Less chance of promotion if you have bad breath, tattoo: Survey

Updated on: Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Bad breath, dishevelled clothing, piercings and tattoos are among the personal attributes which would make an employee less appealing for a promotion, says a survey.

According to a study by job portal CareerBuilder, 37 per cent of hiring managers in the US surveyed said piercings would make them less likely to extend a promotion.

In addition, 34 per cent cited bad breath and nearly a third (31 per cent) said a visible tattoo or often having wrinkled clothes would block an employee from receiving a career bump.

"When it comes to career advancement, you want to stack the deck in your favor," CareerBuilder Vice President (Human Resources) Rosemary Haefner said.

"While strong job performance and leadership skills will weigh heavily on prospects for upward mobility, employers will also look at whether the employee conveys an overall professional image both internally and externally," she added.

Moreover, 29 per cent of the respondents cited messy hair, another 28 per cent said casual dressing and 26 per cent said that too much perfume or cologne could make an employee less likely to get promoted.

According to HR experts, in today's competitive world, every move of employees could be decisive in his/her promotion. Apart from leadership skills and job performance, appearance could be the deciding factor in whether or not you promote someone over another.

The survey was conducted within the US by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,878 hiring managers between February and March.

Less chance of promotion if you have bad breath, tattoo: Survey

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