"In the long run, there is not much discrimination against superior talent." Carter G. Woodson
Is this quote ringing true? Are individual personality and physcial traits now bearing greater influence on the employability of people?
According to a survey carried out by the largest growing HR Consultancy in the UK www.Reuber.com recruitment by small to midsize companies is still largely influenced by traits which a person employable or unemployable...
When asked the multi-answer question ‘which of the below traits would make you less likely to hire an individual?’ below are the top ten most common answers from respondents:
1. Poor personal hygiene – 68%
2. Negative body language – 64%
3. Poor speech and grammar – 59%
4. Dress sense – 56%
5. Bad attitude – 52%
6. Excessive body piercing or tattoos – 49%
7. Inappropriate sense of humour – 47%
8. Accent – 44%
9. Unattractive – 41%
10.Poor employment history – 38%
Kirsty Burgess, co-managing director of Reabur.com had the following to say about the findings;
“These results demonstrate that despite an increasing amount of legislation protecting applicants from being rejected for reasons other than their skills and experience personal traits still appear to be a distinct factor in making a recruitment decision. Although I appreciate that we are all human this really shouldn’t be the case and therefore it is important that employers use robust recruitment methods. This will ensure a fair process and provide a justification to reject an applicant that will stand up if legally challenged.”
Source: SME Web
