Want a corporate job? Forget talent, watch your weight

If you think your charisma, confidence, and knowledge are enough to impress the management at your next job interview--you are highly mistaken.

Apparently, your striking personality will not help you land the job, but your weight might. Confused? Well, the world is a shallow place and no matter how hard you beg to differ, a recent study is enough to prove you wrong.

If you are overweight and a woman then your chances of getting hired or a promotion are really slim. According to Steve Siebold, author of Die Fat or Get Tough: 101 Differences in Thinking Between Fat People and Fit People, employers see obesity as a negative trait. "Many employers look at obese candidates and immediately think, 'this person failed in controlling their own health, how are they going to run a division," he says.

Also read: 5 signs it is time to kiss your first job goodbye

Moreover, a study published in the online journal Plos One states that overweight women are less likely to pass the interview than those with a normal BMI. "Overweight people also suffer from negative perceptions based on stereotypes that are often inaccurate. These are reinforced by media representations of the ideal woman (or man) as unrealistically thin", it says.

The researchers picked out a few photos of people (both men and women) with normal weight. They then made a few alterations to the pictures by adding some extra weight to their faces with the help of a software. Now, they had two copies of each--one original and one modified. The researchers then showed these copies to 120 participants and asked them to rate each face on basis of employability on a scale of one to seven. It was found that woman towards the heavier side were rated lowest for not only customer facing professions but backroom jobs, as well. Men, on the other hand were deemed fit to work in backroom jobs.

Also read: At work, being nice doesn't pay. Literally!

Sadly, these findings indicate that the parameters dictating the norms of employment and chances of success in a workplace are majorly based on superficiality. What about the candidates, who are cut for the job but face rejection solely on the basis of their appearance. What really needs to change here is the outlook of society as a whole, when it comes to standards of beauty.