Does Appearance Matter for Men?

Do interviewers or recruiters tend to favor people who are more attractive/lean towards people who seem to have the banker look?

or

Do they just go based on all credentials?

What I mean is:
Nerd vs. Jock

Lets say there is a 20 year old guy interviewing for a summer analyst position and he is average height, typical skinny frame and has acne like he is going through puberty and looks like he is 17.

And another candidate is 6' 3'' and is pretty fit. Has a older masculine face and pysique.

Would the latter candidate be more appealing to an interviewer. I'm sure I will get some monkey poo for this and people will say guys don't judge guys, but lets be honest....do people want a young looking kid working for them since these analysts will be representing their company?

 

Appearance is pretty important in the industry and is certainly an advantage (oftentimes a subconcious one as the interviewer will simply have an easier time taking to a better looking person.) That being said, you will definitely see some homely people with jobs.

 

It's definitely helpful. Look up a psychological term called "The Halo Effect", wherein if somebody is attractive, people subconsciously ascribe other positive qualities to them, assuming they're better at sports, more competent at work, etc.

If can perform up to these expectations, being a good looking dude can only help you.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 
Maximus Maximus:
Hey,

To be honest, I am a very good looking dude who has been told so for years and years by both girls and guys, and a lot of people stare at me.

Do you live in San Francisco? Because no guy would tell you that you look very good. Also, the people who think that people stare at them a lot are often the fugly ones. Just saying. I think good looks is definitely a plus. What I have often wondered if a woman would hire a chick, that is hotter than she is? If there's other good candidates, which will result in less competition, why bother?

And I agree, please provide a picture, or a link to your facebook account!

 
Maximus Maximus:
Don't live in San Fran, definitely not posting a facebook link (hardly use it anyway). The reality is, appearance is something I'm somewhat uncomfortable about and I wouldn't come to an anonymous website to boast, just to ask. Also, guys have told me such things, and I found as fucking weird as it sounds to you all.
As someone from Atlanta, if you live in the Emory area I can see why guys would say that, haha.

For men, I doubt looks hurt or help that much. For women, I think it's a different story and can swing either way. Regardless, just don't have an attitude about it on the job and you should be fine.

 

yes it does swing in your favour:

male recruiter: "paper good" female recruiter: "yes, paper good. and i like him" male recruiter: "lol k i wonder why let him thru to the next round"

psychology encyclopedia evidence http://books.google.com.au/books?id=TzIap5ODMKkC&pg=PA1204&lpg=PA1204&d…

also the famous ben gurion study http://www.ec.bgu.ac.il/monaster/admin/papers/1006_2.pdf

"Employer callbacks to attractive men are significantly higher than to men with no picture and to plain-looking men..."

just don't be stupid about it and i think you're set to be winning.

 

Did you SERIOUSLY think that being good-looking could somehow hinder you?
I can't believe you've actually gotten thoughtful responses here.

Even the whole "good looks working against girls" thing is overblown.
If you've made the intelligence cut and you're a hot chick, you WILL do better in your interviews than an ugly chick provided you don't dress inappropriately (which applies to guys as well).

 
HireUp212:
Did you SERIOUSLY think that being good-looking could somehow hinder you?
I can't believe you've actually gotten thoughtful responses here.

Even the whole "good looks working against girls" thing is overblown.
If you've made the intelligence cut and you're a hot chick, you WILL do better in your interviews than an ugly chick provided you don't dress inappropriately (which applies to guys as well).

hence....troll
Get busy living
 

^^^do you have something you'd like to share with the group

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 
ANT:
Contrary to popular opinion, bankers are not that cool. Knowing your shit will help you a lot better than looking like Christian Bale.

If looking like Christian Bale were the sole factor then Miles Fisher would be an MD.

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

IMO, skinny frame and youthful appearance aren't necessarily off-putting, but things like bad acne and greasy limp hair are just really gross looking, fix that asap

More is good, all is better
 
Argonaut:
IMO, skinny frame and youthful appearance aren't necessarily off-putting, but things like bad acne and greasy limp hair are just really gross looking, fix that asap

lol no worries. I dont have acne

"Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way. In twenty years, if you're still livin' here, comin' over to my house to watch the Patriots games, still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. That's not a threat, that's a fact.
 
Best Response

Being good looking very rarely works against you... and it helps with 80% of life. You notice a lot of good looking people in investor relations, PWM and other heavily client-facing roles where maintaining relationships is important--- this is not surprising. The best looking people, by far, for whatever reason, are in big ticket pharmaceutical sales. You should go to a pharmy convention in las vegas. GO TO ONE!

