Here’s the deal: I’m judging you based on appearances, and so is everyone else. Not only is it happening, but I argue that it should happen, that it’s right to judge people based on appearances. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s unfair, or you think I’m a cold-hearted ass. You can get up in arms if you want, but it won’t affect anything.
I’m not talking about race or gender, though I’ll touch on that at the end. I’m talking about your outward appearances. Your clothing. Your style. Maybe your hair.
Judging Book Covers
I can already hear the voice of dissent: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, I do judge books based on their covers, and so do you. When you walk into the bookstore, there are thousands of books, with hundreds (at least) in any given section. You can’t tell me that you look through every single Sci Fi book, or every single mystery book, before you decide what to buy. The sheer number of books would be overwhelming if you tried to “properly” evaluate every one. So you optimize. You look at covers. You read the titles. Out of the hundreds of books, you might pick up half a dozen, at most, and glance through them. You pick up maybe one percent to actually look through, probably even less than that.
Well, the same rules apply to people. We interact with too many people to really get to know them all. We optimize and judge based on appearances, just like we do with books. Go ahead and deny it if you want. You can cling to an idea of “fairness” that requires that everyone be judged based on “who they are” if that’s what you want. But it’ll make you a hypocrite. Just like you have to judge books based on their covers, purely as an optimization, you also have to judge people on appearances. You don’t have the time to get to know everyone. Even if you did, they wouldn’t all have the time.
Who Judges You Based on Appearances
Want to know who’s judging you based on appearances? I can tell you:
- Potential employers
- Current employers
- Coworkers
- Potential mates
- Current mates
- Friends
- Waiters/Waitresses
- Everyone you know
- Everyone you don’t know
Potential mates are evaluating your appearances before they even know your name. Employers are judging your appearances from the instant you walk in the door. Waiters are deciding what you’re likely to tip based on your clothes. Even strangers on the street are sizing you up as they walk past you: “Geek,” “Frat boy,” “Suit.” They’re judging you based on appearances, based on your clothes, your hair.
Even your current friends are judging your appearances constantly. You don’t believe me? You think that maybe my friends might judge me, but your friends would never judge you based on how you look? Okay, go dye your hair neon green. You’ll get some comments. They might tell you that you look great — more likely they’ll tell you that you look like an idiot — but you can bet they’re going to notice. If they weren’t judging you based on appearances, why would they care? Why would they even notice? If you think your girlfriend, coworkers, and employer are any less judgemental than your friends, you’re crazy.
Why People Judge You Based on Appearances
Aside from the fact that there are so many people that judging people becomes a necessity, there’s one other basic reason why people judge your appearances. It’s the same reason that I say it’s good to judge based on appearances.
You choose what appearance to present.
If you’re wearing a suit, you chose to put on that suit. If you’re wearing torn jeans and a “witty” t-shirt that’s worn around the neck, you chose to put on those clothes. You picked out what you’d put on for the day. Why wouldn’t I judge you based on your choices?
If you wear a baseball cap and everyday clothes to an interview, your potential employer is going to assume that either you’re an idiot, or you don’t really care. In either case, you’re not who they want. If you’d worn a suit, you’d appear as if you cared. You’d look like a professional.
If you’re a guy with long hair, it says something about you. Depending on how groomed it is, it might say you’re laid back, or it might say you’re lazy and a slacker. I’m not telling you to cut your hair. I’m just saying that it’s sending out a message. You are sending out a message.
Your Appearance Says Who You Are
Your clothes tell others who you are. If you’re dressed like a college frat boy, and you’re trying to pick up some girl at the bar, she’s going to notice how you’re dressed. Depending on your age, and whether the girl in question wants to date a frat guy, it might help or hurt your chances, but she’s going to notice. If she doesn’t want a frat guy, you’re going to be dismissed out of hand. If she does want a frat guy, I hope you’re not wearing that same worn-out, anime t-shirt I saw you in last week. That shirt marks you as a geek.
Your clothes might mark you as a geek, a frat guy, a suit, a sorority girl, a free spirit, a lackey, or a goth. You better believe they mark you, though.
The Clothes Don’t Make the Man, They Make the Promotion
Everyone’s heard a story about some guy who got promoted because he dressed the part, while another guy who did all the work got left behind. I’ll admit, that’s not entirely fair. Fair isn’t the way the world works, though. If you don’t have a really great manager, he’s probably going to have trouble telling who’s really doing the most work. He’s going to rely at least partly on appearances. The guy in the suit simply looks more productive than the guy in the stained jeans, even if that’s not the case. You can hate this if you want, but it’s not going to help anything. You’re better off competing than crying foul and removing yourself from the game.
