weight, obese women were paid on av-
erage $4,879 less per year than normal-
weight co-workers, while obese men
made on average $2,646 less than their
normal-weight counterparts. And while a
2016 study showed a 20% pay boost for
more- attractive people, it also revealed
that women who wear makeup and style
their hair and clothing make 20% more
than their less-groomed counterparts. On
the contrary, a 2019 study described the
“femme fatale” effect, which shows evi-
dence that attractive women in the work-
place are seen as less trustworthy, less
truthful and more worthy of being fired.
In the evolving landscape of LinkedIn
profile photos and Skype interviews, em-
ployers can immediately see what poten-
tial hires look like, sometimes even before
reading through their résumés. Studies
have yet to confirm whether this exacer-
bates this phenomenon, so it’s unclear as
of now if your LinkedIn photo could be
costing you a job or if your appearance on
△
Old-school résumés
hid job candidates’
appearance, but the
advent of LinkedIn
profile pics could
encourage looks-
based screening.a Skype conference call could be the un-
derlying determining factor behind your
latest promotion. Hamermesh, however,
believes it possibly could.
“Given that people do want beauty, by
putting the beauty up front, in some sense
it saves people time,” he says. For exam-
ple, a job candidate strolling into an office
with unkempt hair, a scraggly beard and an
ill-fitting suit could be plucked from the
list of candidates before even coming in if
employers can identify these red flags in
his LinkedIn profile picture. This prelim-
inary looks-based screening “might also
enhance the importance of beauty in peo-
ple’s minds,” Hamermesh says.
He’s skeptical that our innate gravita-
tion to attractive people will change any-
time soon—so, in the meantime, what can
those of us who aren’t “chili peppers” do
to stand out in the workplace? “Anything,”
Hamermesh says. “Accentuate the things
that you’re good at and that you enjoy
doing. Put the good foot forward.” •