One thing I'll say though is that being VERY good looking isn't necessarily ideal (like top 1-2% of people)... others will naturally become jealous and think you're a DB. And whenever you dress up nicely people with think you're being a total DB because you look so "over the top"--- they don't realize that when less good looking people dress like that they just look like they're "nicely dressed". (Before anyone says anything I am not talking about myself and I am not a DB who thinks I'm gods gift to the world... I am thinking of a specific analyst in my class at "tishman speyer" in London... people ripped on him all the time... not that I felt bad about it / for him... that biotch)

 
International Pymp:
Being good looking very rarely works against you... and it helps with 80% of life. You notice a lot of good looking people in investor relations, PWM and other heavily client-facing roles where maintaining relationships is important--- this is not surprising. The best looking people, by far, for whatever reason, are in big ticket pharmaceutical sales. You should go to a pharmy convention in las vegas. GO TO ONE!

I mean, pharmaceuticals is the current hot-girl profession after all.

 
roymondito:
International Pymp:
Being good looking very rarely works against you... and it helps with 80% of life. You notice a lot of good looking people in investor relations, PWM and other heavily client-facing roles where maintaining relationships is important--- this is not surprising. The best looking people, by far, for whatever reason, are in big ticket pharmaceutical sales. You should go to a pharmy convention in las vegas. GO TO ONE!

I mean, pharmaceuticals is the current hot-girl profession after all.

I know one chic who wants to do this and is majoring in pharma marketing. Needless to say, total smokeshow.

 

haha great post. I recently read an article that says that better looking men usually get the job than those that not as attractive because most HR people doing first round interviews are usually women in their 30's - 40's. Opposite is true for women, being average looking is better as the prettiest ones are subconsciously seen as a threat.

so in other words... SUIT UP

http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Suit-Up-barney-stinson-8…

“I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.” - Malone
 

thanks fellas. appreciate it

"Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way. In twenty years, if you're still livin' here, comin' over to my house to watch the Patriots games, still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. That's not a threat, that's a fact.
 

Skills being equal, it certainly may play a factor.

Interviewers will ask themselves "can I see this person working in the firm with me?", and if you look like the other typical good looking coworkers that the interviewer works with, then he/she may be more likely to see a fit.

Proboscis
 

I was a bit chubby not so long ago (let myself go, generally not a fat guy). Lost a bunch of weight over the past 2 months and it's amazing how people treat you differently. A lot of it has to do with your own confidence getting a boost when you know you're looking good; there's studies that show that attractive people are actually better at their jobs than unattractive ones for this reason (contrary to the belief that they coast on their looks).

 

I'd say there is an attractiveness threshold and as long as you're above it, your attractiveness will not play a factor in hiring decisions. I've interviewed some pretty god awful unattractive people with very high scores and while I'd love to say that I was unbias, it probably played a factor in my decision. I do one particular case where the guy I interviewed went on to get a PE job, so it is certainly possible.

Also -- I'd say that it is a lot easier to be overweight than it is to have an uber pimply face or malformed features.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Yes, appearance matters, so GROOM yourself. If someone can't comb their hair and tuck a shirt in, why on earth would they be assigned responsibility or ever be put in front of a client, especially when a legion of other candidates are available. All through life, all other things being equal, better looking people get preferential treatment. It sucks, but that's life. However, it's not the most important thing and you don't have to look like a model to get ahead, just put some effort into your appearance, and like most of the posts above say: knowing what the hell you're doing is more important, so get a haircut and then hit the books.

Remember that personality also counts for A LOT, so don't think that being gorgeous is an excuse to be an unpleasant person. How many times have you seen a HOT chick with some doofy looking dude and realize that he's just got a great personality? A good attitude will take you a lot farther than good looks alone - and if you've got both, then you've got it made

Get busy living
 
UFOinsider:
How many times have you seen a HOT chick with some doofy looking dude and realize that he's just got a great personality? A good attitude will take you a lot farther than good looks alone - and if you've got both, then you've got it made

Usually it's a big dick or lots of money, or the guy manipulated her into believing one of those things. IMO, goofy guy never has a great personality, most often it's some control freak that learned to act cool in public

More is good, all is better
 
Argonaut:
UFOinsider:
How many times have you seen a HOT chick with some doofy looking dude and realize that he's just got a great personality? A good attitude will take you a lot farther than good looks alone - and if you've got both, then you've got it made

Usually it's a big dick or lots of money, or the guy manipulated her into believing one of those things. IMO, goofy guy never has a great personality, most often it's some control freak that learned to act cool in public

Eh, for the most part you're right. It's good to be good looking.....