If everyone at your work is wearing a suit, and you want to compete, you should probably wear a suit, too. I know, suits are expensive. If you’re working in an environment where everyone else is wearing a suit, though, you can probably afford to wear suits, too. You decide whether it’s worth the money.
Remember, you pick your clothes. You decide what appearance you want to present. When people judge your appearances, they’re judging decisions that you made. They’re judging you based on what you choose to advertise.
What You Shouldn’t Worry About
There are aspects of your appearance that you probably shouldn’t worry about. Basically, don’t worry about the things beyond your control. Your race is irrelevant. Now, I’m not saying that your race isn’t being judged. It most certainly is. However, you can’t do anything about it in the day-to-day, so you might as well deal with it. The same with your gender. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t fight against serious discrimination when you can prove it. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t get your panties in a bunch just because some jackass’s personal opinion of you suffers because you’re black. There’s little you can do to get Mr. Hitler on your side, so I wouldn’t bother. You’re probably better off avoiding that frustration and improving other areas of your life.
You also shouldn’t worry about it if you can’t afford to spend a lot of money on clothes. I certainly think that buying higher-quality clothes is a plus, and the quality of your clothes certainly says things about you. However, the effort you put into your clothes matters more. If I’m an interviewer, and I’m comparing a guy in a Calvin Klein suit to a guy in a suit from Target, the guy in the expensive suit might look a little better. However, both look a lot better than the guy in jeans. The fact that you’re wearing a suit at all matters more than the expense. The guy in the cheap suit still looks better than the guy in Abercrombie jeans. It’s not just about cost.
Of course, cheap doesn’t always have to look cheap. Shop around. Also, those suits from Target don’t look half bad.
Importance of Factors Other Than Appearance
All this attention to appearances should not be taken to mean that other factors do not matter. A good boss will notice your suit and the high quality work you do. A good mate will appreciate your clothes and your personality. Still appearances are important, particularly before people get to know you. First impressions are very much based on appearances, so don’t sell yourself short. Don’t dampen your wonderful personality by dressing like a boor. The people who you should really want to impress are going to judge more than just your appearances, but even they are not blind to your clothes. If you want to impress, put a high-gloss ankle boot forward.
Based on the responses to the 9 resume tips (and the bonus tips), lots of people really don’t want to hear that they are being judged based on what they show the world. I doubt those people are going to like this post much, either. I’m not going to try to keep everyone happy, though.
If the 9 tips made me responsible for starving diabetics to death, then this post is probably going to cause an outbreak of the plague. Get your penicillin ready.
February 13th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
You’re bang on.
But I want to say; appearance also extends to things like body language, gesture & etiquette, do you come across as confident and careful, or blasé and casual, or meek and vulnerable?
Though, judgement is not only based on ‘appearance’, it’s other things you can play to your advantage as well, - the broader image for example. Have you an ipod, or some no-name mp3 player? Do you talk like a street kid, or articulate your words like someone who was once a speech student? How do you treat your waiting/service staff at a restaurant or store? How do you walk? How do you smell? Where do you direct your eyes when someone walks past you?….
Every action and decision that is ‘visable’ (and I use that term loosely) by those around you is something that you are judged by… or, if you prefer a less-intimidating phrase; everything about you that is visable by those around you exudes a message about yourself.
This is something people create beliefs about you from, and seriously - if you get up in arms about that then you’re mentally retarded. (sorry)
This fact stems from an instinctive, historical need to size up threats, potential mates and psycologically create structure within society.
February 13th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Absolutely. There’s a lot more to appearance than just clothes and style. This article got pretty long just covering the obvious outward stuff, so I didn’t really get into much else. Maybe I’ll do that in the future.
February 13th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
You should read the The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman.
February 13th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
I’ve gotten a few book recommendations lately. I’ll add that one to my list.
February 13th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
I don’t get why people fight wearing suits to interviews. You can get a suit for $99 at Mens Wearhouse, make that $150 including shoes, belt, shirt, etc. It won’t be a great suit for everyday use, but for every now and then interview use its just fine.
I interview people for jobs ranging from $40k-$60k. I would say about 10% actually wear a suit. 50% wear a button up shirt and khakis. The other 40% wear something really awful like jeans with a rumpled shirt, reeking of cigarette smoke.
So the guy may be a good hire, but damn right there he just lost 50 credibility points. So is he going half-ass everything else on the job? Is he going to consider *my* rules not worth following?
