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Looks matter\u2014at least, they do to potential employers. That\u2019s the critique one New York-based job hunter was given after she arrived at a job interview without makeup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Melissa Weaver, a millennial recruiter-turned-people manager, was taken back when she didn\u2019t get the job she wanted\u2014a VP of HR role at a tech company. Drawing on her experience being on the other side of the table, Weaver felt like she had nailed all the questions thrown her way and was the perfect match for the job at hand.<\/p>\n
So she did what any confused candidate would do: Emailed the hiring manager for feedback\u2014and the response she got has gone viral on TikTok.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy background was exactly what they were looking for, my experience lined up with what they need for the position and my own personal goals and values align with the company\u2019s,\u201d Weaver paraphrased the hiring manager\u2019s email in a video that has racked up over 600,000 views.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was concerned that I hadn\u2019t put in enough effort in my appearance given the level of role I was interviewing for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weaver further explained that she had \u201cdone a blowout for my hair, I had on a nice top, a blazer, some earrings\u2026 But I only had on chapstick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy question is does not wearing makeup, for women, to job interviews or to jobs make it seem like they aren\u2019t putting in as much effort or care into the job?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thousands of TikTok users took to the comments section of Weaver\u2019s video with many calling the employer in question discriminatory. \u201cDo men get refused a job because they don\u2019t wear makeup?\u201d one person quipped.<\/p>\n
In a follow-up video,<\/a> Weaver defended that the company has every right to reject a candidate\u2014irrespective of their gender\u2014based on their appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhile a company can not not hire a woman just because she\u2019s a woman, they can not hire a woman because of she presents herself,\u201d Weaver responded. \u201cThe same way a company can choose to not hire a man because he has an unkempt beard or a facial tattoo.\u201d<\/p>\n A former HR worker responded in the video that the feedback probably wasn\u2019t specifically about her lack of makeup \u201cbut overall they wanted a more polished appearance\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n While a sizable chuck of users agreed with the hiring manager that, unfortunately, appearance does matter, others were hopeful that things had changed after the pandemic-induced stint of working from home.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen our company was moving back in office after Covid my female coworkers and I made a pact to not wear full makeup when we all went back to help set a new \u2018standard\u2019,\u201d one user wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n She\u2019s not entirely wrong. \u201cPost pandemic the rules of dress codes and formality at work are shifting,\u201d career coach Jenny Holliday told Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn some industries, there is still a demand for a level of formal dress but with a rise of work from home and hybrid work, we are more fluid with our choice of work attire,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s age, Holliday said that employers who judge candidates on their attire are a major \u201cred flag\u201d.<\/p>\n But Lewis Maleh, CEO of the global executive recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, told Fortune<\/em> that \u201cappearance absolutely matters\u201d\u2014especially in client-facing roles.\u00a0<\/p>\n While he agrees that focusing solely on appearance \u201csends a harmful message\u201d (on the part of employers) and that what constitutes \u201cenough effort is highly subjective\u201d, ultimately, how candidates show up at an interview gives employers a clue into how you\u2019d appear in front of a client.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTurning up dressed appropriately, standing tall with your shoulders back, can be the difference between winning a client\u2019s trust and losing out on valuable business,\u201d Lewis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople tend to form first impressions quickly, and looking professional can influence how seriously you\u2019re taken,\u201d he added. \u201cWhether we like it or not, this plays a big part in how humans make decisions on how competent they think someone is and whether they want to work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the CEO Daily newsletter to get the CEO perspective on the biggest headlines in business. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n