The job world can be tricky terrain to navigate, particularly right after graduation.
To many potential employers, you’re a fresh-faced, optimistic newcomer to the 9-5 life, and they may not be so eager to take a chance on you. Because of this, many recent graduates are forced to learn the hard way that their degree doesn’t necessarily guarantee them a job right out of school.
But what if it’s not their newness holding them back from a career, but their looks?
A woman was recently interviewed as part of a series depicting women ‘too hot’ for the workplace.
The Sun interviewed several women who claimed their looks had actually hindered them in their pursuit for a career.
The article cites a study published in the US journal Sex Roles which found beautiful women are viewed as being less honest, less trustworthy, and therefore are more likely to be passed over.
One of the women interviewed was recent law school graduate Irina Kova.
The 33-year-old Russian-based woman (whose Instagram boasts over 37,000 followers) told The Sun that despite the law degree she has under her belt, potential employers refused to hire her.
She claims this is because she is simply too beautiful to be considered a viable employee.
“I have a law degree and a great CV but my recruitment agent still told me to dye my blond hair dark for interviews.”
According to Kova, she had been instructed to go so far as to change her looks in order to be taken more seriously by potential employers.
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She dyed her blond hair darker, and even started wearing glasses despite having perfect vision.
While doing this helped her get the job, Kova said keeping the job is another story entirely.
“I’ve been made to feel terrible in offices,” she said. “One boss told me I should stop standing out so much and learn to be more humble with my looks.”
Kova said she doesn’t wear much makeup, but still attracts unwanted attention from her employers.
She said her former boss likely wanted to create a “corporate” work environment for his employees, where “everyone is the same and has a mortgage and three kids.”
According to Kova, he implied that she was “too glamorous” to fit in, so she ultimately quit her job.
According to Kova, her male co-workers want less attractive women in the office because they won’t be a distraction.
“They would rather surround themselves with less attractive women who won’t take their mind off the job in hand,” she said.
It’s also a matter of keeping their wives happy about their working situation.
“Married guys don’t want their wives visiting the office and seeing a hot, single girl sitting next to them,” Kova claimed.
It’s not just the male employers who she said refused to hire her or take her seriously because of her looks.
While male employers considered her unprofessional or an office distraction, she said female employers found her beauty too ‘intimidating’.
Because of her struggle finding a job that will take her seriously, Kova has ditched the job search altogether and started her own business.
Now she has her own website where she sells vintage clothing.
She’s happy she’s her own boss now and doesn’t have to worry about “fitting in” to employers’ expectations of what an employee should look like.
I’m all for sisters doing it for themselves. I’d just be interested to know why she ditched the law degree and turned to retail.
But, to each their own, and more power to her for finding a career that makes her happy!
h/t: The Sun