February 13th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Bravo on having the guts to say this, to everyone, and for saying it loud enough that even those with hearing impairments can’t miss it.
I’m interested in seeing the feedback on this one.
This little pet peeve of your’s is like mine, the one where people say they don’t have any regrets. I don’t think people understand what a regret is when they say that. The same is true for judgement, I don’t think people fully understand the connotation of “judgement”.
The word “judgement” or phrase “to judge” is associated with “bad” so much, that when a person judges or sees a person being judgemental, they perceive this as a bad thing to do.
I don’t believe that anything is wrong with judgement. I think everyone should just accept the fact that we judge. BUT, also accept that impressions based on outward appearance can be wrong. Hell, I’ve used appearances as a way of determining a person’s personality, and have been wrong. But, I’ve also made the same judgement and been right, many times.
I completely agree that if I show up at an interview dressed in my favourite jeans that have a hole in the crotch, and my “witty” t-shirt that says, “complicated”, that interviewer is most definitely going to toss my application in the trash when I leave. I may be the best candidate for the job, but he doesn’t have time to get past that first impression he got from me.
I can go home and bitch about the man being wrong in his impression of me, or I can get over it and wear something more appropriate at the next interview. Or I can say, screw the world, if people can’t get past my appearance and accept me for the way I am, then I don’t need them. Or I can get over it, change my appearance and move on.
I think a lot of people take the opinion that they shouldn’t have to “prove” themselves with outward appearances. This comes from being told our whole lives that what’s on the inside is more important than what’s on the outside. I don’t think people understand that’s referring to outside things we can’t change, like race, gender, “beauty”, etc. Its not referring to professionalism, modesty, etiquette, body language, etc.
Should we judge based on appearance? I don’t know, maybe we shouldn’t, but we do. Should we try to train ourselves to look beyond appearances? I think we should, because like I said we can be wrong. But I don’t think we can ever train ourselves to completely avoid judgements based on appearance, because 90 percent of the time, we are going to get the right impression.
What I mean with that last part goes back to your “suits” and “dirty jeans” guys.
10 percent of the suits are going to be something other than what the suit represents, they are bad employees that don’t care about the job. 10 percent of the dirty jeans are also going to be something else, some damn good employees who do care about the job.
But since statistically, the suits are better employess, we are gonna pick the suit. (unless of course I’m hiring a painter, I’d laugh at the suit if he showed up to paint my house)
February 13th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
wow, first of all, sorry that comment was so long. I forget I can ramble for days about nothing.
Second, sorry for adding some more ramblings with this second comment.
But, what is your opinion of “trying to hard” with appearances. That last comment of mine brought this to mind.
Lets say I was looking for a paint contractor. Two guys show up. The first one with paint stained fingernails, and clothes with paint all over them. The second in a suit.
Honestly, I’m probably going to pick the one without the suit. To me the suit is trying too hard for my business, and his suit does not tell me at all about his abilities as a painter or anything. He just looks good. But the guy in stained clothes tells me he is a busy man and cares about nothing more than painting my house. In fact, he just left a job 30 minutes ago b/c he’s so good and didn’t even have time to change his clothes.
Should I expect him to change his clothes and clean his fingernails? Or should I go with that impression that he’s a hard worker and will get the job done.
It would be my impression that the suit is more concerned with lining up jobs than actually doing them.
I don’t know.
February 13th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Plain-front, cuffed, dark charcoal wool slacks with a white shirt, tie, and a black or navy blazer
with a pocket square really stands out in our blue jean society.
I do it for the attention.
Cabs stop. Bartenders rush over. Sales clerks ask to help. Women notice.
February 13th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Another great book on understanding the perception of yourself that you give others is John Molloy’s “Live For Success.” It’s a little dated, but based on solid research.
February 13th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Good article. If you look disabled or disfigured, you are much more likely to be passed over for employment. Some of this discrimination is legitimate, disabilities can impede workforce function, and potential clients may be repulsed by disabled people in your workforce. However, I think discrimination against the disabled is still overused.
February 14th, 2007 at 12:50 am
I’ve always been astounded by people’s ability to remember what I was wearing. If I wear something different from what I normally do, it often gets pointed out.
This is something which I would be completely incapable of doing for other people. I’m usually too busy paying attention to what people are saying or doing to notice what they’re wearing. Any time that I’m not doing that, I’m probably more interested in my own thoughts than taking time to memorize other people’s wardrobes. I’d probably have trouble telling you what colour shirt someone was wearing 5 minutes after they’re out of the room, and probably couldn’t tell you about what sort of watch, or even *if* they were wearing a watch unless they conspicuously used it.
