Mandom survey reveals 90% of recruiters admit impression they receive from appearance of job-seekers affects their selection

On March 5th, Mandom Corporation, a skincare and hair styling product manufacturer, released the results of their awareness survey on job-seeking students’ appearance and attitude. The survey covered university student recruiters working for listed companies in the 30-70 age range.

In the survey, over 90% of recruiters answered that the impression they receive from the appearance of job seekers affects their selection. Among them, 48.8% answered that appearance greatly affects the selection, while 44.4% answered that it affects the selection to some extent, summing to over 90%.

The survey also revealed that “a sense of cleanliness” and “politeness” are carefully observed during interviews too. To the question “What are the most important things you look for in job seekers during interviews?”, 78.9% answered “politeness (including attitude and language)”, while 74.0% answered “a sense of cleanliness”.

When the survey subjects were asked about the essential aspects of cleanliness, over 70% pointed out hairstyle and outfit; 76.7% suggested hairstyle, while 72.3% suggested outfit. This is a clear indication that job seekers have to pay more attention to these two aspects.

Finally, to the question “what will bring a positive and negative evaluation of job seekers?”, nearly 80% suggested outfit as the most important aspect for both positive and negative evaluation, and roughly 70% suggested hairstyle. Similar to the answer for the essential conditions of cleanliness, these two aspects seem to be among the most important things in giving a positive impression of yourself. Apart from these, hair color, skin condition, and body odor were also cited as important factors.

In conclusion, making a positive impression during interviews appears to be the key to successful job hunting outcomes. Therefore, based on these survey results, it might be a good idea to reflect on your appearance.

This survey was conducted online in December 2018, covering 412 new graduate recruiters from listed companies, aged between 30 and 70.