit. Bit of brainfood for thought.
Everyone is biased, I once had the situation of hiring a support engineer where the best candidate was covered in tatoos visible in the neck, had one coloured eye, and a haircut/colour that stood out quite a bit. It was a visual explosion to be completely fair.
In all honesty, it was really hard to ignore that bias and purely focus on the skills and experience. Up to a point that I ignored the video (zoom call interview) as much as I could.
Knowing this could become an issue, I did give the team a small heads up as I was sincerely worried about bias coming to play.
To my surprise, they all said ‘wow, she looks very different but she is amazing’, and they did not act on that bias as they saw it.
However, I have seen the beauty bias heavily amd more often in HR teams, up to a point that is was hard to distinguish some new recruiters as they truly looked like eachother.
When confronted the excuse was ‘O we didn’t notice’ only to be followed bu ‘ however, they are the businesscard to the oitside’. While I agree that customer focussed role should be ‘decent’ I heavily disagree with the definition of decent being ‘have to look good’.
Mind is still blown by the VP HR video but I do believe this will be one of the last bias to be eradicated- if we can at all. Is the human race capable of being non-judgemental? In other news, yes the sun is out on this Sunday! Happy Brainfood Day ☀️