I still care about my appearance a moderate amount, especially so when it’s socially required to wear nice clothing, but it does require conscious effort to think about it when I care so little for what other people look like.
If people were reduced to streams of text describing their words and actions, I probably wouldn’t miss too much. Perhaps I have mild autism. :)
February 14th, 2007 at 4:29 am
Sean said:
“I interview people for jobs ranging from $40k-$60k. I would say about 10% actually wear a suit. 50% wear a button up shirt and khakis. The other 40% wear something really awful like jeans with a rumpled shirt, reeking of cigarette smoke.”
Back when I interviewed for my current job (a manager-level position at a tech company), I showed up in tight-ass jeans and an untucked button-down with roses embroidered up the side, and my hair in a mohawk. A week later, they made me a satisfying offer based on my skills and other qualifications.
A lot of companies say that they want to hire creative people that are self-motivated, and end up hiring from a checklist and tossing out people for not wearing suits to the interview. That doesn’t seem like a good way to find that one-in-a-million, creative candidate. Some other companies have more open-minded hiring practices - maybe it’s just a west coast thing.
February 14th, 2007 at 7:05 am
Nice article, Derek.
Something that goes hand in hand with this is that people on the internet do the exact same thing. They judge you by your outward appearances on forums, IM, etc. That means your grammar, spelling, and diction.
Giving a good impression doesn’t mean being perfect or some kind of grammar nazi (that gives its own impression). Just making a good faith effort to have your words be clear, readable, and organized makes a big difference on whether or not I’m going to take you seriously.
Also, learning how to dress better than “t-shirt and jeans” on a daily basis is actually kind of tough. I’m making an attempt (despite the example set by some of the other programmers here at my workplace) but it’s something I’ve never done before. Dress up for occasions, sure. Look nice every day? It takes effort that I’m not used to expending.
February 14th, 2007 at 7:47 am
Sean, I absolutely agree. I don’t mind button-ups and khakis for an interview. But they don’t look as good as a suit.
Jeans, however, are forbidden. As you said, if they half-ass the interview, why shouldn’t I expect them to half-ass everything else?
February 14th, 2007 at 7:55 am
Seleena, I agree that you can try too hard. A house painter showing up in a suit would very likely be a negative. There are some times when dressing up isn’t going to help. I don’t need the guy at the auto shop to be dressed up. I’d rather he look like he’s been working on the cars. That way, when he gives me advice on what transmission fluid to use, I have a reason to trust his opinion.
If a girl showed up for an interview at a restaurant like Hooters wearing a pantsuit, she’s probably be passed up for the girl dressed like she’s headed for the club. The suit says she’s professional, but professional isn’t the number one requirement for that job.
Your clothes say something about you. They need to send the right message. Sometimes the right message isn’t “I’m a suit.”
February 14th, 2007 at 8:00 am
Jerry, thanks. I’ll add that one to my list, too. The list is getting pretty long these days.
Matt, I agree that sometimes being disabled is valid grounds for not hiring someone. I’m all for reasonable accommodation, though. e.g. Someone with severe ALS probably can’t work as a package loader. But someone with ALS would likely be just fine at a desk job (assuming they still have some mobility).
February 14th, 2007 at 8:04 am
Cale, I don’t really memorize people’s clothes, either. I can’t tell you what any of my coworkers are wearing right now, and two of them are less than ten feet away. (I could look again, but that would be cheating.) However, when I’m in, e.g., an interview situation, I’m intentionally looking at clothes. I want to know who dressed up.
I also still get a pretty good feel for people’s clothes without memorizing them. Most of my coworkers are polo-shirt kind of guys. One of them always wears button-ups. I couldn’t tell you what color their clothes are generally, but I can tell you who’s dressed nicer.
February 14th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Daniel, you got hired even though you dressed like that. Creative people can wear suits, too. If you got hired, it was based on skill, which is certainly a good thing. But hiring people because they look “creative” is a sure way to hire an army of punks who just don’t care. The fact is that most people who show up at interviews looking like you are not good employees. If you can prove me wrong with your skillset and communication skills, then I’d recommend hiring you. But when you come in dressed like that, you have to work harder to prove your professionalism.
Billy, I agree 100%. The little bit of effort it takes to appear intelligent online makes a huge difference. The little things decide how seriously people take you.
