Think your next promotion depends purely on your skills and experience? A recent study suggests your appearance might matter more than you’d expect. Research looking at over 43,000 business school graduates found that attractive professionals earn thousands more each year than their equally qualified colleagues — and this advantage grows stronger over time.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon University, tracked MBA graduates for 15 years after they left business school. What they discovered was eye-opening: People rated as attractive were 52.4% more likely to land prestigious positions, leading to an average bump in salary of $2,508 per year. For the most attractive individuals — those in the top 10% — that yearly advantage jumped to over $5,500.
This advantage, which researchers call the “attractiveness premium,” shows up across different industries but not always in the same way. Fields involving lots of face-time with clients and colleagues, like management and consulting, showed the biggest benefits for attractive individuals. Meanwhile, technical roles like IT and engineering, where work often happens behind the scenes, showed much smaller effects.
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