Beauty may only be skin deep but 4 in 10 candidates think it will get them the job

Employers still falling for looking good factors

Forget the rights and wrongs of it, new research from Profiles of London - part of the world's largest human capital assessment company, Profiles International - shows that job seekers still believe that making the right first impression is the vital ingredient to interview success. And what's worse, according to Profiles, is that many employers are still likely to be taken in by rolled-up broadsheet and briefcase image of interviewees.

Based on responses of some three hundred job seekers, 1 in 4 women, 23%, believe that pulling on a short skirt, wearing designer clothes and carrying a copy of the FT represents the quickest way for getting the all-important nod. Meanwhile a further 43% of women think that looking good would give them the upper hand. However, it appears that men place even greater importance on looking good - of those men questioned 46% said that having a good physique with attractive looks is the key to securing the job offer.

Indeed, the importance of attractiveness appears to rise, not fall, according to the age of the candidate. Of those polled, 45% of respondents aged under 30 rated attractive looks and a good physique as a significant factor, with 46% of 31-40 year olds and 47% of 41-60 year olds.
Fred Hudson, CEO of Profiles of London, commented:

Whilst two thirds of British companies claim to use assessment tools when interviewing, the reality is that they have been designed for use only in the final stages of the recruitment process. By this stage, though, it's already too late - interviewers inevitably being swayed as much by their gut instinct on an individual as the findings of any psychometric test. For the true value of assessments to be gained, they must be applied at the pre-selection stage so that the right candidate short list is drawn up. Only then, can a line manager's gut instinct be allowed to come into play.

Of those jobseekers questioned who worked in different employment groups, 45% of retail workers believe that designer clothes and a clean shaven look is the way to an interviewers heart. Meanwhile 20% of office workers prefer to take the executive briefcase, rolled up broad sheet and if all else fails show a bit of leg. But don't expect them to work out in the gym as only 15% thought this would increase their chances of success.

Profiles currently carries out over a million assessments a month across __ countries, the core range of its assessment products having been designed to support the pre-selection process in hiring, and succession planning decisions. Its products also support individual self-improvement programmes.

Profiles of London's online assessments cost from 75 to 250 per individual assessment and are suitable for all sizes of firms from, 2 to 2000 people. They can be delivered either through Profiles Online Assessment Centre, via the PC or by a booklet and pen a paper, with all data held in a secure environment.