As for dressing nicely, I agree. It is a bit of a departure. I used to wear long sleeve t-shirts all the time. But once you build up a wardrobe of nicer clothes, it gets easier, especially as the not-so-nice clothes get older. It’s the initial build-up thats hard. You have to get used to wearing a different style, and you have to spend some money.
February 14th, 2007 at 11:24 am
You are looking at this the other way around. The advises “don’t judge someone based on his appearance” or “don’t judge a book by its cover” apply to *you*, not to the book or other men.
If you judge a book by its cover, you might end up reading crap in a nice shell, instead of that beautiful novel in a white cover.
If you judge people by their appearances, you might get a lot of stupid but nice-looking friends, instead of deep people who just do not care on their looks.
If you chose the painter based on that he wears a suit instead of how he paints… well… good look with your painting.
It is always you the one that loses. Yes, the one with bad appearance might lose too (like the painter) but you do not care about the others. You care about you.
I actually judged this article by its appearance and couldn’t be bothered to read it past the 2 first paragraphs. Did you lose something because I didn’t??
February 14th, 2007 at 11:36 am
The point of the article isn’t that you (or I, or anyone else) should judge based only on appearances. The point is that appearances are important. I judge based partly on appearances because it works. If you half ass an interview by dressing like a slob, then you are unlikely to be a good employee. You lost, because you dressed like a slob. Maybe you would have been a great employee, but I doubt it. Maybe I lost, too, but I doubt it.
If you don’t dress appropriately, and I judge you based on that, you are the one who loses the most. I might lose, e.g., a good job candidate, but you lost a good job. I’ve got 9 other people left to interview. One of them will be dressed well, and also quite capable of doing the job.
I’m not saying nothing beyond appearances matters. I’m saying you shouldn’t hurt your chances unnecessarily. Why make your appearances a liability, when they could easily be an asset?
February 14th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Hi Derek,
What you replied here made much more sense. As I said, I just read the beginning and found this:
“Here’s the deal: I’m judging you based on appearances, and so is everyone else. Not only is it happening, but I argue that it should happen, that it’s right to judge people based on appearances.”
If you tell me that is right (for you, not for the people) to judge people by their appearances, and also that it should be that way, I have to call it bullshit. And wish you luck with your wife. (My wife happens to be beautiful and intelligent(*), but I would prefer an intelligent wife over a beautiful one any day). Appearances are not all.
Now, if you tell me that I should care about my appearance because most people *do* judge a book by its cover, then I completely agree. But this is not the same to saying that I should judge a book by its cover.
And as a side note, even when I understand that on a short article you should focus, sometimes having the wrong appearance might help, things are not so black and white.
When I finished the university, I was the best on my generation. So I actually dressed casually for interviews as an easy way to spot companies I didn’t wanted to work on. I wanted someone who would actually care about my degree, not the way I was dressing. So I intentionally dressed with jeans when everybody was wearing suits.
And guess what? It worked. It is true, some interviewers judged me by my cover, and hired other people even when I had better grades. But at the end I got a job that was much better than any of the ones I didn’t got.
And I think this was because I found a company that could look beyond. The ones that said “no” just because how I looked and could not be bothered to find out more were not interesting companies to work anyway. Job interviews go both ways; for once they are evaluating you to see if you can be of any use to them. But also *you* are evaluating them to see if this is the company where you would like to work.
The funny ending, I actually got hired for a consulting company, so I had to use a suit everyday. And I see no problem with that.
Sorry for the English, as you can see it is not my native language.
(*)Hey, it is February 14 today! I should stop writing now and buy some flowers.
February 14th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Adrian,
The point of the article is that first impressions are based entirely on your outward appearance, including how you dress, you demeanor, etc. You can overcome someone else’s negative first impression of you, but it takes a lot more work than giving them a good first impression in the first place.
I don’t really see how your or anyone else’s wife really factors in the discussion, besides as a thinly veiled personal attack or an emotional ploy designed to win the argument despite any kind of logic in play. Evaluating potential mates based on appearance is yet again only for first impressions. Actually going on a date (or dating for a while, or becoming engaged, etc. etc.) is going to reveal much more about their personality and take you past superficial things like appearance.
You yourself said that your wife is beautiful and intelligent, but you would still be happy even if she wasn’t beautiful. Sure, I don’t doubt that’s true. However, what led you to discover that she was a great person underneath the exterior? A good first impression.
You have a point about shopping for companies the same way they shop for employees. Companies that dismiss you entirely based on your appearance at an interview without really giving any thought to what you actually said or your qualifications probably aren’t worth working for. However, companies that don’t care about their employees’ appearance or automatically eliminate potential hires that do make an effort to dress well and give a good first impression may well be sloppy or pretentious in other ways as well. You didn’t carry your evaluation through quite far enough.
