The New Superciality of the Job Hunt
Don’t take it personal when you get that envelope in the mail that pretty much informs you, "While the selection process was challenging for filling the Ditch Digging position, we have decided on another applicant with a PhD. We wish you all the success in applying for your next job, where three hundred other candidates will be vying for the next position where you submit your application."
Does that kind of bell ring in your head in this jungle job hunt? Don’t take it personal. On paper, you really look great. Don’t be at all discouraged but well, it was your face that didn’t quite make the cut for the interviewer.
If you have been watching any of the morning news shows, you would be very well aware that botox, lipo suction, booty pads or other beauty enhancers you thought were only applicable to Hollywood or people who aspired to a Hollywood lifestyle, think again. In the current job market, these are necessary components for landing the job. How you look, meaning pretty or handsome, will give you the edge over someone who, in the eye of the interviewer, is less attractive.
If you thought America was a brand sold on opportunities, just consider that it is well on its way to becoming a place for the physically beautiful people. So, where might that leave those who consider themselves moderate or well, so unhot, a stick wouldn’t even want to be shaken at them?
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, wouldn’t you hate to be sitting across from an arch enemy from grade school, whom you feel pretty sure, has acquired more experience at administering cruel and unusual punishment on you because your beauty was tucked deep inside, rather than on the surface?
You do have to question just how tangible America has become and in an economy that is saturated with joblessness, how serious can employers be in this sort of beauty contest for prospective employees? The dangling carrot of a consistent check for your worth in the job market has just thrown you with another curve ball.
I can only encourage you to pull together your resources to get that tummy tucked if you want that job. Have a block party, sell raffle tickets, host a car wash…You get the picture, right?
Signed,
The Informant Who’s Addicted to Morning News Shows