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Physical Attractiveness
To hire the best applicants for the job, interviewers form judgments during in-person interviews, occasionally factoring in an applicants’ physical attractiveness. This can be considered Lookism, an unintended stereotyping stemming from appearances. Physical attractiveness is defined as a human’s perceptions and preferences of the visual aspect of the human anatomy [4]. This can be strongly influenced by culture [4]. There is a consistency among cultures regarding the standards of attractiveness. While physical attractiveness does not indicate how well one can perform in a job, it has been found to influence interviewer evaluations and judgments about how suitable an applicant is for a position.

The influence of appearance on perception stems from the association different cultures link between personality characteristics and attractiveness or unattractiveness [2]. For example, in American culture attractive individuals tend to be judged as more intelligent and better adjusted than unattractive individuals [2]. This also causes interviewers to form expectations regarding the individual being interviewed. During the interview, interviewers tend to form judgments based on how well they fit those expectations [64] As a result, it typically turns out that interviewers will judge attractive individuals more favorably on job-related factors than they judge unattractive individuals. [65] For example, people who think another is physically attractive tend to have positive initial impressions of that person (even before formally meeting them), perceive the person to be smart, socially competent, and have good social skills and general mental health.[64]

Within the business domain, physically attractive individuals have been shown to have an advantage over unattractive individuals in numerous ways, that include, but are not limited to, perceived job qualifications, hiring recommendations, predicted job success, and compensation levels.[64] As noted by several researchers, attractiveness may not be the most influential determinant of personnel decisions, but may be a deciding factor when applicants possess similar levels of qualifications.[64] In addition, attractiveness does not provide an advantage if the applicants in the pool are of high quality, but it does provide an advantage in increased hiring rates and more positive job-related outcomes for attractive individuals when applicant quality is low and average.[66]

Just as physical attractiveness is a visual cue, vocal attractiveness is an auditory cue and can lead to differing interviewer evaluations in the interview as well. Vocal attractiveness, defined as an appealing mix of speech rate, loudness, pitch, and variability, has been found to be favorably related to interview ratings and job performance.[67][68] In addition, the personality traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness predict performance more strongly for people with more attractive voices compared to those with less attractive voices.[67]