February 14th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I’ll just say that I agree with Billy on this one. Well written.
February 14th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
It seems like what Adrian is really objecting to is the first paragraph, not the whole article. The writing style here is snappy and attention grabbing, particularly at the beginning. That’s a good thing, because it makes people sit up and take notice. Apparently it made Adrian sit up and start trashing the article without actually reading the whole thing. Which gives other readers their own first impressions of the poster.
February 14th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Hi everybody.
Sorry if what I said looked like personal attacks, it wasn’t meant to be so. The wife example was simply to show how in so many cases you can not just stay on the cover, you need to read the book. I know most of the world cares about the look (or you would not have so many girls doing so much efforts to be pretty), what I was trying to say is that *you* should not do it yourself, no matter what the rest of the world does. Reading my post again I see it could have been misunderstood, if so I apologize.
And William is right, I judged the article based on the first paragraph. This is something I normally don’t do (and I never comment on forums either), but it was what the article was asking me to do: “judge something based on my first impression”.
Quoting the article:
“But it’ll make you a hypocrite. Just like you have to judge books based on their covers, purely as an optimization, you also have to judge people on appearances. You don’t have the time to get to know everyone”
Well, I think it is only fair then that I judge this article by its first paragraph. I do not have the time to read everything.
I know I was not being fair, and I did it on purpose.
So you can start thinking how fair you are when you judge someone else based on your own first impressions, and not giving them a chance of a deeper look.
In my first post I hinted that the one really losing by not reading it all was me, not Derek. This is the idea I try to get through. Maybe it is not fair with Derek that I do so, but it is not about if it is fair or not, it is about if it is good for me or not.
There are 2 arguments here. Using the “Book and cover” example:
1) The book point of view: You should care about your cover, because you are more likely to sell yourself with a good one. I agree 100% here, as I have already said. Maybe this was the main point of the article, but it was not the only one.
2) The buyer point of view: You should look at only the covers, everybody does it and it is your right. You do not have the time to read a couple of pages to see if you might like it or not. You do not need to be fair.
I disagree with this point.
On the article it says books should not expect buyers to be fair with them, and, as it is buyers’ right to not be fair, they should not be fair.
But the reason I do not agree with this point is not because I think it isn’t fair with the book, it is because I think it isn’t fair with you, the buyer. You will lose many great books if you look only at the cover.
In fact, when I select people for my own company, this is what I look for: (in this order)
1) You must be a good person. It doesn’t matter if you are the next Einstein, it your ethics or your morals are not ok, you are not ok.
2)You must have some technical knowledge. Not 100% expert, because I am more interested in that you are willing to learn, but you need knowledge.
3)You must be passionate. You must be there to change the world. I do not want 9 to 5 workers.
If you also look like Tom Cruise and are willing to work for free then much better, but I am happy if you fulfill 1) 2) and 3). This is difficult enough.
But I can’t know if someone meets 1) 2) or 3) by looking at a cover, I need to read some pages of the book. Interview him, ask him questions. And if I like what I read, I do not care about the cover anymore.
If I have 1 million people to interview I will first filter them on their resumes, not on their looks because I won’t even see them. For the people I will actually get to see, they will be judged by the criteria exposed before, not by their looks.
Hope this clarifies my point of view.
Again, not trying to attack anyone, just to make a friendly discussion.
February 14th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
If you “filter” candidates based on their resumes, you’re just reading the blurb on the back cover of the book. You might not be judging based on what clothes they wear, but the resume is fairly superficial, too.
That’s part of the point. You cannot interview everyone. And you cannot get to know everyone. You learn to judge based on appearances because if you don’t, you can’t get anything done. If 90% of people who show up wearing dirty jeans turn out to be bad candidates, you learn that it’s not worth the time to interview all the dirty jean-wearing candidates.
Tell me, would you hire someone who showed up dressed as a Nazi? I doubt it. You’d turn him away, because there’s not much else you need to know. Appearances do matter.
(Note, this is not an invocation of Godwin’s law. I’m not calling anyone a Nazi.)
February 14th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
“If you “filter” candidates based on their resumes, you’re just reading the blurb on the back cover of the book. You might not be judging based on what clothes they wear, but the resume is fairly superficial, too.”
Of course it is superficial. But IMHO is much better than judging them on their looks. And btw, judging a book by the blurb on its cover is much better than judging it because the colors of the cover. Not perfect, but better.
