A recent study has suggested that the reason some men may not be offered a job following a seemingly successful interview is that they are too good-looking.
The study was conducted by the University of Maryland, and found that good-looking women didn’t suffer from the same problem.
The researchers created a number of fictional job applicants, complete with resumes that showed the applicant’s suitability to a job based on their qualifications and their experience.
They also added a photograph, supposedly of the applicant. The photographs had been deemed either ‘attractive’ or ‘unattractive’.
A study group of 241 people was split into male and female participants. Male participants were asked to judge the suitability of the male candidates, while the female participants judged the suitability of the female applicants.
The study showed that the male ‘interviewer’ discriminated against the ‘attractive’ males and were less likely to select them as suitable for the job.
It would seem that males are more insecure about potential ‘rivals’ than females, and are even willing to abuse a position of power in order to get rid of them – subconsciously at least.
It could be a small crumb of comfort for any man who has had a number of unsuccessful interviews.
It’s also something to think about when that big-headed friend of yours boasts about how they fought off competition from 100 other candidates to land their dream job!