The International Schools Review Forum

To what extent is being attractive an asset when interviewing for a job at an international school? To what extent is being attractive an asset when seeking promotion?

I suppose it matters at a similar level to how much it matters in other areas. Which is, according to the scientists, more than it should.
Being clean, nice-smelling, and well turned out is a good idea for all of us, regardless of what our ego tells us about our level of attractiveness.

That said, personality goes along way. Some of the people who get the most attention are those most with it and vivacious/lively, which has nothing to do with looks.

Depends if youre male or female, if your male its more acceptable to be ugly, if your female, you can accomplish a lot more if youre pretty.

Despite @Sids claims, that while I agree good hygiene is a relatively easy characteristic to attend too, that produces positive benefits, there are not an insignificant number of recruiters and leadership that have a strong preference for young, perky, put together woman on their staff solely to have something to look at, especially at those ISs where elementary/primary is little more than child care.

Finally a post worth commenting on.

Oh PLEASE! Of course it matters. But if you are living clean, it's really hard to be unattractive in your 20s and 30s. Sadly, so many teachers are pure trash these days - they smoke, have tattoos, are ignorant brats, etc. Thus, massive uptick in unattractiveness since the 90s. If you can somehow have it together today, the world is your oyster. Few discuss this.

Definitely true!
At my first school we could actually determine the Head's type based on his female hires as they were all very similar. Everybody saw it but him.
But as mentioned, keep clean, and even if you didn't win the genetic lottery you're still competitive.

@reisgio

40 and a yoga instructors body is better than 20 and all muffin top and chub chub.

@Illiane_Blues

He saw it, knew it, just didnt care and didnt feel compelled to discuss it with subordinates.

I would agree that it can be a factor in int'l school hiring since the science generally does show that being attractive does correlate to a higher degree of success in general (depending on how you define success). I would also agree that it is just one factor and not necessarily the most important one. Thankfully many/most admin types will eventually hire the best overall candidate, not just the "best" looking one (although most everyone has seen the clueless seeming and inappropriately dressed young candidates walking out of the job fair with better offers than they probably merit on education/experience alone).

And to play Devil's Advocate (with myself), I've also seen specific examples where admin (consciously or unconsciously) go out of their way to NOT hire the most attractive candidates, especially when they are the same sex as the one doing the hiring (for whatever reason). So, in some circumstances it can be a bit of a wash. Interesting topic though.

It can certainly help you when starting off in the profession and get your foot in the door. Once in the job it can count against you as people will think that is the reason that you got hired so, you better be able to back it up in reality. Then again, some people always look for a reason why such-and-such a person was hired, whether it be gender, hobbies, nationality, height, looks or whatever. Nine times out of ten they are just one minor aspect of the whole.

Looks help get the foot in the door, but most schools worth their salt would be scratching below the surface.

@wrldtrvlr123 Good call pointing out the opposite side of the coin. I know there is some research out there that shows correlations between attractiveness and success, but have any of you ever found the opposite to also be true at times?
Perhaps if the hiring managers feel THREATENED by the attractive appearance of a candidate? That's a very real thing as well.

Also, if you put (what society deems as) an attractive person in the SAME attire as (what society deems to be) an unattractive person, the attractive person will often be judged and scrutinised more harshly and it will typically be viewed as more inappropriate. A bit of a tangent, but relevant.

Maybe these circumstances happen less frequently, but they still definitely happen.

Best to just have a winning personality and hope for the best, I guess.

My POV is that its less an issue with male recruiters and leadership and male IT candidates, and being a young pretty woman would be an advantage, but I would agree with @WT123 in so far as Ive seen female recruiters and leadership who were aggressive/hostile to female IT candidates who gave the impression (intended or not) of emphasizing their attractiveness.

PsyGuy wrote:
> Ive seen female recruiters and
> leadership who were aggressive/hostile to female IT candidates who gave the
> impression (intended or not) of emphasizing their attractiveness.

Oh yes, I've also seen and heard about this this a number of times.
And on an elevator ride at a jobs fair I heard one female recruiter complain to another about the amount a female candidate who was apparently wearing a push-up bra and and too much makeup.

Also know an attractive young female IT who got 'close' to an executive member of leadership who left the fair early with a counselor appointment who wasnt a counselor, had half a year of teaching experience (field work, SPED/SEN/LD) and whose entire academic preparation was a BA in general psychology. So its probably over all a wash about which direction to go if your a woman, though there do tend to be a lot more male recruiters and leadership at the fairs/REs.

Slightly related topic then:

Those of you who have been to these fairs, how to female candidates dress? Male attire is pretty standard (suit, blazer and slacks, tie, etc), but what is considered appropriate for women can be a broad spectrum.

Is everyone in blue, grey or black suits? Does it depend on elementary/secondary? Shoes (it seems there would be a lot of walking around)? Better to stand out a bit or blend in?

For reference, I am in my early 40s and fairly good-looking, but not a former model. Enough to be attractive but not threatening. (<-This is according to friends. I suck at self-evaluation.) I look better dressing like Joan from Mad Men, but I am not that gorgeous.

@Trix18

The same as you would for a formal job interview. The younger more attractive set tends to go for skirts and blouse, the older less attractive go for pants suites. Their is a lot of blue, black and grey and you wont be faulted for that, but there are the easy to pick out and stand out ones who go for whites and reds. It doesnt depend on secondary or primary, its formal no matter what.

There isnt a lot of walking around, if you dont want it to be. Its not like a Uni job fair where you walk around a maze of tables for hours on end. Theres about two hours of sign up in a ball room sized area and you spend a lot of time standing in line moving slowly forward, you dont even have to attend signup for very long if you got invites, and those are the only ISs you are interested in, you can be done in 10-15 minutes. The rest of the fair is essentially scheduled interviews in the recruiters hotel room. You arrive for your time slot, knock, and sit down, end of interview you stand up, shake hands and walk back to your room or the lounge.
Flats are fine, but lots of candidates will wear wedges, or heels.