But that was not my point. My point was for people who I actually interview, the ones that I will actually see how they look. I think they deserve to be judged for what they are worth. Doing it otherwise is wasting my and their time.
“Tell me, would you hire someone who showed up dressed as a Nazi? I doubt it. You’d turn him away, because there’s not much else you need to know. Appearances do matter.”
Yep, you got me here. I wouldn’t hire him. But I would hire someone who forgot to shave and is not wearing a tie, or has one shoe black and the other brown if he fits the job.
In fact, and I am not really sure why, but I know many people who are geniuses on what they do, and they don’t care about how they look. I think it is because my point number 3), they are passionate. So passionate thinking on how to fix the world, that they can’t be bothered to match their shoes.
February 14th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I’m just saying that the effort they are willing to put into their appearance says a lot about their worth. I’m not talking about attractive looks. I’m talking about clean, professional attire. Asking for professional attire isn’t asking that much.
I do know a guy who has manages to accidentally wear one black shoe and one brown shoe sometimes. He’s an excellent engineer. A nuclear scientist, in fact. I would hire him if I had a job for him. He’s passionate, smart, interesting, excellent work history. He’s also a professional. He’d take the time to match his shoes (and/or take the time to get his wife to check) if he had an interview.
And again, I’m not saying that if someone shows up without shaving, I’m going to eliminate them. But they are going to have to impress me more than the guy who shaved. All things being equal, I’ll take the clean-shaven guy.
February 14th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
This has been a nice discussion. I’ve enjoyed reading all the responses here. I wish I had the ability to articulate my thoughts as well as all of you.
Agree or disagree with Adrian, and I agree with some of his points, I’m sad to admit that he writes better than I do. And English is my native, and only, language.
Of course, the point of this article is to encourage me to look at how I present myself to others. Then work to make changes where I can, so I leave a good first impression. My communication skills, written or verbal, are lacking. Especially when that southern ignorance sneaks up on me, grammatically and/or linguistically.
So, point of article taken. Persuaded to do better. Good job and thank you, all.
March 19th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I think you are correct in saying that we are all being judged.
I personally don’t care what people look like. I personally don’t care about people’s personalty.
THe point is, that if you go around saying, “That peson is a geek, but I’m not one to judge” you are being a hyporcrit.
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:28 am
hello. i’m writting a discursive essay on “should we judge people on there appearances” is there any good stern arguments out there,
Thanks .
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:53 am
Becca, I’m not sure what you mean by “good stern arguments”. Judging people by their appearances is hardwired into our genes. We naturally judge people based on appearance, for better or for worse.
I personally think that judging people based on appearances outside their control (particularly race and attractiveness) is generally immoral, unfair, and counterproductive. i.e., It doesn’t help anyone, even the person doing the judging.
However, I think that judging people based on appearances that they can control (clothes, cleanliness, etc.) can be very beneficial. As I said in the article, we choose what to wear, so it only makes sense for us to be judged based on those choices.
If I put on a suit, I am sending a certain message about myself. If I put on old jeans and a T-shirt, I’m sending a different message. Either of those messages might be appropriate in some settings, and inappropriate in others. But either way, I’m sending a message, and it makes sense for others to judge me based on that message.
March 29th, 2007 at 5:45 am
Thanks but thier is still one thing that bothers me should it matter?
March 29th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Depends on what that “one thing” is, I suppose.
June 21st, 2007 at 2:18 pm
I think the bottom line is that interviewees who don’t dress up in a way that shows they care about the interview … probably don’t really care about the job and shouldn’t be hired.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Are you serious??? you are a total jackass. just because someone expresses themselves differently from YOU doesnt mean ANYTHING. Are you a christian? do you believe in god? let me familiarize you with a little scripture. “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, `Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye, then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5
Im not a very religious person..i never throw scripture ever at anyone. but God shall judge you as you judge others! stop worrying about what everyone around you is doing and worry about your own arrogant ass
November 7th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Thanks for the laughs, Nicole. That was great.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:07 am
My business partner and I recently reviewed several pieces of medical equipment for a new business venture (he is a physician - we are adding aesthetics to his practice… key word: aesthetics.)
One of the top-selling laser companies sent their representative out with their top-of-the-line machine. He arrived in a shirt and slacks that each looked like they came from J.C. Penny’s “wash & go” fabrics, in need of a hair cut…
… and the thing that bugged me most: a belt that had been over-worn at it’s previous station (I guess he’s put on a few pounds?) so there were wear marks in the leather. Should any of that mattered… we’re buying a machine… not hiring the rep, right? Wrong.