Get busy living
 

To certain extent, Yes. No way in the world would I employ a Bloke who was unhygienic and ungroomed. I don't care if he has a 4.0 GPA from Yale. If the Bastard can't shower and remain half decent there's no way can he portray a professional image to Clients. If the Jock and the Geek are both at an acceptable standard well then you'd have pick based upon credentials.

 

The theory the halo effect comes into play here... It suggests that people subconsciously believe that good looking people will be good / better at tasks than people that aren't as good looking.

 
A.Highworth:
The theory the halo effect comes into play here... It suggests that people subconsciously believe that good looking people will be good / better at tasks than people that aren't as good looking.

And there you have it boys and girls. A world where bias is unable to be extricated from everyday decisions...

"Cut the burger into thirds, place it on the fries, roll one up homey..." - Epic Meal Time
 

I think compbanker hit the nail on the head. There's a threshold, above which it doesn't really matter. I'd offer that the threshold is presentability - if you're in a client-facing role, you should reflect well upon the firm that you're representing. If, however, you're a 120-hr-per-week monkey stuck behind excel 24/7, it would probably matter a little less.

Follow me on insta @FinancialDemigod
 

I think this question posed misses the fact that there are probably more people inbetween the complete dweeb and the all out jock that interview for positions. I dont know how much looks help, people usually assume that the jock is like this well spoken charismatic guy and the nerd sits there with his head down and doesn't have more than two words to say, but this is not always the case. I have met really smart book worms who are very social, and jocks that hate speaking in public and are awful at interviewing.

I agree with a post earlier that says having good looks can't hurt you, it really can't, but I am not gonna go as far to say that being mildly unattractive would really hinder your job search. If you have good credentials and you can present them in a passionate and intelligent way, you will probably end up working somewhere, regardless of how you look.

 

appearance clearly matters but its not a jock vs nerd comparison.

If you look like you have an iq of 5 and a brute monkey face and are massive youll leave an equally negative impression as if you wear horrible glasses and have acne all over your face.

It's just about being good looking, very well dressed(and if research on height of CEO is of any meaning) 6"2-6"6 in height.

 

Read Blink. They had a short story about how females were rarely chosen to play in the orchestra until they started implementing blind screens during performance interviews.

Nobody thought that looks mattered then, but after the blind screens were in place the amount of female players shot up.

Looks matter.

 

I see that some people are saying that I have oversimplified my post with the 2 extremes. I am aware of that but I was just using that as an example and was assuming they had the same qualities

"Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way. In twenty years, if you're still livin' here, comin' over to my house to watch the Patriots games, still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. That's not a threat, that's a fact.
 

I think it is dependent on the job...for eg I once worked with a quant who sucked. the guy was a mess and ended up getting canned in a matter of months. I really believe that he got hired in part because he so "looked the part" of the stereotypical quant jock..i mean he practically had his glasses taped together like in Revenge of the Nerds. It worked for him in interviews. The "Mad Genius" look also can be seen sometimes amongst PMs and established traders in the hedge fund World...I myself have pretty long hair and i used to work with a guy who literally looked homeless sometimes. He had a full beard, really long hair, and wore seriously un-Wall St clothes like vests and leather cuffs. It worked because people thought of him as thinking differently and having a unique perspective on markets and so the look fit with that. On the sell-side and especially sales looks matter more and you need a more "neutral" look...ie you need to look in a way that wont offend a hedge fund guy in NYC or an asset manager in Iowa...in general thats the way a young person needs to look because they cant risk someone being offended.

So how you have to look is all about what job you are going for...

 

As someone said before you just have to 'make the cut' (like numerical tests for the ones who took it for jobs in London). Then they don't really care.

So you just have to be looking decent, but they don't really ask for more. Even in sales they mostly require social skills. That being said it is easier to develop social skills when you are good looking. However don't forget one thing: IT IS A F****** GAME! You can be whoever you want to be. I am the shyest person ever (though not complexed about anything) and still when I work I just change totally and get very confident (well after all if you pay me for it ... I don't really care).

'Oh, yeah, that's right. That's what's it's all about, all right. But talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things.'
 

A lot has been said about looking like a geek vs a jock, and ugly vs attractive. What about age? What if you are attractive but look like you should be in high school. I'm more worried about not being taken seriously because I look like a kid.

 

sounds like this convinced me to do pharmaceutical marketing if this whole banking thing fails

“I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.” - Malone
 

I walked into MS in NY and thought I was walking into a fking Brooks Brothers catalog or something

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

I would guess that when hiring traders they may not tend to worry about appearance as much as worrying about how good you are with math.

With M&A however, I would say they stress a little more importance on the looks as you'll be meeting with clients and you don't want to have a bunch of zit-covered guys with Jos. A Bank suits and walmart reading glasses to pitch offers to investors.

Just my opinion.

 

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Get busy living
 

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