Newsweek.com has a new special report on the The Beauty Advantageâ? that argues that the quest to look good isn’t just a vain pursuit and that beauty can affect your career and life.
The article argues that in today’s economy looking good is something that can’t be dismissed as frivolous:
Economists have long recognized what’s been dubbed the beauty premium the idea that pretty people, whatever their aspirations, tend to do better in, well, almost everything. Handsome men earn, on average, 5 percent more than their less-attractive counterparts (good-looking women earn 4 percent more); pretty people get more attention from teachers, bosses, and mentors; even babies stare longer at good-looking faces (and we stare longer at good-looking babies).
According to economist Daniel Hamermesh, a good-looking man will make some $250,000 more during his career than his least-attractive counterpart. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 13 percent of women (and 10 percent of men, according to a Newsweek survey), say they’d consider cosmetic surgery if it made them more competitive at work.
These survey respondents may be on to something: Newsweek surveyed 202 corporate hiring managers and 964 members of the public, and 56 percent of hiring managers said that qualified but unattractive candidates are likely to have a harder time getting a job. More than half advised spending as much time and money on making sure they look attractive as on perfecting a résumé.
The survey also asked hiring managers to rate nine character attributes from one to 10 (with 10 being the most important): looks came in third, below experience and confidence, but above where an applicant went to school.
The Newsweek special report includes a variety of online essays, photo galleries, and interactive features on the beauty advantage.
Dr. Jonov is a cosmetic surgeon who specializes in plastic surgeries of the face, breast, and body at Seattle Plastic Surgery.
