Job rejections because of physical appearance - Slashdot

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Submitted by on Wednesday July 15, 2009 @07:51PM

An anonymous reader writes "I am a Software Engineer with 5 years of experience who is currently in search of a new job. I have a bachelor's degree in CS from a respectable university and was campus recruited into my current job. I know that the current tech job market does not look as good as it did a year before. But I have another handicap in addition to the economic recession. I have very poor physical appearance both in the photogenic and muscular aspects. I am just above 5ft tall and have an extremely skinny face. My face is far from looking assertive or confident. Even though my face does not accurately reflect my actual personality, I have started realizing (after attending a large number of futile face-face interviews) that most recruiters quickly judge the capability of applicants by their appearance . I am sure that not all of the interviewers rejected me because of my appearance. But I definitely think I was dinged from some job openings where I felt I had a 99% chance. Is there any way that I can refine my approach to job search/interviews to compensate for this irreversible gene curse that I have?"

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Job rejections because of physical appearance

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Sounds like a bad excuse (Score:2, Interesting)

by Alanbly (1433229) writes:

I don't think your portrayal of the situation is entirely accurate. How do you know on what basis they made their decision? I don't care how attractive someone is, it's about competency. Maybe you overrate your skills, maybe the companies aren't looking for your particular talents. It's a cop-out to say that it's all your appearance.
- - Re: (Score:1)
    
    by Wasteofspace (777087) writes:
    
    Seriously, I think that you are thinking to hard about this. You successfully got an interview, thus you are most likely capable of fulfilling the job. True, people make snap assessments based on looks, but it is unlikely that this is the criteria you are being failed on. My thoughts are that you are seriously lacking in self confidence (likely since you have no confidence in your appearance) and this is showing in your interviews. Forget about your looks and show the prospective employer that you are confi
  - Re: (Score:1)
    
    by Jaazaniah (894694) writes:
    
    Your face structure doesn't have to reflect conviction and confidence in your skills, the rest of your presentation does. Take some of your spare time and take an interest in fashion if you're that worried about it - There are ways to make any body type stand out in a good way with the clothes you wear and HOW you wear them.
    As to your 99% certainty, let's not discount the interviewer's ability to conceal intentions. You maybe have won your way to the finals, but in the end a better personality 'fit' was cho
  - Re: (Score:1)
    
    by itpr15061 (844859) writes:
    
    I actually believe that hiring someone with much more talent than the position requires is a bad fit. When someone is bored with their job and feeling that their skills are wasted, they aren't happy.
    Requiring lesser experience and knowledge may have been a blessing in disguise for you. I'd stick it out for something more in line with what you can do.

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