As we all well know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what if the beholder is a hiring manager?  No matter who you are, beauty bias may be holding you back.  And it’s not illegal.

While we enjoy certain protections under the law, thanks to the Civil Rights Act and other various federal and state laws, there’s absolutely no law protecting us against beauty bias.

Okay, fine.  There’s no law.  So what?

Research shows that being attractive, or not being attractive enough, factors into an interviewer’s perception of your overall capability to perform the duties of that company position.  It’s one thing for hiring managers to be educated to avoid making employment decisions based on factors like attractiveness, but there’s no guarantee you will meet with someone so enlightened.

I believe in the idea of taking as much personal responsibility as possible.  It may not be easy, but it’s ultimately the best way to ensure you have done all you can to present yourself at your best.  But this is not about looking like a model.

Actually it’s more about looking like the “model” of what a person in your role would look like.  This sounds like a riddle, but people have expectations about who does the work in your position.  When you know what those beliefs are, you have a better shot at eliminating beauty bias.

Looking attractive isn’t reserved only for those in high-profile responsibilities.  Most often, the chances of getting hired increases when a person is perceived as more attractive.  But if a woman seeking a position typically occupied by a man looks too attractive, it may work against her because attractiveness is perceived as a benefit to women seeking typically female jobs. When a job’s tasks require customarily masculine attributes, a woman’s attractiveness is seen as a drawback.  In fact, an attractive woman is seen as more feminine than an unattractive woman.

It brings me no great pleasure to talk about people’s relative attractiveness.  It’s a totally sensitive subject.  In fact, that’s why human resources professionals are not keen on telling employees or potential hires about physical appearance issues.  It can really sting.

But there are things you can do.

Primarily, it’s incredibly important to accept your physicality as it is.  You have the body you do, and that’s a fact.  A healthy dose of positive body image does the mind wonders.  It’s far easier and more pleasurable to dress and accessorize your body when you fully embrace your physicality, even any imperfections.  Being fully realistic about your physicality, you’re able to make the most of what you have so others who could sit in judgment of you are focused on the positives – which is exactly what you should do.

You should strive to be at your best for the position you seek because – it’s clear that in most cases – being attractive helps you reach your career goals and positively impacts your salary.

If you’re less attractive, embark on an image development program to help you realize your full potential.  And if you feel you are exceptionally attractive, it may be very important to tone down your good looks so you are perceived as being right for the job you’re after.

Ultimately, you can’t control how others perceive you.  But when you take as much control for yourself as you can, you are doing all that you can to show yourself as highly competent for the position you may be seeking.  It pays to honestly assess your personal image, because someone in the hiring and promotions process is almost certainly going to.

Joseph Rosenfeld helps high-profile individuals revitalize, manage, and be secure in their personal visual brand. Visit JosephRosenfeld.com for details.