After the presentation, there was no follow up for two months. During this time, we viewed several other technologies, all with similar capabilities. The equipment we ended up purchasing was around $100K from a well groomed, articulate, knowledgable rep.
When it came down to the end - two things stood out:
First: If you don’t have any more pride in yourself and your company than to show up to an aesthetics office in a rumpled shirt, slacks and worn out belt… how much time have you take to get to know your product… or my industry… or what I need from your company? Do you really care about [the safety of] my patients if you don’t care about yourself?
Second: If it took you two months to follow up with a call BEFORE I drop 100K… where will you be AFTER we drop the cash?
Does appearance matter. You bet.
Side note: Top selling companies are looking for feedback from people like me to decide what factors are influencing buying decisions… and that translates into who they hire and who they “lay off”. So would-be top salesmen/ladies - take note.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Oh - wow. I missed the sermon.
Nicole - it is apparant that you are not a student of scripture. Most people who keep talking points straight from the Bible handy… do so as a defensive mechanism and without wisdom or context.
“Judge not, lest ye be judged” is a reminder that we are all sinners. We can not claim perfection (spiritual, moral, intellectual, etc.). Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. It is not a free pass to live a sloppy life (spiritually, environmentally, ethically, etc.) because “nobody’s perfect”. Example: I don’t judge you for quoting scripture to admonish posters here about judging others and then end it with a very non-Christian judgemental summary of “… arrogant ass”. I say things sometimes that are emotion driven, too. But I try to improve my communication skills when I recognize that I’ve made an ass of myself.
The purpose of this blog, or chat - whatever we’re having is to address the reality of… competition for jobs, mates, etc. IS impacted by the way present ourselves. Beauty begins within, but it shows without. And what’s beautiful to one person may not be so to another. Find careers, mates, and social circles that share you value of what is beautiful if that truth irritates you.
But don’t expect employers who are trying to present an image of… cleanliness, for instance… to embrace an earth goddess who doesn’t believe in the toxic dangers of wearing anti-prespirants. If you want to be a nurse, on the other hand, be prepared to keep your hair, body, and clothing clean. It makes the PATIENT feel better.
Like it or not - that’s how it goes. Oh - and the follow up to your scripture is… “if you would judge… give a righteous judgement.”
December 6th, 2007 at 11:35 am
LOL! And don’t hit submit until you’ve ran spell check. (((blush)))
September 29th, 2008 at 8:50 am
i understand your opinion completely, but i think if i was an employer i wouldn’t discriminate based on appearance.
if their application and resume look good, and they show an intrest in the job, i’m going to look at them the same way and ask the same questions i would ask someone in a suit.
you said earlier “hire an army of punks who just don’t care.”
well, i think if they really didn’t care about the job they were interested in, they wouldn’t have bothered showing up for the interview.
they have just as much potential as everyone else, and i think they work harder than someone in just a suit.
they work hard to look the way they do, and fight through a lot of discrimination. they go above and beyond, and don’t care what people think of them.
they’re not some cookie cutter guy in a suit who will do just what i ask to, and won’t bring more than that to the table.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Cassie, you very much do discriminate based on appearance. Your comment makes that extremely clear. The difference is that you are biased against people wearing suits.
“i think they work harder than someone in just a suit.”
“they’re not some cookie cutter guy in a suit who will do just what i ask to, and won’t bring more than that to the table.”
For whatever reason, you prefer the person who comes in dressed down, or dressed “different”, but you are still allowing appearances to affect you.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I certainly believe that appearances do matter, especially in the buisiness world, but when you’re only 12 years old they shouldn’t have that much of an effect, or do they?
A LITTLE STORY…
It was the beginning of seventh grade and I was only twelve years old. I had always been a straight A student, and it since has never changed. I was constintly mad because the way I dressed was not all that nice(ripped jeans, sweatshirt, sneakers) and my friend got all of the attention for her appearance (preppy,pretty and at first judgement nerdy irish). Everyone thought that she got all A+’s, but the truth was that she was a straight D and C student. Everytime that I got an A, then no one would believe me, but she’d lie about her grade and everyone was fascinated! This just shows how much your appearance can really make of you.
November 4th, 2008 at 3:33 am
I’ve gotta say that even though I didnt want to agree with you when I read the first few lines, but actually I do agree with you on everything. You choose what clothes you wear therefore if people judge you as someone they don’t wanna be around then its all down to you. Its brilliant. Especially the bookstore thing.